The plot is fairly inconsequential as Shu Qi's character, a Hong Kong cop, accompanies her gal pal to Malaysia. Shu Qi is there for vacation, her friend for a modeling gig, and the two stay together at a lavish hotel which serves as the setting for the majority of the movie. The painfully cute duo get caught up in a far-fetched scheme involving a shady criminal played by Simon Yam, who is after some kind of missile guidance system, and the government agent dogging him (played by Andy On of "Black Mask 2"). Perhaps the film's greatest flaw is that Shu Qi - despite being the main star - does very little the entire movie besides frolic around in her pajamas and pine for her dream man. Okay, so maybe the whole ‘frolicking in her pajamas' thing isn't so bad (who wears short shorts? Shu Qi wears short shorts!). But those who have her seen her in "So Close" know she is a more than capable action heroine, so it comes as a big disappointment that she doesn't even get to throw a punch the entire movie.

Ringo Lam reserves the action for Andy On, who, after two lackluster performances in "Black Mask 2" and "The White Dragon", finally gets to show what he's capable of. Okay, the guy is still stiff as a board and has absolutely no charisma ? but he does get to take part in several thrilling set pieces here, which are the highlights of "Looking for Mr. Perfect". Ringo Lam could direct action in his sleep he's so good, and here he gives us a high speed chase involving some jet skis and a speed boat, then later a chase between a dirt bike and a van; as well as some well-choreographed (if a little over-the-top) fights between Andy and Simon Yam.

Special mention must be made of Simon Yam, who gives his most flamboyant performance since "Full Contact", as the villainous Mr. Poon. He wears obnoxiously bright pink and purple suits as well as snakeskin boots; and he's prone to breaking out into dance before attacking his victims. Whenever Yam is on screen, the movie just gets better because the man is so entertaining to watch. He is obviously having a fun time hamming it up and his sense of enjoyment is infectious. His career as of late has seemed like an endless series of cameos but here he steals the entire movie.

That said, at 101 minutes this film nearly out-wears the viewer's good will. At least ten minutes could have been edited out for a more taut running time. Specifically, I'm thinking of the aimless scenes in which Shu Qi is romanced by two bumbling suitors (one of which is played by Raymond Wong, in a thankless role). In Hong Kong, "Looking for Mr. Perfect" didn't fare too well due to poor timing, as it was released in the midst of the SARS outbreak. It's a shame; although it isn't worth catching a disease for, it's still entertaining. I'm sure the producers were counting on the bankability of Shu Qi and the appeal of watching beautiful people in beautiful locations. If that's your thing, then be sure to check this out.

Overall, "Looking for Mr. Perfect" is light-weight fluff but the skilled direction of Ringo Lam and the charisma of Simon Yam make it worth watching for HK fans seeking a mild diversion.

I've honestly not seen a more entertaining, light-hearted film come out of Hong Kong since Joe Ma's LOVE UNDERCOVER. Coincidentally, LOVE UNDERCOVER is my absolute favorite HK romantic comedy of all time. LOOKING FOR MISTER PERFECT is not as good as the aformentioned Miriam Yeung film, but it does provide a whole lot to like in its extremely likeable characters, beautiful setting, and surprisingly great action scenes. The storyline (involving a missile controlling system...whatever) is utterly disposable and pretty much plays in the background, but it really doesn't matter as everything that happens onscreen is fun and enjoyable.

Ringo Lam, whose hard-hitting FULL CONTACT I recently reviewed, last directed the Jean-Claude Van Damme movie REPLICANT. People either liked it or didn't, but there's no denying Lam's dark and gritty style. Surprisingly, for his next movie, Ringo Lam decided to come back to his roots to direct a.....romantic action comedy? That's right, for his LOOKING FOR MISTER PERFECT, Lam injects his flair for action sequences with the romance and comedy present in most Miriam Yeung and Cecilia Cheung films, and it really works wonders here. Not only are all the characters likeable and fun, but it's readily apparent in the actors that they're all having one hell of a time making the film. The dynamics between the various characters works very nicely and makes for a film you'd be hard-pressed not to like.

Shu Qi (you know who she is) is great as the Hong Kong cop looking for her prince charming. Here, she's somewhere between her character in GORGEOUS and her character in SO CLOSE, meaning she's sweet and cute and tough. Her character here, however, plays second to Andy On's (of BLACK MASK 2 fame, though many will forget he was even in that after seeing him here). Andy On takes all his moves from BLACK MASK 2, and none of the stiff acting. He proves that he can handle the leading man role while also handling the intricate fight choreography.

As the bad guy, Simon Yam seems to be playing a slightly toned-down version of his FULL CONTACT villain. This is definitely a good thing because, let's face it, the gay killer in FULL CONTACT was fantastically cool. I'd almost say that Simon's cooler here because the fight scenes, which team Simon and Ruby Wong against Andy On, are incredibly energetic and fun. I also applaud whoever chose the costumes for Simon's character. I've never considered pink to be a cool color, but Simon makes it almost badass to wear a pink suit. ;)

There's also a great supporting cast. The ever-present Lam Suet shows up and pulls off the sleazy role he seems to be doing a lot of lately. He's great. Shiu Hung Hui plays Andy On's partner, and he brings his usual enjoyable repertoire of slapstick-style comedy to the proceedings. Chapman To plays a small-time thief, but as usual, he provides a lot of the comedy aspects of the film. Isabel Chan plays Shu Qi's model friend, and their pairing is definitely a good one (i.e. she's easy on the eyes as well, in a cute way). Raymond Wong seemingly plays the same role he did in LOVE UNDERCOVER, the guy with a crush on the lead (Shu Qi).

This leads us to the action scenes...being a romantic comedy (with some action thrown in), you wouldn't think that the action sequences in LOOKING FOR MISTER PERFECT would be so good, but this is Ringo Lam we're talking about and the action scenes are pretty amazing. Few, but amazing nonetheless. There's a jet ski chase between Shu Qi and Shiu Hung Hui (with Andy On following via speedboat) set to the tune, LA BAMBA, that proved exciting and hilarious at the same time. Towards the end of the film, there's a really well-done car chase (Simon Yam and Ruby Wong in the van, Andy On riding a dirtbike), complete with big jumps, gunfire, and rocket launchers.

The real highlight of the film though is without a doubt the fight scenes. There are only two of them, but they're excellent. Both fights involve the tag-team duo of Simon Yam and Ruby Wong against Andy On. What makes these fights so fresh is that the villains treat them as dances. Simon tap dances, the two tango, none of it incredibly realistic, but all of it looks fantastic. The final fight featuring the three is done in the Jackie Chan style, and involves Andy On employing whatever's around him (towels, fruit, umbrellas) to give us the most enjoyable sequence in the film.

Overall:
A surprisingly enjoyable, fast-paced film with an equally great cast and a nice collection of action scenes. If you're a big fan of fight scenes, you may be disappointed here due to there only being two, but what is there is pretty stunning and amazingly fun. A great film to watch with the family or a loved one. That's the crazybee seal of approval. :)

The plot has Hsu Chi as a cop who is unlucky in love (in a nod to how much her career has changed from her softcore porn days, her virginity is mentioned several times) who travels to Malaysia with her friend (Isabel Chan). The hotel they're staying at is home to a group of strange characters. One of them (Andy On) catches Hsu's eye, but things turn sour when she finds out that he's actually some sort of agent trying to get a valuable computer system from a goofy gangster played by Simon Yam. Eventually, they patch things up enough to team up to get the system and begin a romance.

Normally, this wouldn't really be my type of movie -- romantic comedies make me retch -- but Looking for Mister Perfect never takes itself seriously. There's none of the pretense or the self-importance that usually plague the genre. For instance, there's never a big scene where Andy and Hsu run toward each other on the beach in slow-motion while some crappy ballad plays or some such nonsense. I will grant that there were times when the movie does get a bit cute for its' own good (most notably a gag towards the end that uses talking flowers), but for the most part, the characters are personable and the jokes are amusing, which is all you really want in a movie like this. Well, okay, there was no gratuitous nudity, but Looking for Mister Perfect is a good enough film that it doesn't need to pump up its' "production value" using gimmicks like that.

It doesn't hurt that there's heaping doses of action in here as well. It reminded me a lot of Jackie Chan's work from the early to mid-1980's, right down to the sound effects. Again, the antics go a bit overboard in spots, but for the most part, it's good stuff, and pretty unique in this day and age of "computer-fu". I especially enjoyed Simon Yam's fight scenes, which combined dancing and fighting into some of the best action you're likely to see this year.

Like the classic films from Hong Kong's "golden age", Looking for Mister Perfect mashes together a whole bunch of genres and manges to create a coherent and entertaining movie. It's certainly not the best film I've ever seen, but if you're looking for some good mindless fun, you could do much worse. At the least, it has a fast and breezy attitude that helps make this a romantic comedy even the most macho guys will enjoy.

Note: the movie was actually filmed in 2001, but was shelved because executives thought that Black Mask 2: City of Masks would be a better introduction to HK audiences for Andy On. Of course, that movie bombed and this one didn't fare much better since it came out during the SARS crisis, when movie attendance dropped off dramatically.

Screen empress Shu Qi has made more movies in the last three years than CW readers have had bowls of rice, but sadly many of these were so inane they failed to capitalize on her obvious charm and ability. Mister Perfect belongs to this unfortunate category, casting the lady as a mentally exhausted HK cop called Xiao Lin on vacation in Malaysia with her best friend.

At the resort, anything but relaxation awaits, with international criminals plotting to get their hands on classified technology.

Two investigators also set up base inside the fancy hotel, one of them handsome and dashing (Andy On from Black Mask II), the other bumbling and unlucky (Hui Xiaohong).

As Xiao Lin fantasizes about meeting her knight in white shining designer suit, fate brings her together with On's manly character, although not exactly as planned in those illicit romantic dreams.

Except for excellent picture quality and nice backdrops, there's hardly anything to recommend Mister Perfect, nor distinguish it from the hordes of similar releases. On's performance led us to think he may indeed be a good actor (following the Black Mask II debacle this was a relief), plus Simon Yam's rendition of the comical villain a la The Joker was damn superb. Also, both male leads did most of their own martial arts and stunts, which weren't half-bad. Rumors have it Yam's recent work landed him a much vaunted role in upcoming Tomb Raider II.

Otherwise, with jokes largely of the dumb slapstick genre and plot devising liable to make a three-year-old frown with embarrassment, Mister Perfect's simply not the kind of flick anyone would want to waste time with. If in the market for comedy, patience may pay off with several hot releases coming soon such as Love Undercover II and others by default superior to this overdue and undercooked product.