Directed by Hing-Ka Chan and Janet Chun and starring Donnie Yen, Sandra Ng, Raymond Wong, Chapman To, Louis Koo, Kelly Chen, Yang Mi and Lynn Xiong, All’s Well, End’s Well (2012) follows four men on a mission to help out four other women who truly need a man’s touch in their life. When a female divorcee realized that she just couldn’t handle certain tasks, she decided to create a website that would put single men with spare time in connection with women who were seeking assistance. At the end of the job, if the woman was satisfied with the help the man provided, they would hug him and be on their separate ways. The website wasn’t founded for dating purposes but, as a consequence of meeting other people, it may lead to new relationships or, at the very least, a “journey of self-discovery.”
The first story revolves around a failed singer, Carl (Donnie Yen), and washed up pop idol, Chelsia (Sandra Ng). Carl pretends to be her man for a night when he realizes that she also doesn’t have anywhere to sleep that night. The two begin to bond over their love of music.
The second story is about a foreman, Ken (Louis Koo) who decides to model for a , Julie (Kelly Chen)looking to shoot masculine art. She begins to flirt with him to get better pictures but he believes something is actually sparking between the two. Julie begins to reevaluate her white collar status and interest in her blue collar model.
The third story follows a romance novelist, Hugo (Chapman To), who decides to help a young blind woman, Charmine (Lynn Xiong), find her first love by playing the role of the handsome lover boy, which may be a tad deceptive.
The final story is about a man named Richard (Raymond Wong), who is a successful lawyer but a terrible father and decides that he will help a young heiress, Cecilia (Yang Mi), find a suitable husband so that she can claim her inheritance. This gives Richard the opportunity to learn about what it takes to be a good father while Cecilia gets to experience having a father again.
All’s Well, End’s Well is essentially the Chinese version of New Year’s Eve except, instead of being focused on the holiday, the people in this film are focused on trying to become better people or helping others become a better individuals, like a father trying to prove his worth to his daughter by filling in for a girl who doesn’t have a father. They conclude the film by wishing everyone a happy Chinese New Year and all the best to those born in the year of the dragon, which is the only New 
Year’s similarity. Lastly, while I may not know many Chinese actors, it is pretty easy to tell that this is an ensemble romantic comedy aimed at those with mushy hearts (much like the American New Year’s Eve film).
The reason I decided to watch this film is because I love Donnie Yen and wanted to see him in a film where there was no martial arts. He plays a wannabe lead singer who’s very ambitious and looks like he’s still living in the 80s. He has this hideous mop of hair on his head, fakes playing the guitar and dances around without a care in the world, it’s hilarious. Though, while his comedic relief (intentional or not) is enjoyable, it doesn’t make up for the fact that the movie just isn’t that good.
I can’t say I’d watch this movie again but it did have a few other amusing moments and, at times, even had a little bit of charm. One item I found to be kind of stupid, but chuckle-worthy no less, was the signal that people from the site would do to identify their partner. The person would have to hump the air and rotate their arms and then their partner would do it back, resulting in an awkward exchange for bystanders. While dumb, only Asians could get away with making me laugh at that no matter how ridiculous it looks. Finally, there is one song that these two women sing about candy on a stick and biting and swallowing it. I don’t know if the writers realized how strong the sexual innuendos were but either way, it’s hilarious to a slightly immature western male.
I think in order to appreciate the heavy romantic elements of the film you have to be from mainland China because love always seems to be the theme people flock to. Hell, when I went to a bar in Beijing everybody that was participating in Karaoke was singing love songs. If, like me, you’re not from mainland China, this movie can get a bit too extreme with its romantic corniness, especially when it comes to the final musical number before the magical happy ending that comes out of left field and says to hell with the plot.
Having no idea what I was really getting into and not knowing that this film was the latest installment in a series of All’s Well, End’s Well films, I can say that I was surprised by what I saw. Running 20 minutes longer than it should, this film most likely won’t appeal to audiences outside of the mainland. So if you’re Chinese, into slapstick rom-coms and aren’t picky about plots, then All’s Well, End’s Well (2012) is right up your alley, but if you aren’t Chinese or set higher standards for your films, then don’t waste your money on this one.
Rating: Takes every Chinese Rom-Com stereotype and poorly mashes them all together (4/10)
All’s Well, End’s Well (2012) will be released in limited theaters by China Lion starting today, January 27th.
Recent Comments