Needing You (2000)

Sammi Cheng plays Kinki, a gangly shambles of an office assistant boasting man troubles and occasional compulsive actions. Kinki works in a gossipy office headed up by divorcee Andy (Andy Lau); a boss none too impressed with her to begin but who finds her quite endearing a month down the track.

As their affection for each other grows, plenty happens. Andy helps Kinki get assertive against her freewheeling boyfriend (Gabriel Harrison). Soon, Andy's ex-wife (Fiona Leung) gets on the comeback trail and fobs off Kinki on a dream date. Meanwhile back at work a crises erupts when Andy's colleagues Martin and Ronald (Lam Suet and Hui Shiu-hung) accuse him of selling proprietary technology to a mainland pirate manufacturer. And finally, to complicate the dramas a little more with a running Hong Kong caricature, Kinki's moneygrubbing family are constantly on her case to get married. They need extra cash for their monthly mortgage repayments - the richer the suitor, the better.

A fluffy little affair, Needing You offers viewers a comfortable spot of viewing with an A-list cast acting out a lightweight script. Founding itself on a relationship drama and a sub-theme of standing up for yourself in a bad relationship - here affecting both lead characters - the film clicks as a reasonably well-executed crowd-pleaser. Indeed, the first half-hour heads little further than casual setup material for the rest of the film. The two leads are put through the paces of compulsive behaviour, office humiliations, dining on "Wild Life Combo" at one of Shenzhen's notorious restaurants and moments of straight-up fantasy. The script carries the humour efficiently. Added in are pop culture references - particularly a lengthy Moment of Romance-influenced sequence injected straight into a climax. It's much the type of filler used in a popular Wong Jing-style parody exercise, and here enjoyed by the home audience. And it's also one reason Needing You becomes a more Hong Kong audience-specific creation than other recent Johnnie To offerings which offer stronger cross-border accessibility. On the upside for folks outside Hong Kong, overseas viewers probably won't notice the poor location continuity throughout the film.

The cast members tend to overplay their roles in the comic tradition but still remain quite subtle at times. Sammi Cheng carries her role with likeable enthusiasm; her standout moment being alongside Gabriel Harrison. Andy Lau is similarly appealing. Raymond Wong is enjoyable in a small role as hard-to-crack mainland factory owner Mr Ko, while Lam Suet makes for a sly piece of work, even when delivering his set phrases in English. Kinki's family are a fun bunch that acts as a unit, of whom I can only identify Kinki's cheery younger sister as Spacked Out actress Vanessa Chu.

Needing You's hand-painted billboard on the President Theatre.

The Needing You non-painted billboard at the Empire Theatre - the first such signage in the new frame.

The painted billboard up at the Dynasty Theatre.

Credits:

Directed by Johnnie To and Wai Ka-fai
Script by Wai Ka-fai and Yau Nai-hoi
Starring Sammi Cheng, Andy Lau, Hui Shiu-hung, Fiona Leung, Raymond Wong, Gabriel Harrison, Lam Suet and Vanessa Chu