Maybe Don’t?
Kiwi Chow (!) follows up ‘Beyond the Dream’ with a facile rom-com that’s neither terribly romantic nor comedic.
Say I Do to Me
Director: Kiwi Chow • Writers: Kiwi Chow, Frankie Chung, Isis Tso
Starring: Sabrina Ng, Chan Kin-long, Candy Lo, Jacky Tong, Mixson Wong, Isabel Chan, Gregory Wong, J Lou, Michelle Lo
Hong Kong • 1hr 55mins
Opens Hong Kong January 26 • IIA
Grade: C
I don’t know about anyone else but I never expected to see another Kiwi Chow Kwun-wai film on Hong Kong screens in this lifetime or the next – not after the brouhaha over his doc, Revolution of Our Times and its sneak screening at Cannes a few years back, which in turn came after he contributed to the “inflammatory”, award-winning Ten Years. Maybe it’s a matter of bureaucratic optics. Perhaps it’s a case of hiding in plain sight. Whatever the deal, Chow has been given the opportunity to follow up his 2019 surprise indie hit Beyond the Dream with a high profile Lunar New Year release no less. He’s doing it with the Chapman To Man-chat-produced Say I Do to Me | 1人婚禮, a similarly high concept rom-com with plenty on its mind. So it’s disappointing that Chow and co-writers Frankie Chung Wang-kit and Isis Tso Yin-sin bungle the execution of this rom-com by making it somehow free of genuine romance and only intermittently funny. Trouble begins with the central character, Ping (Pomato YouTuber Sabrina Ng Ping in her film debut), a vapid, budding influencer who gets in over her head when a gimmick about marrying herself for clicks and likes gets out of hand. Say I Do to Me is ostensibly an examination of how we maintain authenticity in the age of social media and its toxic side effects, but can’t quite get out of its own juvenile way long enough to really make a statement.
Can you tell who directed?
Chow credits the story as inspired by a news item he read in 2013 and the rising trend of self-matrimony – evidently “sologamy” is a thing – which took off in Europe and North America in the 1990s, Taiwan in 2010, and had its first ceremony performed in Hong Kong in 2020. The idea is rooted in a love of and commitment to self, an acceptance of oneself as they are, and a vow to live authentically. So when Ping gets wind of this, she and her wannabe KOL boyfriend Dickson (Hand Rolled Cigarette director Chan Kin-long, going gratingly OTT) hatch a plan to get married online, break up, and then have her go ahead with a sologamy. Jackpot. Their subscriber numbers climb and it’s ka-ching!
Problem is, closeted lesbian florist Yee (Candy Lo Hau-yam) is so moved by Ping’s honesty and strength she comes out and divorces her husband Kenneth (Gregory Wong Chung-yiu, Memories to Choke On, Drinks to Wash Them Down). Elsewhere, Hong Kong’s most eligible bachelor and hotel owner Charles (Mixson Wong Po-cheung) re-brands his business and sponsors Ping’s empowering life choice. God fearing Daniel (Jacky Tong Hoo-lin) may be reconsidering his relationship with God. Needless to say, Ping’s ruse impacts them all in its own way and compels her belated growth.
It’s uncool to pile on a young woman doing her thing, but in the lead, Ng does little more than demonstrate the difference between YouTube star and screen actor. The exaggerated antics that work on an iPhone aren’t as charming on the big screen, and she can’t yet bridge that gap with emotional nuance. But beyond Ng’s underwhelming, digitally inflected performance, Say I Do to Me’s other themes and its jokes are only half-baked (Daniel’s God cracks get tired, fast) despite the film’s too generous run time. The speed with which a group of bitter, entitled boys come to Dickson’s defence when he’s dumped by a woman exerting agency is ripe for the squeezing, but is mostly played for middling comedy, while Ping’s fragile relationship with her young mother, Stephanie (Isabel Chan Yat-ning, Missbehavior) is just confusing. They call each other “sister”, she’s been married six times and the film makes clear it’s Stephanie’s fault Ping is a needy mess. The sub-plot clangs with the rest of the film and clashes with the empowerment messaging. By the time I Do dives headlong into its farcical, cake smashing sologamy event Chow’s ideas have become so diffuse they may as well not exist. Maybe we should just be happy he’s here to screw up at all. — DEK