User Reviews

Many if not most of Hong Kong's movies in recent years, esp. those that have been exported, are like Hollywood's: low-brow and silly. While not innocent of such antics, Everyday Is Valentine at least retains some of the innocence of the past.

The story is about a real estate agent who lies incessantly but wildly successfully as well. He then meets the girl of his dreams. It is not a spoiler to say that the rest is history, seeing this is a romantic comedy, after all.

Besides the obligatory low-brow snippets, the movie suffers from a simplicity that is common for HK films, and may be a bit jarring for Westerners and others not familiar with the culture. In certain ways, however, it is for the better. It is interesting, for instance, to note the unrealistic "love" and fighting scenes. Quite unsatisfying for those expecting a little (female) nudity.

There's also passing evidence of prejudices against "dark people" and "little people" and a more consistent inability to reject the universal prejudices for wealth and good looks, despite the ending.

Be that as it may, Everyday Is Valentine proves quite enjoyable, and honest enough.

Not great but not bad.

Leon Lai plays the incessant liar, OK Lai who has 3 good friends, Pure, Freaky and Bully. He lies so much that one day, he is dumped by Mona, but tells his friend that he dumped her.

Cecilia Cheung plays Wonderful, an innocent girl who has never had her period and hence is still a virgin. She has 3 good friends, Ugly, Bitchy and Witch. The day before Ugly's wedding day, Wonderful meets OK at a convenience store. Talk about fate, that is the same day OK is dumped by his girlfriend.

A chance meeting with Wonderful's boss, Young Master (played by Moses Chan in his usual rather expressionless role) leads him to a Tibetan Buddhist monk who can fortell one's future. As fate would have it, he meets Wonderful there again, who wants to find out if she'll ever have her period, and find love. The monk predicts OK would find love, but he cannot lie to her. He also predicts that Wonderful will have her period, and find love.

Unfortunately, Bitchy mistakes OK for the cousin of Wonderful's boss, since they both share the same surname, and OK was not given the chance to clear the misunderstanding. Lies lead to more lies, culminating in Wonderful losing her job as she and Bitchy mistakes her boss's real cousin, David Lai, as a phoney. Wonderful feels betrayed as Selina, Young Master's sister, has had the hots for OK and while he was with Wonderful, he had been sleeping with Selina as well.

Leon Lai plays the role of OK pretty well. Because of his looks, no one would think OK was actually an incessant liar. Cecilia Cheung's portrayal of Wonderful was good too. And the supporting roles of Wonderful's parents, played by Ng Man Tat and Yuen King-Tan adds to the comedy. Phrases like "Big sister" or "Big Auntie" to denote a woman's menstrual cycle adds the comedy, of how people tend to be ashamed to say certain words.

It gets a bit tiresome as the events can be quite clichéd. Boy meets girl, who happens to be the love of his life. But having lied so often, he's not sure if he can tell the truth. Then he cheats on her to ensure he can get a piece of business from a rich woman.

However, for those who love such romantic comedies, see the show to appreciate the comedic talents of Ng Man Tat and Yuen King-Tan (who in some ways really steal the show), as well as Cheung Tat-Ming's portrayal of Pure.

By the way, as always, fate wins out. That's the spoiler!