Amy Lee, 20, sent us an essay she wrote as a work for college in Minneapolis, USA. We decide to have it on HK Cinemagic, because she made an interesting comparison between American romance comedies and HK comedies. Her study was especially focused on Joe Ma's comedies and his Feel 100% series.

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Imagine yourself sitting at home in front of the television. The movie you’re watching is right at the moment where Julia Roberts is on the balcony and Richard Gere standing in the street proposing to her. Pretty Woman, an American romantic classic, adapts the fairy tale of Cinderella. In this movie, Roberts plays a prostitute who gets hired by Gere to spend a week with him. Gere plays a successful financial executive who is against long-term attachments until he blindly falls in love with Roberts. The implication at the end of the movie is Gears and Roberts both find true love and will live happy ever after.

What is true love? According to The American Heritage Dictionary, it defines true love as "one’s beloved". With this definition, the film industry has created a variety of scenarios to satisfy our hunger of falling in love or finding true love. Like American romantic comedies, Chinese romantic comedies follow the same sort of storyline and fill similar character roles. Throughout time, the romantic comedy genre produced variations of how a boy or a girl falls in love for the same or the opposite sex, untangling the complicated love triangle, or just letting fate unite the couple. Whatever the storyline may be they all share the common bond of ending happily and the way you expect it. Romantic comedies help anyone laugh a little, cry a little, and relate a little. These three components of this genre help win the audiences around the world to view and share the simple pleasure of falling in love.

Falling in love for most young people is an event that can change a person’s life. Joe Ma’s concentration of youth trends deals with the innocence of youth and the after effects of first time romance. Joe Ma is a producer, screenwriter and director in Hong Kong. Because he started from a young age Ma produced many films. His most recognized films include Feel 100% and Feel 100%…once more. Influenced by John Hughes, an American screenwriter, Ma became more accustomed to the romantic formula and adds his own style to his films. In an interview Ma tells Tim Young that "when [he] directs, [he] look[s] into [his] heart—creatively" and does what he wants to do. Motivated by the movie Some Kind of Wonderful directed by Howard Deutch, who is also influenced by John Hughes, Ma uses a similar storyline for his film Feel 100% (Wood 95). John Hughes is well known and respected for his mixing of comedy and charm in his scripts and storylines. Some examples of his works are The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles and Pretty in Pink (Gleseke). Following Hughes’ example and his own experiences Ma produces successful films of Feel 100% and Feel 100%…once more.

Feel 100%’s content and audience is toward the youth, but it is also to be understood by all ages. During our teens to mid-twenties we are still learning and experiencing new things; Ma opens the minds of youth to adults by using lingo and showing the wants and needs of the younger generation. In an interview, Miles Wood concludes that Director Joe Ma "tap[s] into the youth market by accurately and sympathetically depicting the lives and loves, the dreams and fears, the joys and sorrows, of Hong Kong teenagers" (92). The ups and downs of the lives of growing youth are a strong representation in both films. They both follow a similar plot line. The first Feel 100% is about three lifelong friends who help assist each other with their emotional roller coaster of romance. Bordwell comments that their relationship is like "brothers and sisters [who] face problems, class snobbery, and criss-cross love affairs" (78). Jerry, played by Ekin Cheng, and his roommate Hui Lok, played by Eric Kot, make a pact that they never will date their good girlfriend Cherie, played by Sammi Cheng. Jerry agrees because he is busy courting other girls. He also does not know that Cherie is in love with him. Cherie’s jealousy reveals when Jerry starts to date Gigi. After experiencing the love triangle, Jerry realizes at the end he is really in love with Cherie.

Having Cherie being jealous demonstrate one factor of the four components to classify Feel 100% as a traditional romance comedy verses a screwball romance comedy. The first indication of the film being a traditional romance comedy is having Cherie be a typical woman. Her character is less eccentric and many women can relate to her. Cherie is a young woman in her twenties who is trying to maintain her life by working and trying to find a successful long-term relationship. Knowing she likes Jerry and doing nothing till the situation will break at least one heart. Cherie gets jealous. Seeing the person she likes dating someone else is too much for her to face. Viewers are able to relate to her because jealousy is an emotion we all go through. Ma’s usage of Cherie’s jealously shows a sense of realness.

The realness is also represented in traditional American romantic comedies: You’ve Got Mail, When Harry Met Sally, and Sleepless in Seattle. In all three of these movies women can relate the Meg Ryan’s characters and men are able to relate to Tom Hank’s characters. The communication method between men and women is the basic storyline of the three movies. Meg Ryan usually plays the role of an independent woman who knows what she wants and will not let things get in her way of her own success, even a man. Whereas Hanks, usually plays a cynical male who believes that women are the weaker sex and need men for there survival. The end result is that they both have feelings for one another. In the beginning, Ryan and Hanks misunderstand one another because of the different communication methods, but at the end their true feelings for each other is revealed. However, the roles help accentuated society’s views of different communication patterns between men and women and how we perceive the opposite sex.

Another added component for the modern traditional romance comedy film is the having a stand-up comedian character involved. In the movie, When Harry Met Sally, Billy Crystal brings a comical relief as a psychologist (Gehring). Similarly, Ma uses Eric Kot, a Hong Kong radio comedian, for the same purpose Crystal served. Both Crystal and Kot bring a comical relief from the message of youth and their ideals of love and life. Ma gets his message across by using teen idols to young viewers relate to the characters of the movie. Cherie played by Sammi Cheng and Jerry played by Ekin Cheng are among the many idols that Hong Kong youth admire. Joe Ma usage of canto-pop idols helps entice the younger generation. This method proves itself successful with the positive outcomes of his movies. After Feel 100%, Ma’s popularity grew and so did actor Sammi Cheng's. Feel 100% being her second movie, won great appreciation from her viewers. The movie led her into successful acting career. Even in the United States we see the effectiveness of using teen idols to promote movies. She’s All That (with Freddie Prince Jr. and Rachel Leigh Cook ), Get Over It (with Kristin Dunst and Ben Foster) and Can’t Hardly Wait (with Jennifer Love Hewitt and Ethan Embry) are some among hundreds of teen flicks that are geared toward the youth. Just by the characters between the American verses the Chinese romance comedies, we are able to analysis the difference between the two cultures. The primarily difference in American romance comedies is that the director makes the audiences think that teenagers experience everything for the first time during their high school years. They develops their dreams, experience their first kiss and their first love during the four years. Whereas in Hong Kong, the film’s characters are in their early to mid- twenties and trying to experience life. Keeto from the Hong Kong Film Critics Society states that the film "creates a purified romantic space for teenagers to aspire after and make dreams" (qtd. in Feel 100%). In both cultures the youth want to experience things first handedly, but the primarily difference is in America the children tend to go up faster and want to be adults sooner. Whereas in Hong Kong, the youth try to stay young so they will have less responsibilities. Movies have the effect of acting as a mirror of our society, but in both cultures the directors are trying to capture the theme of wanting, needing, and giving love.

The second component that makes up a traditional comedy is the narrative aspect. The tone in the traditional form leans toward a slower or more serious tone. In an article for USA Today, Gehring observes that the narrative component is presented in the movie— When Harry met Sally. Ryan and Hanks "[has] to work through their cynicism before romance can blossom" (Gehning). This factor of traditional romance comedy is prevalent in Feel 100% with the added youth lingo and the cynical conversations that they have with each other. For instance, towards the beginning of the movie Jerry plays around with Cherie and tells her that he is really in love with her. Cherie is delighted because he finally got her messages of her liking him. To her disappointment Jerry was only playing a joke on her. Because of Jerry’s joke Cherie response becomes cynical towards Jerry as well. As they finally realize that the feeling for each other is real they slowly become more honest and less cynical in their relationship. Often times the director use sarcasm to mask the true feelings behind something that is important such as love.

Moving on to the third component that defines a traditional romantic comedy is the ritual of dating. In most scenarios personality differences tear the couple apart, but having the couple willing to work through the differences is what makes it a romantic comedy. One common approach is having the guy work their way up the ladder of the girl’s approval (Gehring). In 100%Feel, after Jerry realizes that Gigi and him were not compatible, he wants to win back Cherie’s affection for him. Cherie being a stubborn character does not accept Jerry’s love right away, but eventually her heart softens by his subtle actions that prove his love. Finally, the fourth component of this traditional romantic comedy is the future of the couple. In the traditional romance comedy, you are able to picture the couple living happily ever after and the relationship is real. Unlike a screwball romantic comedy the couple(s) would not last a day together in happiness (Gehning). The characters’ realness using the traditional formula shows the audience that true love can exist.

All four components in both American and Chinese romantic comedies help people understand that others are looking for similar things like love. What makes Joe Ma different is he uses his own experiences and the experiences of his actors to direct. His views display a new and fresh look about the youth. In an interview with Gigi Leung, the actor from Feel 100% and Feel 100%…once more, said she enjoys Ma’s films because the storyline and characters seem as if they were her own experiences. She also feels that Ma portrays the youth well because he tells the audience what really is out there (Wood 80). Using the fresh approach of the youth trends is demonstrated in both Feel 100% films.

In the sequel, Feel 100%…once more the storyline changes a little. The main message of a love story is still there, but Ma agreed that it was difficult to duplicate a sequel in three months after the first one. Therefore, he changed the names of the characters whose again are played by Ekin Cheng to Marco and Sammi Cheng to Yen (Wood 99). Again we see the four components of a traditional romance comedy demonstrated in this sequel. The basic plot is Marco and Yen whose dating decides to move in together. Moving in together was not the honeymoon that they imagine. Marco does not want to try to build up the relationship, goes out and has an one night encounter with another woman, but after that he realizes that he is really in love with Yen after all. Similar to the first one, the second film is noted to be more mature. Ye Nianchen from the Hong Kong Film Critics Society observed the tone of the second film send a message that "Life is not always carefree; there are many pockets of sadness. Perhaps all this is a suggestion of the irrevocable lost of youth" (qtd. Feel 100%…Once More). The lost of youthfulness is the second film shows that the characters have grown up to have obtain responsibilities and realizing that things do not come easily especially in relationships. In reality people have differences, it is how the differences are worked out that maintains and makes the relationship grow.

The second movie, Feel 100%…once more, has a more serious tone. The audience is still directed towards the youth, but it depicts more of reality. In this movie, Ma again creates his movie also in the form of a traditional romantic comedy. Marco is a guy who is free spirited and is not use to being in a committed relationship. Therefore, he goes out and cheats on his girlfriend, Yen. When Yen finds out she still loves Marco, but she is unable to comprehend his actions. Yen’s heart did not know whether or not to accept Marco’s love, but in the end she saw that Marco’s love to her is sincere. As a relation to Gehring’s article he states that in traditional romance comedies the "heroine is more apt to be the one dragging her feet with regard to matters of the heart." In reality the more you work for something the better the end result is. This is true with the relationship of Marco and Yen. It is easy to fall in love, but it takes work to stay in love.

Using the components of traditional romantic comedy in both Feel 100% movies, Ma helps the audience feel the pain of Yen when Marco cheats on her, laugh to Eric Kot’s jokes, and uses Cherie’s jealously to relate to the viewers. By doing this Ma shows not only the realities of youth, but of humanity. There are times when we might fall in love with someone that does not return the favor or hurting someone that you regret later, but with love we are able to overcome these situations. Watching movies often is an escape for people from reality. The film industry uses real scenarios, but sometime exaggerates the truth purposely for people to realize the obvious solution they should approach for their lives. Ma uses the light-hearted humor and the common love theme to entice his Hong Kong audience. Sherman Chau quotes Ma’s perspective of why people of Hong Kong enjoy watching the romantic comedies; this is because "people want to escape, they do not want to have to use their brains or think about life." Traditional romantic comedies provide an escape with the use of comedy, but it also gives the audience a feeling of warmth when they witness a happy ending. These two components are what make the Romantic Comedy genre so enjoyable for all different cultures.

Written by Amy Lee
Purpose for the essay: College English II course fulfilling liberal arts generals at the Minneapolis Community Technical College, Minneapolis, MNUSA. June 2002

"I appreciate HK cinema because it gives me another perspective. Other than just looking at things dealing with American society it is important to explore the arts and cultures of other counties. HK is where my parents lived for a period of time and to try to relate to them watching and experiencing HK cinema is one of the ways I can try to see things their way. And enjoying HK cinema is an interest that can be discussed during dinner at the table. It creates laughter and creates a better bond between people of the same interests." -Amy Lee

Works Cited

Books:
- Anderson, Beth, et al. The American Heritage Dictionary: fourth edition. New York: Dell Books. 2001
- Bordwell, David. Planet Hong Kong: Popular Cinema and the Arts of Entertainment. Massachusetts: Harvard U. Press, 2000.
- Wood, Miles. Cine East: Hong Kong through the Looking Glass. England: FAB Press, 1998.

Films:
- Feel 100%. Dir. Joe Ma. Perf. Ekin Cheng, Sammi Cheng, Eric Kot, and Gigi Leung. Empire, 1996.
- Feel 100%…Once More. Dir. Joe Ma. Perf. Ekin Cheng, Sammi Cheng, Eric Kot, Chingmy Yau, Gigi Leung, and Cheung Tat-ming. Golden Harvest, 1996.
- Pretty Woman. Dir. Garry Marshall. Perf. Richard Gere and Julia Roberts. 1990.

Internet Resources:
- Chau, Sherman. "Hong Kong Develops Taste for Comedy." Screendaily 20 Nov. 2001. 27 June 2002 http://www.screendaily.com/story.asp?storyid=6566&st=sammi+cheng&s=3
- Gehring, Wes. "Love and Laughter: A cinematic Valentine’s Day Bouquet." USA Today Jan 2000. WebPALS: Expanded Academic Index.
- Gleseke, Christine M. "Biography." John Hughes Files 27 June 2002 http://www.riverblue.com/hughes/bio.html
- Feel 100%. Hong Kong Film Critics Society. 27 June 2002 http://filmcritics.org.hk/feel100/review.html
- Feel 100%…Once More. Hong Kong Film Critics Society. 27 June 2002 http://filmcritics.org.hk/ feeling100oncemore/review.html
- Young, Tim. Far East Film-IV edition: An Interview with Joe Ma Wai-Ho. Far East Film. 11 July 2002 http://194.21.179.166/cecudine/fe_2002/eng/JOEMA2002.htm

Bonus:
Interview with Joe Ma and Miriam Yeung at the Far East Film Festival, Udine, Italy, 2002.

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