Finding Mr Right
Xue Xiaolu
The story: Jiajia (Tang Wei) arrives in Seattle from Beijing to give birth to her child with a married man because she cannot give birth legally in China. She is loud, spoilt and demanding, and clashes with almost everyone. Only Frank (Wu Xiubo), a driver sent to pick her up from the airport, is patient enough to deal with her. He used to be a doctor back in Beijing but now takes care of his daughter as his wife makes more money. Gradually, Jiajia and Frank come to care for each other.

Hanging over this movie is the shadow of another – the Tom Hanks-Meg Ryan romance Sleepless In Seattle (1993).
It is a film that Jiajia holds dear to her heart and she even takes Frank’s daughter to a screening of it.
The problem is that it feels as though writer- director Xue Xiaolu is using that as a crutch to bolster Finding Mr Right’s own credentials as a romance.
Neither does it help that the ending of this movie is pilfered from Sleepless’ finale atop the Empire State Building.
Sleepless In Seattle paid homage to An Affair To Remember (1957) in the way it used that iconic building as a setting; Finding Mr Right merely rips off Sleepless In Seattle.
It is rather disappointing considering that this is the second feature from writer-director Xue. Her debut film was the well-received tearjerker Ocean Heaven (2010), which starred Jet Li as the father of an autistic son.
The romance is also too long and muted.
Jiajia inadvertently hits upon another reason for the film’s sluggishness when she says to Frank: “You know what your problem is? You’re too nice.”
He is nice to the point of being a doormat, even picking up his ex-wife’s wedding gown for her upcoming nuptials.
The saintly Frank is underplayed by well-known China television and movie actor Wu Xiubo (The Four, 2012) and is just too passive.
In contrast, Jiajia is a brash spoilt brat and Tang Wei, best known for her intense turn in sexy espionage thriller Lust, Caution (2007), has fun with the role.
Predictably, there is a redemption story arc and Jiajia learns to be a better person.
The two actors have a believable low-key chemistry when they are together, though it would be nice to have the heat turned up beyond simmering.
After a slow-moving build-up, Xue inexplicably piles on the schmaltziness for the resolution and it feels out of step with the rest of the movie. Unfortunately, she failed to find the right note for the ending.
(ST)