Happy Date is one of our seasonal Periodicals, temporarily standing in for Friday Flicks, created because of our love for Asian cinema and the fact that it’s February and March – the months of Valentine’s Day and White Day.
What we’ll do with Happy Date is recommend romantic films to watch for your date. After all, we want to be there for you in times of need when you want to cuddle, hang out, or make out with your loved one and while a great film is playing.
Happy Date will be slightly different from Friday Flicks, in that there will be no serious review. Instead, we will have fun with it and tell you why each film is great to watch for your date, and what you can expect out of making each selection.
So without further adieu, let’s get going! Have a Happy Valentine’s Day and White Day, everyone!
This week’s Happy Date: Love in a Puff
Love in a Puff
Original Title: 志明与春娇
Chi ming yu chun giu
(Jimmy and Cherie)
Country:Hong Kong
Languages:Cantonese
Genres:Romantic Comedy
Year:2010
Director:Pang Ho-Cheung
Main Cast:Shawn Yue
Miriam Yeung
Trivia
- The film was given a Category III rating during its initial Hong Kong theatrical release, similar to an NC-17 rating in the U.S. Because of its rating, its box office performance during its opening weekend was very poor.
- The film received very positive feedback, and in turn thanks to social media, experienced a rebound at the box office after its disappointing opening weekend.
- The film went on to garner more success at various film festivals throughout the world, including 2010 Busan International Film Festival and the 2010 Tokyo International Film Festival.
- There is a sequel entitled Love in the Buff, in which Pang Ho-Cheung returns to the director’s chair and Shawn Yue and Miriam Yeung reprise their starring roles.
The Story
Hong Kong’s 2007 ban of indoor smoking, which prohibits people from smoking even inside offices, bars, and karaoke lounges, is used as a backdrop of this story.
Workers have no choice but to take their smoke breaks outside in designated smoking areas, leading to the creation of small communities and cliques. They gather and chat, gossip, and laugh like old friends sat around a hot pot.
Jimmy (Shawn Yue) is an advertising executive who meets cosmetic salesgirl Cherie (Miriam Yeung) at one of these smoking areas. The two hit things off really well, exchanging each other’s contact information and continuing their flirtations over text messages. They see each other every day, whether it’s a smoke break, a friend’s birthday party, or late night adventure.
Their innocent and fun meet-ups soon catch the eye of Cherie’s lived-in boyfriend when he sees photos of them together uploaded to Facebook. Not escaping his suspicion, the boyfriend soon discovers the stream of text messages after witnessing him giving her a ride home one night. He ultimately breaks up with Cherie, ending their long, but apparently failing relationship.
This turn of events heightens the tension between Jimmy and Cherie and how they view each other. Do they have romantic interest in each other, or are they fine with just being in each other’s company? Will their flirtations and mutual love for cigarettes take a step into the direction of a romantic relationship?
The Date
Life must be tough for a smoker in Hong Kong. However, if it weren’t for the ban on indoor smoking and the creation of communal smoking areas, our two leads Jimmy and Cherie probably would not have ever met.
A down-to-earth romantic story, Love in a Puff features remarkable performances by Shawn Yue and Miriam Yeung, two souls who find each other in the midst of their fellow smoking companions. They find themselves conversing about the strangest things, from UFO sightings to underground narcotics sales. As they spend more time with each other, the more they realize how compatible they each are.
Differing from the typical romantic comedy in that there are no face sucking (aka kissing) scenes, we are treated to instead moments of wonderful conversation – the kind that you and your date may have had at the cafe or at the bar, tossing around jokes and flirtations that make you unable to stop wanting to talking to them.
The film also differs from the typical rom com because of the continuous crude language spoken by the characters. As mentioned in the Trivia up above, the film is Category III. But, as one may notice, there is no nudity, so the extreme rating could not have come from that, nor could it be from the copious amount of smoking. So, it must have been from the sexual innuendo and boob and dick jokes found throughout the film. The crude language is a base for a lot of the comedy, and is indeed very fun to watch.
After all, when you’ve become close to a group of friends, sometimes crude humor can’t help but come out. An honest reflection of contemporary society, it definitely is. On top of that, the film’s humor is told against the backdrop of the beautiful urban jungle of Hong Kong.
Miriam Yeung does well with her performance of Cherie, the older, honest and straightforward girl, contrasting to that of Shawn Yue’s Jimmy, the young, calm and collected, yet indecisive guy. Watching this story of the two is watching a story of the courtship that ideally leads to a relationship – how the two would rendezvous, the messages exchanged when they aren’t together, and the ultimate realization that they do have a mutual romantic tension.
Love in a Puff will find a place in your heart especially if you have ever experienced meeting that one person who, though the meeting was short, have taken an instant liking to. Do you have the best conversations? Does their small text messages make you smile? Do you look forward to your small meet-ups, whether or not it’s at the smoking den? Do you both have tongues that spill profanity?
A light-hearted romantic comedy and explores the ups and downs of a seemingly-fleeting relationship, backed by the warm music soundtrack composed by Wong Ngai Lun and Janet Yung, Love in a Puff will make your date night a well-enjoyed one.
And after you watch this film, you will understand the meaning of the secret code: in 55!w !
Watch this film…
…if you appreciate hilarious, yet oftentimes vulgar dialogue and the flirting that has both of you laughing.