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English poster artwork for the romance drama film Love In The Buff / Cherie And Jimmy春嬌與志明.
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Lingering
Love
by Linh
Love
In The Buff is the sequel to hit romantic comedy Love In A Puff and sees the return of
lovers, cosmetic salesgirl Cherie Yue (Miriam Yeung Chin Wah) and advertising
executive Jimmy Cheung (Shawn Yue), but this time we see them living together
and problems arise as workaholic Jimmy fails to keep his appointments with
Cherie. He misses out on her mother’s birthday dinner and a party with her
friends. When Jimmy is given a lucrative deal to work in Beijing, Cherie
finally decides to leave him and stays over at her mother’s house. On the plane
to Beijing, a sexual harassment prank on flight attendant Shang You-you (Mini
Yang) goes wrong, and Jimmy is called upon by You-you to be her witness in
formal charges. They exchange mobile phone numbers and soon Jimmy and You-you
begin dating.
While Jimmy is in Beijing, Cherie’s boss informs her all
the Sephora cosmetic stores in Hong Kong are closing and they will be
re-locating to Beijing. When she arrives in Beijing, Cherie is heartbroken but
resilient after finding out Jimmy has already found a new love. Soon after, her
friend Brenda (June Lam) arranges blind dates for her. When waiting with Brenda
for her blind date to arrive, Cherie feels desperate to go to the toilet. While
in the cubicle making a call, she accidentally drops her phone and it falls
into the toilet. The toilet door lock becomes jammed and Cherie is stuck inside
the cubicle. Sam (Zheng Xu) hears her cries for help and he releases the lock,
then retrieves her phone from out of the toilet. They soon become friends and
begin dating.
Although Jimmy and Cherie appear to have found the
perfect partners, they could not let go of each other emotionally. They begin
secretly text messaging each other and rendezvous at night for dinners or meet
during the day.
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TOILET
TRICK: Jimmy (Shawn Yue) shows You-you (Mini Yang) his dry-ice
smoke in the toilet trick in the film Love
In The Buff / Cherie And Jimmy春嬌與志明. Image: Media Asia Films,
Dream Movie Australia.
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Love
In The Buff has differences that makes it better than
the first film in developing the story, fleshing out the characters and also
incorporates Cantonese and Mandarin film/music celebrities into the storyline.
Director Pang Ho-Cheung may have transported the characters and the drama from
Hong Kong to China, but the Cantonese humour and irreverence remains in the
characters and the narrative. He places more emphasis on the dialogue to drive
the story in this film more than in Love
In A Puff. The first film took place over seven consecutive days, but Love In The Buff spans many months to
suggest that time may help heal a broken heart as the two lead characters
struggle to forget each other while in new relationships. The music in this
film is more emotive and reflects more on the characters' feelings, and Cherie
even quotes lyrics from one of her favourite Chinese songs “Don’t Ask Me Who I
Am”. The film’s main song “Drenched”, also featured in the film trailer, is
representative of the enduring love between Cherie and Jimmy.
The cast in the sequel is mostly the same as the
original, with some new faces and a few cameos from familiar Chinese
celebrities of the 1980s and 1990s. Miriam Yeung Chin Wah is beautiful and even
more engaging as the purple-tinted haired Cherie in this sequel than in the
first. Shawn Yue is more laid back and gets laid often as the smart but
sensitive Jimmy. Mini Yang is sensual and seductive in her portrayal of You-you
and Zheng Xu is so charismatic as the divorced Sam.
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ROCKY
ROMANCE: Cherie (Miriam Yeung Chin Wah) calls it quits again with
former love Jimmy (Shawn Yue) in the film Love
In The Buff / Cherie And Jimmy春嬌與志明. Image: Media Asia Films,
Dream Movie Australia.
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According to The Hollywood Reporter, Love In The Buff de-throned The
Hunger Games in Hong Kong to be the number one film. This romantic drama
comments on modern day romance with depictions of human communications using
modern technology, such as texting versus talking on the mobile phone. The
discreet nature of texting enables Cherie and Jimmy to meet in secret, or a
video on an iPad enables Jimmy to “show” how much he really loves Cherie when
he cannot find the words to tell her.
Love
In The Buff is a charming and funny romantic drama that
makes you care for the characters and enjoy the ride of love between Cherie and
Jimmy through to the end. If audiences stay for the end credits, they will be
treated to Jimmy’s special surprise for Cherie.
Director:
Pang Ho-Cheung
Writers:
Pang Ho-Cheung (screenplay), Luk Yee-Sum (screenplay), Jody Luk (story)
Cast:
Miriam Yeung Chin Wah, Shawn Yue, Zheng Xu, Mini Yang, Sui-man Chim, June Lam,
Mia Yan, Vincent Kok, Kristal Tin, Jo Kuk, Yat Nin Chan, Xiao Ming Huang, Roy
Szeto, Shawn Yin Yin, Linda Wong, Ekin Cheng
Producers: Pang
Ho-Cheung, Subi Liang, John Chong, Shi Dong Ming, Lorraine Ho, Kenny Chan
Cinematographer:
Jason Kwan
Original
MusicComposer: Alan Ngai Lun Wong, Janet Yung
Film
Editor: Wenders Li
Production: Man
Lim Chung (Production Designer), Ho Lok Lam (Art Director)
Costume
Designer: Phoebe Wong
Languages:
Cantonese, Mandarin with English subtitles
Running
Time: 1 hour and 50 minutes
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