The Wedding Days (1997)
Reviewed by: jfierro on 1999-12-21
James Yuen, in my opinion, is one of the greatest screenwriters inthe history of Hong Kong filmmaking, responsible for many of the classics that forged UFO's reputation. So of course I eagerly awaited this, his directorial debut. It's about the thrill-a-minute world of a bridal shop. OK, actually it's about the owner of a bridal shop, Charlie Yeung, and her old school friend, Anita Yuen. Both are involved in relationships with men who won't get married. Charlie is involved with a married man, and Anita is seeing Michael Wong, a divorcee who doesn't want to go through another marriage. When Anita finally manages to pressure Michael into saying yes, things just start getting worse as the impending wedding causes both women to examine their relationships. It's another multiple story line, oh-so-clever comedy that UFO seems to specialize in these days. Plenty of stars appear in bit parts, lots of kitschy music plays in the background, and the movie appears to be saying more than it actually does. Don't get me wrong, it's entertaining enough, and James Yuen does a competent job of directing, even showing occasional flashes of true creativity, but it's still just a formulaic UFO movie, something that is beginning to grow a little stale. Perhaps it might be time for UFO to start thinking about using fewer characters, fewer stars, and fewer storylines, in favor of developing a single, solid plot with a few well-developed characters. Now that's a task up to James Yuen's sizable talents.