All's Well, Ends Well 2009
Vincent Kok

For a period in the 1980s and 1990s, all- star Hong Kong comedies were a staple during the Chinese New Year holidays.
The Eighth Happiness (1988) with Chow Yun Fat and Carol Cheng and All’s Well, Ends Well (1992) with Leslie Cheung and Stephen Chow were madcap affairs which proved to be crowd-pleasers.
The 2009 version of All’s Well is the third entry in the franchise and the producers are probably banking on the fact that the familiar title will pull in the crowds. Plot-wise, the three films feature different characters though they share a certain silliness.
Sandra Ng, who has often played ugly, loud and uncouth characters, gets to be the modern career woman this time, but one whose abrasive manner has left her on the shelf.
This is a problem for her younger brother Ronald (Ronald Cheng) because of a family rule that stipulates the eldest child has to get married first. Enter Louis (a charred-looking Louis Koo), a love guru whom Sandra takes a shine to. And Raymond Wong pops up as a detective (Mr Wong) Sandra loves to hate.
The paper-thin plot is really an excuse to string together a series of jokes. There are some funny slapstick moments but the hit-to-miss ratio is not quite high enough while the chemistry-free romance sub-plot between Louis and sweet young thing Man (Miki Shen) is simply grating.
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