This site seems to be all about going from one extreme to another lately. After reviewing Andy Lau's violent crime movie Tian Di, now we're taking a look at Wait 'Til You're Older, one of the few Category I (Hong Kong's version of the "G" rating) pictures reviewed here. Similar to Tian Di taking a cue from The Untouchables, Wait 'Til You're Older also gets inspiration from from a US movie, this time the Tom Hanks comedy/drama Big. Unlike the Hanks film, Wait 'Til You're Older is a very melancholy look at family relationships and aging, and will probably surprise those viewers looking for a light-hearted romp.

The story concerns a boy named Kwong (played in young form by Sit Lap-Yin and older form by Andy Lau) who lost his mother (Lee Bing-Bing) and does not get along with his stepmother (Karen Mok). He's also picked on by the kids at school for being small, and the teacher he has a crush on (Cherrie Ying) only treats him like a little brother. So when Kwong spots a potion devised by a seemingly crazy old man (Feng Xiaogang) that ages things overnight, he steals and uses it. The potion works -- Kwong becomes an adult, and manages to both help his best friend and impress his teacher with his new-found size. However, the aging process continues on at an acclerated rate, and Kwong soon becomes an old man. After learning the truth about his mother and father's relationship, Kwong tries to patch things up with his family before his time expires.

Wait 'Til You're Older was kind of a mixed bag for me. It does some things, like the special effects and aging makeup on Andy, quite well. The acting is also solid for the most part. I was especially impressed with Sit Lap-Yin; normally, child actors in bigger roles drive me up the wall (i.e., Dakota Fanning in War of the Worlds) but Sit does an excellent job of portraying a child with a soul that's a bit too old for his body. The movie is paced well -- even though really all that goes on here is people talking, there didn't seem to be a lot of "dead" spots.

Unfortunately, Wait 'Til You're Older's climax becomes heavy-handed and melodramatic -- not to mention more than a bit unbelieveable. I will give the film-makers credit for not taking the easy way out with either a sappy Hollywood-style ending or a typical Hong Kong drama ultra-depressing one. The ending itself is actually touching and will probably conjure up some tears from the less jaded of you out there. It's just a shame that Wait 'Til You're Older takes such an awkward path to get there. It almost totally ruins what could have otherwise been one of the more solid Hong Kong movies from 2005.

[review from www.hkfilm.net]