Kwong lives with his father (Wong), step-mother (Mok) and a younger brother in modern day Hong Kong. Despite being doted on by his father, Kwong refuses to accept his new mother and makes life unbearable for her in every way possible. His selfish behaviour is condemned by his father, but the young brat thinks the world is against him and he runs away from home. While Kwong is away from home he comes into contact with a peculiar chemical that ages everything it comes into contact with. When he accidentally touches it, Kwong finds himself aging overnight and by the morning he has morphed into an adult (Lau). This development means he cannot return home and his parents launch a city-wide search for their son, but Kwong begins to savour the adventure of being so different. His first task is to acquaint himself with the object of his unrequited love, a beautiful young teacher who begins to notice this mature Kwong and appreciate him as an equal. Such moments are fleeting though and the still developing boy begins to pine for the family he so hastily rejected.

It would be easy to dismiss 'Wait 'Til You're Older' as a Hong Kong 'Big'. Both share a basic concept and both utilise leading men who somehow embody their respective film industries, though Teddy Chan's work stands confidently on its own two feet. It may be a musing on the nature of maturity and the need to rediscover some inner-child within us all as was the case in 'Big', but goes down a significantly more philosophical path.

The first half of 'Wait 'Til You're Older' meanders along harmlessly though hardly appears to be the making of a memorable feature. Familiar dynamics are used as Kwong is established as the selfish protagonist and slowly developed in his adult role later on. This proves to be the least involving chapter of an otherwise interesting feature and do little but introduce the character relationships rather than attempt something unexpected. As with 'Big' though, 'Wait 'Til You're Older' hits its stride when its lead character is finally thrown into the adult world and forced to fein maturity to fit in. 'Big' uses this dynamic in a typically humourous way whereas Teddy Chan concentrates on a more dramatic framework, examining the tensions within the family. Kwong is forced to face the problems he has caused and confront his own obvious flaws - all of this makes up the dramatically affecting final third. The masterstroke of this production is to end on an unusual caveat; without giving too much away about the ending, it refuses to take a convenient route to safety and settles on a pensive tone that leaves a lasting resonance.

Despite drawing in viewers due to Andy Lau's name appearing on the poster, acting honours go to Felix Wong and the underrated Karen Mok. Wong rises above his more illustrious co-star with a performance of understated gravitas and manages to make possible cliches seem human. Wong may not enjoy completely convincing chemistry with Karen Mok, but both of them succeed in fleshing out characters who require our sympathy. These superior efforts from Mok and Wong mean that later probings into deeper emotions have real heart at their centre.

'Wait 'Til You're Older' is commercial film-making at its most polished, yet contains a few brave decisions by director Teddy Chan. Such ideas leap beyond the fantastical concept and lift a good film into something slightly more significant. Well acted and imaginatively directed, this is a pleasing change from the expected.

The story concerns a boy named Kwong (played in young form by Sit Lap-Yin and older form by Andy Lau) who lost his mother (Lee Bing-Bing) and does not get along with his stepmother (Karen Mok). He's also picked on by the kids at school for being small, and the teacher he has a crush on (Cherrie Ying) only treats him like a little brother. So when Kwong spots a potion devised by a seemingly crazy old man (Feng Xiaogang) that ages things overnight, he steals and uses it. The potion works -- Kwong becomes an adult, and manages to both help his best friend and impress his teacher with his new-found size. However, the aging process continues on at an acclerated rate, and Kwong soon becomes an old man. After learning the truth about his mother and father's relationship, Kwong tries to patch things up with his family before his time expires.

Wait 'Til You're Older was kind of a mixed bag for me. It does some things, like the special effects and aging makeup on Andy, quite well. The acting is also solid for the most part. I was especially impressed with Sit Lap-Yin; normally, child actors in bigger roles drive me up the wall (i.e., Dakota Fanning in War of the Worlds) but Sit does an excellent job of portraying a child with a soul that's a bit too old for his body. The movie is paced well -- even though really all that goes on here is people talking, there didn't seem to be a lot of "dead" spots.

Unfortunately, Wait 'Til You're Older's climax becomes heavy-handed and melodramatic -- not to mention more than a bit unbelieveable. I will give the film-makers credit for not taking the easy way out with either a sappy Hollywood-style ending or a typical Hong Kong drama ultra-depressing one. The ending itself is actually touching and will probably conjure up some tears from the less jaded of you out there. It's just a shame that Wait 'Til You're Older takes such an awkward path to get there. It almost totally ruins what could have otherwise been one of the more solid Hong Kong movies from 2005.

One of 2005's biggest box-office champions in Hong Kong and being the event of Teddy Chen (Purple Storm, The Accidental Spy, In The Heat Of Summer) making his return to feature film directing (as a lot of his fellow filmmakers did, he contributed a short to the Project 1:99 collection that raised money to battle SARS in 2003). Catching on a wee bit too late on the Hollywood formula of children wishing to be or changing into adults via magic wishing machines and whatnot (yea, I AM talking about Big), it certainly is a fairly intriguing proposition to many years down the line to try on the expected, desired weight that comes with a story like this. Well, in a way it did connect but a large part of audience attending of Wait 'Til You're Older has to do with ageless movie star Andy Lau who proves to be a mainstay in terms of draw once more. The audiences can't be that gullible and therefore depressing though, there surely exists some quality within this production?

Certainly, although it's a little bit shaky. While I don't condemn the past, this Media Asia produced fantasy/drama doesn't promise a lot of weight based on the background of its writers (credits include Bug Me Not! and Tokyo Raiders) and since Wait 'Til You're Older attempts depth, there is a valid reason for concern. Those attentive ones out there should also realize that the title holds the entire meaning of the film but by laying a written foundation that in itself is touching, director Chen manages to contribute fair positives to a film designed for a family- and mainstream audience.

I'm saying that because we get tons of fine, glossy cinematography by Anthony Pun and complexity that equals above average if you're comparing yourself to a Lunar New Year comedy so every arthouse or subtle filmmaking-enthusiast without the ability to switch sensibilities can exit now. Essentially a coming of age tale, albeit a very fast one, Chen takes Cheung Chi Kwong & Susan Chan's written family dynamic to the screen in a clear as day manner. In fact a very dark tale at the beginning stages of the family conflict, Kwong is not a sympathetic kid, something that leads him to assigning easy blame due to his hardships. He's downright mean even and only by growing old can he of course understand where he was wrong in his assessment towards the world and where the adults are coming from.

Preachy and bombastic, Teddy Chen divides his time with felt symbolism and drama while at other times just pouring it on rather thick so that every single member of the audience will know that they got it. Which is all fine but the coat is undeniably so thick that it's a little discerning. Also Kwong's development into a somewhat smart kid in a grown up's shoes seems to contain its share of illogical gaps as we're expected to believe he understands the necessary aspects of everyone and everything quite fast. That happens during certain situations only and at others Chen has switched back to an albeit simple but essential life lesson that is executed well. Considering Chen had some very fine themes and ideas put into the action movie Purple Storm, it's no surprise that he's adept.

With Andy Lau entering the frame, there's no doubt that he's going to command it in a very welcome way. Showing off some fine physical comedy that could fit well at home in a silent movie during his first change into adulthood, Lau performs well balanced as someone whose eyes are opened for the first time now that time is short and someone who is the constant kid down to simple mannerisms. It's a fitting performance for the vehicle and it's impossible to dislike despite any qualms with the direction that trickles onto Lau's performance as well. A more lively make-up job by Mark Garbarino compared to Running On Karma does hide Lau a little bit during the finale but the various stages equals excellent work rarely seen in this area. Felix Wong surprises with a solid turn as the tormented father and showcases admirable depth while Karen Mok gets slightly shifted towards the hysterical acting unfortunately. Cherrie Ying is always welcome due to her beauty but it's a hired performance that doesn't grow very much in her hands and Miss Lee's subplot doesn't feel totally needed in the whole scheme of things.

I'm not at all surprised that Wait 'Til You're Older become such a hit and as a commercial drama vehicle, it hits the notes that makes audiences spread the word and come again, even if it's just for the pleasure of watching the otherwise ageless Andy Lau grow old. The subtle, serious intent concerning the familiar coming of age story with a twist set in stone via the Big influence does get sacrificed more and more as Teddy Chen and company goes for the jugular with their final sentiments and it's a shame because a large percentage of the content holds opportunities for a more complex film waiting to happen. Sad to see courage wasn't allowed to take a leap of freedom into more low-key territory.