Oh it is a view on relationships and growing up, with its lowest times in the eyes of Sammi Cheng's Carrie shown early. Walking in on her ultra-horny boyfriend (and judge) Raymond (Lau Ching-Wan) getting it on with another woman, she does not flee immediately but sits down to eat noodles as she knows his time limit when it comes to sex. In the end, it's all about claiming her bed and dragging it down the streets of Hong Kong, searching for the right man. In a bit of an episodic structure in the way it focuses on half of the leading cast in turns almost, we come to understand that the English title is very symbolic for the flick, which is something to connect to. Chan Hing-Kar's script also echoes a similar plot from Sunshine Cops where you had media-bred cops, a fantasy for the recipients of media coverage but that fantasy of course is human. Humans also get impotent. Paul (Louis Koo) is one such.

It's here you should criticize Patrick Leung and Chan Hing-Kar because they deal with Paul Ko's impotence in a flashback that is actually a Matrix-parody and while it's true to how Hong Kong cinema thinks (or rather commercial Hong Kong cinema), you can't argue that it's right according to reality and that it's right to hinge drama on the often parodied Bullet Time-scene from said Hollywood flick. Yet this at times fantasy oriented farce is light and harmless enough for us to accept the fact that felt emotions are consciously so far removed from the film that it's ok to use whatever tools and mood you like. Cue Jim Chim as the wacky penis doctor who goes inside Paul Ko's pants and finds a little chicken. Hey ho.

So on we roll through Paul's tribulations as he tries insect therapy with added food poisoning at the end, being excluded from actually working as a cop but ultimately engaging in a fairly sweet puppy love romance with tabloid journalist Carrie. Enter the paparazzi theme and morals that come with it as she engages in a relationship with someone she was supposed to exploit (and she has exploited happily before) but true love you can't turn away from. True love also equals sex so there the record comes to a screeching halt and how long can Carrie accept love without some looovvveeee? It's fluffy, it's bubbly, it's soon Lau Ching Wan and Charlene Choi as Tabby, at center stage. As Raymond displays an skewed jealousy towards Carrie, he encounters essentially Tabby the kid that will make his flirtatious self take a vacation. And preferably forever maybe, however hard it is to admit that he is attracted to this lively, little personality. Free-spirited and very well connected with what desires are all about, Choi diverts us nicely from a potentially annoying character as there are enough subtleties there, within the commercial exercise that this is, to make us a little impressed.

Really the whole main cast does likeable antics, as desired by directors Patrick Leung and Chan Hing-Kar. And true to the surreal and fantasy-like stance to their drama, the whole quick, wacky solution that's supposed to be a character-drama and dilemma is dealt with in light ways and we're weak for it. It's easy to dislike Good Times, Bed Times but much preferable to fall for it as it represents an effort in an output that for once accomplishes the bright feelings it sets out to communicate.

Another popular genre in Hong Kong is romantic comedy, which often depend on zany, embarrassing situations, exaggerated characterization and sometimes outright slapstick. They’re also noted for casting some of Hong Kong’s most popular heartthrobs in the leading roles. In that regard, of course, they aren’t much different from American romantic comedies. One film that bears a greater-than-usual similarity to the better breed of Western romantic comedy is the 2003 Good Times, Bed Times (Luen seung lei dik chong), written by Hing-Ka Chan and directed by Chan with Patrick Leung.

Good Times, Bed Times is a wonderfully sweet and appealing romance that depicts the travails of two attractive young couples. The plot involves two guys who each hook up with an insanely hot woman, but for one reason or another can’t consummate the relationship, to everyone’s frustration.

Raymond Chau (Ching Wan Lau), a judge, is a notorious and unabashed womanizer. As the film opens, his pretty girlfriend Carrie Wat (Sammi Cheng) catches Raymond fooling around (Carrie and Raymond’s lover even carry on a conversation while Raymond is in mid-act). She leaves, dragging the mattress to her bed behind her, as she can’t seem to get comfortable on any other model.

Soon afterward, the gossip magazine Carrie writes for assigns her to cover the Hong Kong Police Department’s new image spokesperson, hero cop Paul Ko (Louis Koo). The handsome Inspector Ko proves immediately popular with civilian females, policewomen, and all-girl interview crews. Unfortunately, Carrie’s editor has heard a hot rumor from one of Ko’s ex-girlfriends: The hotshot cop is impotent.

The viewer learns that the rumor is true through a hilarious flashback that parodies both the heroic gunplay of John Woo flicks (lots of slow-mo, acrobatics and feathers floating through the air during the firefight) and the bullet-time CGI of The Matrix. (Remember the scene where Neo gets grazed in the leg by an Agent’s bullet? Well, the AK-47-toting thug hits a little higher, putting a hole in Ko’s trousers that does no damage to the anatomy but inflicts massive psychological harm.) The film milks more cheap laughs through the bizarre treatments (like eating soup made of insects) administered by a quack Ko sees to treat his condition.

When Carrie meets Ko for the interview, it’s love at first sight. And just to stack the deck, Ko reveals that he became a cop to atone for the shame he felt when, as a teenager, he failed to intervene when a creep groped a girl on a city bus. That girl, of course, was Carrie. Due to a misunderstanding involving a tube of insect repellent, Carrie tells her editor that the impotence angle is a no-go, and she and Ko begin dating. By the time Carrie learns the awful truth, she’s too in love to betray Ko’s secret, despite the frustration it causes them both.

Meanwhile, Raymond has some travails of his own. His superior informs him that he’s being considered for a promotion, and advises him not to jeopardize it by continuing his womanizing ways. Of course, immediately thereafter Raymond meets Tabby (the lovely Charlene Choi), a plaintiff in a sexual harassment suit who demonstrates the accused’s transgressions on an inflatable doll.

Tabby is a free-spirited girl in her late teens who takes an immediate liking to Raymond, despite the fact that he’s old enough to be her father. She drags him along to her audition for a TV commercial (where Raymond proves a surprise hit), and hangs out with him the rest of the day. Raymond seems to enjoy Tabby’s company, but is unnerved when she invites herself into his apartment. Although Tabby throws herself at him, Raymond remains chaste through a heroic effort – a gesture Tabby takes as a sign of true love.

In a likely homage to Chungking Express, Tabby rearranges Raymond’s apartment, filling it with cute stuffed animals. Raymond is angered, though, when Tabby tosses out the photos (and left-behind panties) of Raymond’s former girlfriends. In a scene that’s both funny and emotional, Raymond demands that Tabby hand over the keys to his apartment, and a crushed Tabby keeps pulling set after set out of her purse.

Meanwhile, Carrie goes to Japan, where she tries to get the scoop on a pair of adulterous pop stars, played by Tony Leung Ka Fai (Flying Dagger) and Sandra Ng Kwan Yue (All’s Well Ends Well, Young and Dangerous 4). Paul joins her, and their observation of the amorous couple kindles the flame between them. Too bad about that whole impotence thing…

(In a bit of life-imitates-art, costars Sammi Cheng and Louis Koo were rumored to share more than onscreen chemistry.)

Eventually, both Carrie and Raymond are driven to distraction by frustration. There’s a funny scene in which the two meet at a Chinese restaurant that serves turtle shell jelly, supposedly a traditional anti-aphrodisiac. Carrie and Raymond scarf the stuff up in a vain attempt to keep up with the rising passion that has them each in its grip. More laughs ensue when Raymond tries to help Paul by sharing a few T’ai Chi techniques – and weightlifting drills – to develop and stimulate the male anatomy.

As the film jumps back and forth between the two principal couples (with a good chunk devoted to Leung and Ng as well) during its brisk 105 minutes, its pacing feels a bit odd. The storyline tends to linger on one couple almost long enough that you forget the other couple is in the movie. Eventually, though, the storylines wend through the inevitable romantic pitfalls to wind up in a predictable but satisfying happy ending, seemingly inspired at least in part by An Officer and a Gentleman.

Good Times, Bed Times is a thoroughly professional production, characterized by impressive, expert cinematography and deft direction. It also features wonderful performance by the four leads, who create such memorable and appealing characters that the audience cheerfully roots for the happy ending they know is all but inevitable. (Interestingly, although one might expect the cheating boyfriend Raymond to be cast as a lecherous boor, he proves instead a strong and sympathetic male lead. After all, Raymond is celibate by choice.) The film’s characters boast considerable charm and charisma, and let’s face it – the female leads a pair of smokin’ hotties.

A quick note on the sex scenes: Cool your jets. Since this isn’t a Category III film – Hong Kong’s equivalent to a strong R rating – there’s no nudity, just lots of judiciously draped sheets and chaste camera angles, although sexual situations are often implied. Speaking of implied, the scene where Paul Ko’s little problem gets solved – complete with a pretty female cop looking on delightedly – is hilarious, thanks to the clever composition of the shot.