Love Off the Cuff

Description

Pang Ho-cheung’s finale to his Love trilogy depicts Jimmy and Cherie at a pivotal stage in their relationship—where living together, rather than cementing their connection, instead brings personal idiosyncrasies to the fore. After their stint in Beijing (depicted in Love in the Buff, HKC 2012), they’ve returned to a cramped Hong Kong apartment where Cherie obsesses about her age while Jimmy spends too much money on random junk. Both of them are assiduously avoiding discussion about marriage and children. When Cherie’s crass father shows up and then a sexually forthright childhood friend of Jimmy’s comes to stay, the couple’s rift grows wider, and a break-up seems imminent. As with the two prior entries in the series, the film is full of double entendre chuckles, but there’s also a mature sensibility here about how relationships can fray. In the central roles, Miriam Yeung and Shawn Yue continue to display their irresistible chemistry and are supported by a stream of amusing and noteworthy cameos. With musical sequences, a ribald Greek chorus of Cherie’s beauty-industry chums, and an opening fantasy sequence involving a monster named Gat Gat Gong, director Pang mixes genres and styles to extremely entertaining ends.

Film Details