Gon chaai lit feng

A Chinese doctor/herbalist has the uncanny ability to discern a problem with just a superficial touch on the pulse and look at the tongue. This little romantic comedy about such a person could benefit from such an exam.

Although many of the ingredients for success are here, something doesn't quite gel. Koo has played this same type of role many times, and, in watching this movie, I was instantly reminded of Koo and Sammi Cheng in "Love for All Seasons" -- another movie about a handsome player who gets hooked up with a misfit female Chinese medicine practitioner with a talent for Kung Fu. In both films, the player has his sights set on the successful beauty while the misfit heroine pines away for him. While nowhere near as wacky as "Love for All Seasons" (2003), "Dry Wood, Fierce Fire" (2002) lacks the incredulous "convincibility" of the Cheng-Koo film and the goofy charm that inexplicably existed between the guileless Cheng and worldly Koo. Yeung here seems to get off to a well-intentioned but false start. The humor is thin and seems unable to sustain the plot shortcomings.

While a fan of Yeung's music, I confess I thought this was the first Yeung film I'd seen and that it may have been her first film-- apparently, it wasn't. She had appeared previously in Feel 100% II (also with Sammi Cheng) but something had rendered her presence in the earlier film a blank in my mind. I think that's because while quite pleasant, Yeung is not as dynamic as the screen demands her to be-- at least here. Pity. A touch more over the top goofiness and she might have nailed it. But she does come close at times, just not quite enough. At times, she seemed downright uncomfortable in character. She never owned it, nor did she seem to be enjoying it the way she should have been.

I think there is an inevitable, uncomfortable comparison to Cheng here. This is the type of film that Cheng thrives on. Moreover, Yeung's "new hair cut" and reddish tint when her character makes the great leap forward are all too identifiable with Cheng. The fault isn't all Yeung's, tepid writing and some pacing problems are evident, stranding the potential comic romantic misfire in a state of perpetual kindling. On the whole a not so bad, mildly sweet little movie that might have been a little more.

5.5 out of 10 for a good solid, supporting cast and some moments of tempered sweetness.

With a name like "Dry Wood, Fierce Fire", it doesn't exactly pull you in, but this is a romantic comedy worth seeing. It is formulaic but well-executed, with some funny scenes and great performances. The basic plot concerns Alice, a rather eccentric person, who meets and instantly likes Ryan. The two become good friends, but Ryan likes another girl, Michelle, and asks Alice to help him win her heart. Alice agrees, and their friendship grows until it can't possibly be JUST a friendship anymore.

Miriam Yeung is good as Alice, effectively conveying her eccentricities. Sometimes she comes across as annoying, but most of the time, we can relate with her. Alice is a girl who isn't particularly attractive, but has a wonderful heart, and is willing to suppress her own feelings for a guy just to be around him. It's sweet. Louis Koo is WONDERFUL as Ryan. I love how we first meet him: he's walking up the stairs in slo-mo, looking all handsome and macho. He reaches the top of the stairs, takes two steps, and faints. A co-worker looks at him and says (something to the effect of), "Oh, he's fainted again. He was coming up the stairs so slowly, I knew something was wrong." These little effects work wonderfully. THis is the first Louis Koo movie I've seen, and I think he has perfect comedic timing. He's so cute, too.

On the scenes that show Ryan and Alice's friendship growing are so sweet. They shop for furniture and a necklace together, they paint Ryan's apartment together, etc. With some smart writing and wonderful performances, this is a movie you should definitely pick up.

Given my love and fascination with the Asian cinema, and the Hong Kong cinema in particular, of course I had to sit down and watch this 2002 romantic comedy titled "Gon Chaai Lit Feng" (aka "Dry Wood Fierce Fire") as I stumbled upon it here in 2023. I had never actually heard about the movie, not that it really mattered.

Writers Chi-Kin Kwok, Gu He, Chi Wai Yeung and Wilson Yip put together an insanely bland and rather disinteresting script and storyline here. The narrative in "Gon Chaai Lit Feng" was sluggish and just generally lacking a proper red thread throughout the course of the movie to guide the audience from A to B. And that made the movie feel erratic and random, and thus draining away any and all enjoyment from it.

I ended up giving up on "Gon Chaai Lit Feng" with only having sat through 40 minutes out of the 97 minutes that the movie ran for. But in those 40 minutes I have to admit that I wasn't the least bit entertained, and director Wilson Yip just failed to capture my interest at all with the bland and pointless script and equally bland and pointless characters.

It was a bit amazing that a romantic comedy with the likes of Louis Koo and Miriam Chin Wah Yeung in the leading roles would strike out that hard. However, they just virtually had nothing to work with here in this 2002 movie. And "Gon Chaai Lit Feng" ended up being a movie that was by no means a memorable movie experience from either of the two.

The movie was lacking totally in both the comedy and romance department, and that made sitting through "Gon Chaai Lit Feng" quite the ordeal.

"Gon Chaai Lit Feng" was a swing and a miss of a movie, one that I will never return to attempt finish watching. Nor is it a movie that I would recommend to fans of Asian romantic comedies.

My rating of "Gon Chaai Lit Feng" lands on a two out of ten stars.

Miriam Yeung stars as Alice, the daughter of a Chinese herbalist/doctor and a ridiculously ugly looking mother. In a 10 minute segment, you watch Alice learn kung-fu from her dad and how to be a beautiful person from her mother. What Alice becomes is myopic and eccentric. Her little quirks (yelling her angry feelings into a bottle of water, practicing herbal medicine) are supposed to be charming but come across as annoying. Alice works at a ladies magazine that is merging with a men's magazine. There she meets and falls in love with Ryan (Louis Koo), a player who faints after walking up stairs. This characteristic is only there as a way for Alice to interact with Ryan, right? Except that does not happen. Alice gets stranded when she loses her glasses (shades of Velma in Scooby-Doo). Alice stabs Ryan in the butt and this leads to a great friendship. Alice learns that Ryan is in love with Michelle, so she does everything in her power to help him. And if you can't guess what happens next, you haven't seen enough movies or read enough romance novels.

I don't really regret buying this DVD, but what a terrible lesson it teaches. Women should change the way they look and tend to a man's every need in order to win his heart. Yeah, but why buy the cow when the milk is free, right? Louis Koo probably did not break a sweat making this movie. He's the ideal choice for a playboy. Miriam is very credible as the kooky Alice but neither actor convinces me that the two characters should fall in love or be together. If you really, REALLY like cinderella stories, this movie would be a good choice for you.