Ann Hui’s Love After Love

The CCP refuses to admit Hong Kong was once a colony, because that would entitle it to special consideration under the rules of the United Nations. Of course, the UN is compliant, asking “how high” when the CCP says “jump.” Yet, the era recreated in Ann Hui’s latest film is as decadent and colonial as the bad behavior of British settlers dramatized in White Mischief. The main characters are not even British, but the scandalous Hongkongers definitely believe in doing things “the British way” in Hui’s Love After Love, which premieres Friday on MUBi.

Ge Weilong is bright, pretty, but not the least bit worldly. Nevertheless, the Shanghai native will approach her disgraced and disgraceful Aunt Liang, requesting shelter in her stately home, so she can finish her studies in Hong Kong. Essentially, Liang is a self-styled courtesan, who inherited the wealth of her late lover. She is still a player in colonial society, mostly for her own amusement (the carnal kind, first and foremost).

Recognizing Ge could be useful, Liang takes her in and slowly starts grooming her in the indulgent customs of colonial society. Ge is a better translator than her, but she is slow to pick up on all the gameplaying around her. In fact, she even falls in love with George Chiao, a playboy, who stands to inherit little from his wealthy father, due to the many other heirs in-line ahead of him, both legitimate and illegitimate.

The film looks lovely and the cast is all very pretty, including Eddie Peng as the caddish Chiao, but it is mostly surface beauty. Although adapted from an Eileen Chang novella, Love After Love was probably envisioned as a film in the tradition of Dangerous Liaisons, but as a Chinese-approved production, it is never able to generate sufficient sexual heat. It is also problematically low on the scheming and manipulation. If you want to see a Republican Era take on Valmont and company, check out Hur Jin-ho’s Dangerous Liaisons instead.

NYAFF ’18: Unbeatable

What film do you immediately associate with the song “The Sound of Silence?” It probably used to be The Graduate, but henceforth it shall always be Dante Lam’s Rocky-style Mixed Martial Arts underdog movie. Why use the moody folker as a motif for training montages? You might as well ask why climb Mt. Fuji or why hike the Camino de Santiago? Dante Lam has done it and he did it with Nick Cheung and Eddie Peng in Unbeatable (trailer here), which screens during the 2018 New York Asian Film Festival.

As we learn from the tightly cut prologue, former boxer “Scumbag” Fai, grieving mother Gwen Wong, and Lin Si-qi, the brooding son of a disgraced real estate tycoon, all need redemption. Fai has come to Macao to avoid his loan shark’s knee-cappers. His buddy arranged a gig coaching and spotting at an MMA gym as well as a room in the flat occupied by Wong and her assertive ten-year-old girl Dani. There used to be a little brother too, whose death Wong has yet to recover from. She is an emotional basket case, but Fai will slowly help Dani bring her out of her shell.

Fai also reluctantly agrees to train Lin for the big no-fighters-turned-away MMA tournament, with the $270 million purse. Frankly, the former rich kid was never really into money, but he hopes he can revive his father’s broken spirit by winning it all.

So, Unbeatable sort of starts out like Creed and then reverts back to Rocky IV. Either way, it is definitely adhering to a tried a true formula, but there is good reason why the formula was codified in the first place. Regardless, as long as we get to see the chiseled Cheung throw some arm bars, we’re okay with however we get there.

Lam is the recipient of the Excellence in Action Cinema Award at this year’s NYAFF, so you know he will do the MMA scenes justice. Indeed, he makes all the holds and grappling clear and easy to follow, while capturing the sport’s brute force. As a sizable bonus, Sai’s scenes with the Wongs are really quite endearing and downright poignant. Mei Ting never waters down Gwen Wong’s profound emotional issues and Crystal Lee shows loads of charisma and future potential as the protective Dani. Unfortunately, Lin’s subplots are not as sharply written, but you can’t blame Peng, because he brings plenty of intensity and a super-cut physique.

Unbeatable pairs up nicely with Lam’s cycling film, To the Fore, also starring Peng. In both films, he shows a knack for clearly delineating each race or match. However, action fans will most likely prefer Unbeatable, because it features Cheung beating the snot out of people. Plus, cinematographer Kenny Tse and the picturesque Macao locales deserve credit for making those montages pretty dashed cool. Recommended as meat and potatoes for fans of MMA, Cheung, and Peng, Unbeatable screens Sunday (7/1) at the Walter Reade, as part of this year’s NYAFF.

NYAFF ’17: Duckweed

Suppose Marty McFly’s dad George was actually pretty cool and totally cut. He just made a few bad investment decisions, like stock-piling beeper numbers and getting sent to prison a few days before his pregnant wife delivered. That is sort of what jerky grand prix racer Xu Tailang discovers when he is suddenly sent back in time, from the year 2022 to just prior to his birth. He might just work out all his issues with his small-town gang-leader father, if they aren’t killed by a rival gang first in Han Han’s smash hit Duckweed (trailer here), which screens during the 2017 New York Asian Film Festival.

Xu Tailang always resented his father Xu Zhengtai—a fact he makes abundantly clear after winning a big race. Unfortunately, Xu takes an ill-advised victory lap that proves he is not faster than a speeding locomotive. First his life flashes before his eyes, or at least the highlights, so we can understand his fraught father-son relationship. Then he wakes up in his father’s hometown, twenty-four years earlier.

Despite his weirdness, Xu Zhengtai quickly welcomes Tailang into the gang. It is a small, but selective bunch, limited to his father, future real life Chinese internet tycoon, Ma Huateng, and the loyal, but dumber than a bag full of hammers Luo Yi (played by Han Han’s racing partner, Zack Guo). In a pressing matter of concern for Tailang, his father seems utterly devoted to his childhood sweetheart, but she does not have the right name to be the mother he never had a chance to know. Meanwhile, a Hong Kong-backed syndicate is encroaching on Zhengtai’s action.

Han Han unleashes plenty of manipulative techniques, but the affable cast maintains viewer good will all the way through. Eddie Peng doubles down on roguish charm as the young Zhengtai and manages to be rather poignant as the graying, remorseful father Zhengtai. TV mega-star Zhao Liying proves she also has plenty of big-screen screen-presence as Zhengtai’s endearing fiancée. Deng Chao is game as the straight man son, yet it is Guo who steals scene after scene as the dim-witted but painfully earnest Luo.

Viewers can easily see why Duckweed has been such a popular box office draw in multiple territories. It is nostalgic and sentimental, in the right ways. Despite it shout-outs to “Pony Ma,” there is a wistful affection for a time when social media was not incessantly clamoring at us. In a line rich with resonance, a flustered Xu Tailang says sotto voce: “I love the 90s. When you tell people you need a minute, nobody asks why.” Indeed, appreciating what we lost and what we’ve constantly overlooked is what Duckweed is all about. Recommended for fans of low-tech time travel fantasies, Duckweed screens Saturday (7/15), at the SVA Theatre, as part of this year’s NYAFF.

Ann Hui’s Our Time Will Come

Fong Lan is a schoolteacher and Blackie Lau is an outlaw, but they work well together on missions for the Dongjiang resistance to Imperial Japanese occupation. However, those are only short-term assignments. Over the long-term, Fong will endure the occupation and the stress of her clandestine work thanks to the support of her caustic mother. Ann Hui takes viewers behind enemy lines, but she is even more interested in life on the home front. She is admittedly not one to wave the bloody shirt, which is why some speculate her film was precipitously replaced as the opening night film of this Shanghai International Film Festival. Regardless, Ann’s Our Time Will Come released in Chinese-language markets just in time for the official Handover anniversary celebrations and opens this Friday in New York, soon after our own Independence Day (trailer here).

Poet and future PRC Minister of Culture is renting a room from Fong’s mother (she will be called Mrs. Fong, period), but they can sense he is primed to bolt. Fong herself will help facilitate his flight as part of an underground Varian Fry-like operation to smuggle intellectuals out of occupied Hong Kong. Her grace under pressure is definitely noticed by Lau. He is still relatively new to the resistance, but not to living a shadowy underground existence. Soon, Lau returns to recruit her to lead their urban division. There will definitely be sparks passing between them, but they will not have time for that until after victory.

Both Fong and Lau will become very, very good at what they do. Mrs. Fong is troubled by the risks her daughter takes, but she starts to worm her way into low level resistance activities, to maintain a connection with her. Meanwhile, Fong’s ex, Gam-wing accepts a white-collar office position with the Imperial government. However, he is not a collaborator. Instead, he is an independent mole, looking for an opportunity to do some serious damage on his own initiative.

Frankly, the time has come for an Ann Hui career retrospective, considering how consistent and prolific her work has been, especially as she approaches 70. Arguably, the long, almost self-contained Mao Dun sub-plot gives the film a somewhat episodic feel, but it is still a rich cinematic feast. Zhou Xun and Eddie Peng have terrific chemistry together as colleagues-not-lovers, Fong and Lau. Zhou is still one of the most expressive actresses on the planet, while Peng has developed some tremendous action chops that Hui periodically allows him to show-off. Honestly, Peng has become the movie-star Tom Cruise mistakenly thinks he still is.

Wallace Huo (who has back-to-back New York releases, following Reset) is also terrifically suave and intriguing as Gam-wing—a heroically roguish performance in the tradition of George Sanders in B-movies like Appointment in Berlin. However, Deannie Ip truly takes command of the film in the third act as the unlikely and tragically valiant Mrs. Fong.

As cool as it is to see “Big” Tony Leung Kar-fai playing an elderly Dongjiang veteran chronicling the exploits of Fong and Lau to an interviewer (played by Hui), those modern-day segments mostly take us out of the film rather than pulling us in. This film brings out the armchair editor in us, making us want to tighten it up and tweak the structure precisely because the superstar cast is so fantastic in it. The period production details are also spot-on and the action sequences are brief, but muscular and adrenaline-charged. Ultimately, it is a touching film about family and sacrifice. In other words, it is an Ann Hui film. Quite highly recommended overall, Our Time Will Come opens this Friday (7/7) in New York, at the AMC Empire.

The Great Wall: A Monster Co-Production

They first crawled out of the earth centuries ago, yet somehow the swarms of Taotie lizard-beasts represent modern commercial values sweeping across China. Only collective action can stand against them—and perhaps a hotdogging Western adventurer. Or maybe they are just monsters who need killing. If you can work with it on that level, Zhang Yimou’s mega-budget co-production The Great Wall (trailer here) is rather enjoyable viewing when it opens today nationwide.

Evidently, the Taotie first spewed forth as punishment for a venal emperor’s greed. Every sixty years they return, strewing havoc in their wake. That is why subsequent emperors built that large wall thingy and it is probably why they also invented gunpowder before the West. They were highly motivated. A group of blundering Western mercenaries came to China hoping to acquire game-changing quantities of the “black powder,” but they have been much abused by the indigenous Khitan of the north. Yet, somehow the two survivors, Irishman William Garin and Spaniard Pero Tovar, manage to dispatch a Taotie scout.

In most respects, the Westerners’ timing is pretty terrible. They are about to be capture by the Nameless Order, the elite corps that stands guard on the Great Wall, just as the Taotie attack—six weeks early. Both will distinguish themselves during the initial battle, but Tovar is biding his time, hoping to score some black powder and make a break for it, whereas Garin’s long dormant idealism starts to stir, like a Medieval Rick Blaine.

There is no getting around the film’s greatest weakness. That is obviously Matt O’Damon flailing around as Garin. The bad news is his Irish accent is what you might call mushy (seriously, isn’t he from Boston?). The good news is he only uses it about half the time. In contrast, Jing Tian once again proves she can be a flat-out fierce action star, despite her supermodel looks (for further proof checkout how she redeems the conspicuously flawed Special I.D. with her barn-burner fight scene facing off against Andy On). As Commander Lin Mae, she throws down with authority and generally anchors the film with her no-nonsense intensity.

Although movie stars do not get any bigger than Andy Lau, he takes a supporting role in Zhang’s 3D spectacle, but he rather seems to be enjoying the erudite sagaciousness of Strategist Wang, which rubs off on viewers. When the kaiju hordes (or whatever) rampage, you would definitely want his wise counsel. Teen heartthrob Lu Han also helps humanize the rumble as Peng Yong, the sensitive soldier. However, it is always rather confusing whenever Eddie Peng’s Commander Wu pops up. His role is not exactly clear, but he seems to be the Song Dynasty equivalent of a Communist political officer, given his arrogance and authority to insist on unsound military tactics.

Zhang brings quite a bit to the party himself with his visual flash and dazzle. The awesome vistas of the Wall and the teeming throngs of Taotie are perfect for his sensibilities. Plus, Commander Lin’s bungee-jumping shock troops are undeniably cool to behold. That is why the 3D is so frustrating: it definitely makes the film look artificially dark and murky.

So, apparently, the takeaways from Great Wall are walls and gunpowder are both darned useful when you are living in a dangerous world. The notion that Westerners are only out for themselves is not so subtly sewn into its fabric, but at least there is a meeting-of-the-minds between Lin and Garin—chastely so, thanks to Chinese censors. Regardless, it is always fun to watch Zhang, Jing, and Lau do their thing. Recommended for fans of big, noisy special effects movies and fans of the all-star cast, The Great Wall opens today (2/17) in theaters across the City, including the AMC Empire.

Call of Heroes: High Noon in Republican China

This time around, action film specialist Benny Chan wears his Spaghetti Western influences/homages on his sleeve, but Sheriff Yang Kenan is cut from cloth much closer to Gary Cooper in High Noon. Yang is given a grim ultimatum: release the murderous son of ruthless warlord Cao Ying or the town of Pucheng will face the consequences. Slowly his neighbors turn against their sheriff, but at least the high plains drifter will throw-in his lot in with Yang in Chan’s Call of Heroes (trailer here) releases today on DVD and BluRay, from Well Go USA.

Dedicated schoolteacher Bai Ling (that’s her character, not the actress) leads a small group of children to sanctuary after the sadistic and entitled Cao Shaolun attacked their school in an act of terror. Following her to Pucheng, Cao kills Bai and two others before Yang captures him. Of course, he is sentenced to death, because he is guilty as sin, but representatives of the Cao forces still demand his freedom. They promise to leave the town undisturbed if they comply, but Yang knows that is a lie. So does Ma Feng, a wandering warrior who has some complicated history with Cao’s Colonel Zhang Yi. He also had some chemistry with Bai, but he realized it too late.

It might be Republican era China, but the dramatic vocabulary of Call is pure spurs-and-saddles American western. It starts at the top with Sean Lau Ching-wan, who is all about a man having to do what a man has to do. He has grit and gravitas worthy of Cooper or Alan Ladd, but he is no superman. He is flesh-and-blood, maybe even distantly approaching middle age, which makes his character so heroic yet relatable.

Eddie Peng Yu-yen continues to mature into a legit action star, showing plenty of chops, but also mixing in a comparatively light sprinkling of physical humor. In all honesty, the growth he has shown since his early teen rom-coms has been impressive. Wu Jing and Xing Yu add plenty of real deal martial arts authenticity as Zhang Yi and hired muscle Wong Wai-fu, respectively. Returning to the sort of villainous roles that actually suit him so well, Louis Koo hams it upshamelessly and goes way-the-heck-and-gone over-the-top as Cao Shaolun—and it’s a blast to watch. Yuan Quan adds some glamour and shows some decent moves of her own as Yang’s wife Chow So-so. In fact, Master Sammo Hung keeps everyone on their toes as action director, choreographing some spectacularly cinematic yet still bone-crunchingly old school martial arts sequences.

Just about every element in Call is borrowed from another film, but it is all executed at a very high level by a superstar ensemble, seen at the peak of their powers and playing to their strengths. For martial arts connoisseurs, it might not be the greatest film they have ever seen, but it is a guaranteed sure thing. Easily recommended for fans of Lau, Peng, Koo, and Hung, Call of Heroes releases today (12/6) on DVD and BluRay, from Well Go USA.

Operation Mekong: Fighting the Drug War in the Golden Triangle

Perhaps it is the lingering legacy of the Opium Wars, but China is definitely not onboard the drug de-criminalization bandwagon. The Mekong River massacre of Chinese merchant sailors only strengthened their national resolve. The real life murders of Chinese nationals and (more to the point) the subsequent hunt for drug lord Naw Kham inspired Dante Lam’s latest action spectacle Operation Mekong (trailer here), which opens this Friday in New York.

Most of Gao Gang’s elite squad go by their Greek god code-names, but they just call him Captain, because that is what he is. In contrast, Fang Xinwu is a bit of a method actor-wild card. The intelligence officer has a highly placed informant in Naw Kham’s operation, but his troubled history makes him highly unpredictable. He also happens to be a master of disguise—a talent he will put to good use. Despite their personality clashes, they will work together to apprehend the drug trafficker and his top deputies, so they can stand trial in China.

In addition to demolitions and surveillance experts, Gao Gang’s team also includes Bingo, a remarkably well trained German Shepard. She is definitely handy to have around, but don’t think this is a Benji movie, because it isn’t. Anyone on this team could go at any time, but at least Lam, the action master, will send them off with spectacular deaths. Lam also gives his current leading man of choice Eddie Peng a truly memorable entrance, in the Third Man tradition.

As Fang, Peng again proves he has matured into an action star with serious chops. Of course, few can ever hope to match the grizzled hard-nosedness of Zhang Hanyu, who does his thing with the deadpan panache. Lam puts them both through their paces in a number of cinematic yet believably grounded action sequences. Plus, Bingo upstages everyone in her action scenes, just like W.C. Fields warned. However, the villains never inspire much of an audience response, which is a drawback. Pawarith Monkolpisit is far too bland as the drugged out Naw Kham and Vithaya Pansringarm never gets to establish much character as the cartel rep looking to cut ties with their wildly unstable Golden Triangle sub-boss.

Still, Lam unleashes some impressive chaos when Gao Gang’s team finally raids Naw Kham’s hideout. Operation does not have quite the heft and ironic gravitas of Johnnie To’s Drug War, but it definitely gets the job done for action fans. Recommended for those who dig Special Ops movies, Operation Mekong opens this Friday (9/30) in New York, at the AMC Empire.

Rise of the Legend: Wong Fei-hung the Early Years

He was played by Jet Li in the Once Upon a Time franchise and Jackie Chan in the Drunken Master series. Other actors taking on the role of Wong Fei-hung include Andy Lau, Gordon Liu, and David Chiang. If you take on the part, you’d better bring you’re A-game, because there are plenty of predecessors to be compared with, going back to the 1940s. Eddie Peng Yu-yen assumes the mantle in a highly fictionalized account of the martial artist’s early years, nicely exceeding expectations in Roy Chow’s Rise of the Legend (trailer here), which opens this Friday in New York.

Abandoned and ailing on the streets of Guangzhou, Wong is nursed back to health by his soon-to-be adoptive father, Wong Kei-ying, a respected physician and martial artist in his own right, with help from his brother (adoptive and sworn), Huo, a.k.a. Fiery. Soon, they form an inseparable foursome with fellow orphans Chun and Orchid, until the latter girl is ripped away by the city’s criminal element.

That would be the rival Black Tiger and North Sea Gangs. Led by the imposing Lei Gong, the latter outfit is probably the more formidable, so Wong temporarily joins their ranks a dozen or so years later. As a reward for dispatching the head of the North Sea Gang (and bringing said head as proof), Lei anoints Wong as his fourth “godson” (in a very “Godfather” kind of way). However, Wong is secretly coordinating with the righteous new Orphans Gang, led by Huo and Chun, relying on Orchid (now a courtesan) as their go-between.

Rise has a reasonably sweeping narrative, but it all boils down to Wong Fei-hung putting fist to gang-member face. Fortunately, action director Corey Yuen keeps things appealingly gritty and old school. He lets them get it on, which is what we want to see.

Peng also deserves serious props. Some viewers might know him more for his romantic comedies or as the dandyish villain in the Tai Chi Zero/Hero films, but he exhibits hitherto unseen steeliness and legit action cred as the early twenties Wong. He really rises to the occasion.

Of course, Master Sammo Hung makes a larger than life villain as Lei. For extra, added gravitas, “Big” Tony Leung Ka-fai dispense wisdom and flashes some moves as the good doctor, Wong Kei-ying. Wang Luodan shows poise and sensitivity as Chun, but Angelababy’s Orchid gets all the juicy dramatic bits, which she makes the most of. As Fiery, Jing Boran also demonstrates some considerable skills, but he is largely overshadowed by flashier characters (nickname notwithstanding).

Rise definitely has plenty of good stuff for fans of martial arts cinema and costume historicals. It is just tragic enough to stay true to tradition, but not to the extent it becomes maudlin. The fight scenes are crisp and energetic, while the period production values are quite high. It is not the ultimate exemplar of the genre, but it is a thoroughly satisfying addition to the Wong Fei-hung canon. Recommended with enthusiasm, Rise of the Legend opens this Friday (3/11) in New York, at the Village East.

To the Fore: Dante Lam Hits the Track

Probably no sport has had a rougher decade than pro-cycling. With most of its recent champions disgraced by doping scandals, there should at least be opportunities for young emerging cyclists. Unfortunately, three former teammates cannot all be champions. However, the sport itself should definitely benefit from the treatment it gets from Hong Kong action auteur Dante Lam in To the Fore (trailer here), which Magnum Films just released in New York.

Chiu Ming has power. Qiu Tian is a plugger who can climb. Together they are perfectly matched “lead-outs” who should be able to guide the Taiwanese Team Radiant’s star Korean sprinter Ji-won to victory. Unfortunately, just when they start gelling as a team, their sponsor leaves their owner-manager high and dry. Suddenly free agents, they each sign on as sprinters for competing teams. Ji-won is already on the verge of advancing to next professional class, but Qiu is physically unsuited to his new role, while Chiu has trouble controlling his emotions. In between some spectacularly cinematic races, Chiu and Qiu will also compete for the affections of Shiyao, a Mainland indoor track racer recovering from a pulmonary embolism.

If you enjoy cycling, Lam brings the goods with authority. Although there is no fighting per se, his action chops still serve the racing sequences remarkably well. Lam makes it easy to follow the team strategy as it unfolds, while cinematographer Pakie Chan captures the in-race events with remarkable clarity. Lam and co-screenwriter Silver Lam Fung also shrewdly vary the competitions, making their way through the streets of Kaohsiung City, the Italian Alps, a mobbed-up betting track in Busan, and the Tengger Desert. Naturally, each course has its particular challenges.

Somehow, Lam and company manage to steer clear of most of the moldiest sports movies clichés. The interpersonal stuff is still fairly workaday stuff, but Wang Luodan elevates the material as the reserved but engaging Shiyao. Eddie Peng does his cocky Taiwanese Tom Cruise thing as Chiu, but it fits the part. Choi Si-won has the least room to stretch as Ji-won, the Iceman to Peng’s Maverick, but he certainly has the appropriately cool look. However, Shawn Dou manages to scrape out a rather impressive character development arc as Qiu.

Regardless, To the Fore is really all about the cycling. Despite the potential repetitiveness, Lam keeps the energy level cranked up and establishes meaningful stakes for each and every race. It is a great looking film that fully capitalizes on its diverse panoramic locales. Recommended for fans of cycling and sports films in general, To the Fore is now playing in New York at the AMC Empire.

A Wedding Invitation: A Korean and Chinese Rom Com Production Marriage

Love means never having to ask: “where have you been for the last five years?”  When dumping Li Xing, He Qaio Qaio thought they needed time to establish their careers.  If they were still single five years later, they should get married at that point.  However, a lot can happen in five years, including his eleventh hour engagement to the boss’s daughter.  As you might have guessed, He will try to win back her soul mate in Oh Ki-hwan’s A Wedding Invitation (trailer here), which opens this Friday in New York.

Yes, you probably think you have seen this film before, just with a less attractive cast.  He Qaio Qaio does indeed travel to Beijing, ostensibly to celebrate Li Xing’s wedding, but really with the intent to seduce and disrupt.  She even enlists her gay best friend to pretend to be her lover, in hopes of making Li Xing jealous.  Oh, but not so fast.  In its third act, Invitation veers into three hanky territory, doing what commercial South Korean cinema does best.

Frankly, if you want to enjoy the guilty pleasure of a weepy melodrama, you have to look east.  Hollywood does not do Affairs to Remember anymore.  Everything has to be ironic or quirky these days.  A Multinational co-production, Wedding features a Mainland and Taiwanese cast and a largely Korean crew on the other side of the camera. 

It is a division of labor that works relatively well.  As He, the luminous Bai Bai-he is initially exasperating in the Julia Roberts portion of the film and then heartbreaking in the Il Mare-esque conclusion.  Although Eddie Peng is no stranger to the rom-com genre (having been totally overshadowed by Shu Qi in Doze Niu’s Love, for instance), he really comes into his own with his work as Li Xing.  While suitably earnest, there is also an edge to his Top Chef contending leading man turn.  Pace Wu (a.k.a. We Pei Ci) does not get much dramatic heavy lifting, but she is far more charismatic than comparably inconvenient fiancées in rom-coms past.

In the opening screwball section, viewers are likely to wince at the flat-footed He, but down the stretch they are guaranteed to get a little misty-eyed for her.  Sure, that is all very manipulative, but audiences will feel like they have been through a lot with these characters.  Oh, the rom com specialist, deftly manages the frequent flashbacks and keeps the proceedings pleasantly pacey.  Recommended for those not afraid of a little sentiment (or a lot), A Wedding Invitation opens this Friday (5/24) at the AMC Empire in New York and the AMC Metreon in San Francisco.