Dry Wood Fierce Fire (2002)

Director Wilson Yip continues his unpredictable journey through the genres with the wonderfully titled Dry Wood Fierce Fire; a return to straight comedy after excursions with acclaimed dramas, high-budget action and a sci-fi ghost flick. Buoyed by the rising popularity of singer/actress Miriam Yeung after her delightful Love Undercover role the previous month, Dry Wood Fierce Fire turned out a box office winner on its late-April opening week.

Yeung plays journalist and herbalist Alice Tsui -- introduced to audiences as a normal girl, albeit with rare mantis kung-fu skills and an odd need to shout into bottles. When Alice's nearly all-girl publishing house merges with men's mag Gents, she gets a crush on new colleague Ryan Li (Louis Koo). Unfortunately for Alice, Ryan's on the rebound after a breakup and is gunning for attractive author Michelle (Flora Chan). With the man oblivious to her attraction, Alice gives him a hand with wooing Michelle and hangs in for a chance.

Sporting a plot outline not that unlike Derek Chiu's Sealed With A Kiss, only without all the gloom, the patchy storytelling and its skittish loose ends gives the actors plenty of room to move. Less-than-successful comedy is compensated for by a cast of colourful characters, not least the folks assembled at Alice's home in an aging Kowloon City herbalist shop. Scenes appear like outtakes at times, sometimes suggesting a hasty production but also offering a relaxed viewing experience as a whole. Playful touches on the filmmakers' part include extravagant introductions to beautiful people and basing the Michelle character on popular Hong Kong author and publisher Amy Cheung.

Though her Love Undercover performance is a hard act to follow, Yeung carries Yip's much less-polished production with a cheerful rough edge and plenty of enthusiasm. Louis Koo is pleasing as an object of affection despite an increasingly unlikable character. Flora Chan completes the lust triangle with style, giving a another calm performance that makes one wish she could take more time off TV for film work. Rounding out the main players are Lo Meng, Yuen King-dan, Wyman Wong and Cheung Tat-ming, all proving capable of delivering on Dry Wood Fierce Fire's absurd tendencies.

Credits:

Directed by Wilson Yip
Starring Miriam Yeung, Louis Koo, Flora Chan, Tsang Suet-wah, Lo Meng, Yuen King-tan, Wyman Wong, Cheung Tat-ming, Joe Lee, Matt Chow, Chatman To, Nelson Cheung, Wong Yat-fei and Soi Cheang