Review: Let It Be Love (By SDS)
Let It Be Love <4 In Love>
TVB 2012
Producer: Jonathan Chik
Genre: Modern Romance
Number of episodes: 20
Who’s In It?
Cast in no particular order:
Moses Chan as “Yu Chun Tung”
Charmaine Sheh as “Chloe” or “Tung Hoi Yiu”
Kenng Wong as “Cyrus” or “Poon Chi Him”
Elvina Kong as “Kelly” or “Fung Yiu Dan”
King Kong as “Nick” or “Lam Lik Hang”
Rachel Kan as “Hayley” or “Cheung Hei Yin”
Wai Ka Hung as “Chung Ping Leung”
Tracy Ip as “Elsa” or “Chow Sze Ching”
and other miscellaneous characters
What’s This About?
This series is essentially a collection of four “love” stories that chart a small time period in the lives of eight people. One coupling consists of an unlikely romance between an ordinary foul-mouthed retail salesman with apparently little to no future and an internationally renowned female celebrity. The next coupling tells a unlikely tale about a mature and responsible man and his unlikely ending with his good friend of many years who happens to be married. Yet another coupling involves the socially unlikely romance between a short man and a tall woman. The final coupling concerns two people, one male and one female, who share views about the opposite sex that would unlikely lead to a romance. This is their story.
Review Formally Begins Here
Finally, a series that has a logical structure which conveys unambiguous messages about events and circumstances that we can all empathize with! It has plot devices uncommon to many great narratives, characters that don’t always select a correct course of action after reasoned analysis, and background music that is so fitting for a 21st century modern romance serial that can only be described by the un-separated words “epic” and “la.” Yes, this is the nadir of romantic dramas, much like Wish and Switch <換樂無窮>. But unlike that other series, this one keeps its tone and never pulls a rabbit out of the hat. Either way, this is a stroke of genius.
Now just imagine the opposite of everything you read above, and you will have a much better appreciation of what this series is. So why this description? Why the contradistinction? And why do some people still not understand there is a reason for the word “view” in “review”? The point is that unless I set your expectations amiss, you won’t be un-able to un-enjoy this un-pleasant and quirky romantic fairy un-tale. Un-no. The point is that un-less you are interested in the slightly un-likely, the slightly outlandish, with four teaspoons of suspension of belief, then this is not for you. Also, it’s a product of producer Jonathan Chik, which should sound alarms for anyone who has watched his corpus, When Heaven Burns <天與地>, or his test-child, Fly With Me <飛女正傳>. If there’s one thing likely about Jonathan Chik productions, besides Moses Chan, is that the word “unlikely” likely appears on the title of each of his unpublished manuscripts. The one “unlikely” factor in Mr. Chik’s current tale is that the characters actually get somewhere.
The Four Unlikely’s
If anything we have learnt from Mr. Chik, it’s that his characters tend to be exaggerated personifications of human dispositions and his plots are merely vehicles for conveying social issues. Thus, an audience that wish to watch a drama expecting glaringly defined structures on its surface, as with most TVB series, should be forewarned. However, to grasp this series is not as hard as one may expect. Firstly, the principal coupling of Moses Chan with Charmaine Sheh tells a tale of romance between social classes. Certainly Moses is a near-stereotypic dweller of the lower rungs of the social hierarchy, whilst Charmaine is a sensationalized superstar with allegedly so much influence that she could sway big-budget Hollywood producers to come film in Hong Kong. The common thread between the two characters is not that they are uniquely compatible right from the outset; the thread is that they both are most comfortable when following their hearts and dreams. This is problematized because the social structure deems that these two persons are incompatible from the outset. What is important in the development of this romance, is the ability of both characters to overcome social perceptions to find true happiness. Both characters must make the effort, whether it is the superstar accepting a lower, more grounded standard of living or the electronics salesman learning to understand a higher, more profound style of thinking. As such, social hierarchy is depicted as a barrier to happiness.
Secondly, the coupling between Kenny Wong and Elvina Kong tells the story of friends, one who likes playing sports with his friends whereas the other likes match-making her friends. There is little to no romantic interaction between the two despite the not so obvious compatibility between the two, who share a friendship that is never precisely dissected. The main obstacle between the two in finding happiness in one another is a combination of their inability to understand their own desires and the invisible mental barriers such as friendship and marriage. Although these obstacles are not negative impediments, their meaning and understanding are problematized when it turns out that the life-long friend of the same sex is romantically interested in oneself and when ones’ husband comes out of the closet to confess his homosexuality. The lesson for both characters is that sometimes finding happiness requires keeping your mind open to the unlikely. The problem for these two then, is not social hierarchy, but of narrow-mindedness and attitude.
Thirdly, the coupling between Wai Ka Hung and Tracy Ip is a tale about physical appearances. This is the done-to-death plot device where two people are compatible on virtually all levels that should matter in a healthy romance, except the social and often internalized perceptions of physical disunity. Of course, this goes beyond height, it also goes to a marked difference in the general physical attractiveness of both characters as well. The problem does not lie in the fact that both these characters particularly care about physical appearances. The problem is that both characters are subtly convincing themselves that physical appearances matter to them. Some of these ideals are brought on by tradition and stereotype, as “men” are expected to be taller and the protector in the relationship whilst “women” are expected to seek romantic, suave and/or economically successful partners. Besides the fact that being shallow is a sin, this tale seems to convey a deeper idea that finding happiness may require ignoring one’s traditions and stereotypes; whilst they may be a occasionally useful guide in our lives, should not determine our lives.
Finally, the last coupling between King Kong and Rachel Kan is a story about those unable to commit. “Unable” is probably more justificatory than deserved as it can easily be described as “unwilling” since there is no practical incapacity which the word “unable” implies. The problem is that both characters are partially unwilling to part with their pride, partially unwilling to admit they genuinely care about another, and partially unwilling to understand that a successful romance does not always contain the kinds of things they expect. The issue between these two is more pertinent to the twenty to late thirty something working professionals, who believe they have some sort of self-ordained worldview that is unmistakably true, even if only true for themselves. What is striking is that no matter how these characters try to rationalize it, romance is one of those things that flows like water and emanates like smoke; thus their problem is one of pride and egoism.
Series Appreciation
Now taking off our thinking caps, and fall back down to Earth, what is Mr. Chik’s production? That’s a hard question, because despite all the implied praises and thematic analysis above, it’s not easy to grasp what is on display here. In fact, I’m not even certain the praises and analysis above are correct or if “correct” is even a word capable of describing Mr. Chik’s productions. The narrative structure, dialogue setup and characterization is unmistakably “post-modernist,” a word whose meaning is equally elusive as the meaning in Mr. Chik’s productions. The style is also unmistakably his, another “Chikduction.” This may not be a bad thing, but is something foreign to 80s and 90s TVB traditionalists. An example is the use of late 60s and 70s songs. Why? Who really knows, but truth is there’s a distinct aesthetic feel these songs provide the series, and it works to set the mood. Another example is that the primary characters in each of the main couplings never actually meet or interact with the main characters of another coupling, with the exception of one scene towards the end of the series which views more like a internal character-plot review rather than what you’d expect of four guys caught in police custody during a night when UFOs visit Hong Kong…. Why? I don’t know, but it works.
It’s obvious Mr. Chik puts a lot of effort in his productions, as there are always some minute details hidden here and there that is either part and parcel of quirk or just plain unconventional humor. An example is a scene towards the end when Elvina Kong’s character watches a horse race on television with her dad–note the names of the horses, which can only be explained by either that Mr. Chik owns all those horses or their respective owners are Mr. Chik’s fans. Another example is Cheung Kwok Keung’s minor role as a Shaolin monk, a character that is entirely unnecessary and uncalled for, yet provides that extra hint of oddity to the series. Whether these small additions appeal to you will very much depend on your own sense of humor, but do note, it’s the kind of meticulous and polished narrative crafting that is not a daily recurrence for TVB.
Overall Appraisal
As again, there are two million things one can watch into a Mr. Chik series or two million reasons one can discredit this series for, possibly due to his post-modernist or metafiction spin on his characters and plots. This current effort is possibly Mr. Chik’s most self-contained effort a wider audience can relate or find as passable entertainment. The themes are definitely more positive, idealistic and romantic, whilst the execution obviously bears the same traits as other recent Chikductions. This is a series about plots, quirky characters and oddball dialogue; it is much less about the actors and actresses flexing their acting muscles. Nevertheless, the cast should be applauded for being able to keep up with Mr. Chik. It is odd that TVB actors seem more at home, more comfortable, more believable, when playing oddball characters in a Chikduction versus playing characters from TVB’s cardboard stock-types. Why? It may just be a reminder that even the cast is getting tired of TVB’s usual efforts. For Jonathan Chik, this surely looks like his most effective narrative to-date. One question though, why are there two English titles?
Verdict
If you enjoyed Jonathan Chik’s other productions, this is a must see, and if you didn’t, there is still Charmaine Sheh who is expected to appear less and less in TVB as she ventures for better dollars.
Obligatory disclaimer: All readers irrevocably and unconditionally agree that they must indemnify the author of this article should the author suffer any losses or damages, whether to life property or merely hurt feelings and loss sleep, as a result of unsound, unsightly and/or immature comments by the reader, and the reader acknowledges that the author of this article does not warrant that the contents of this article meets the purposes or fulfills the expectations of the reader, such that the reader bears all losses, hurt feelings and loss sleep free from compensation from the author of this article.
This review was written by SDS, a Contributing Writer at JayneStars.com.
Each love story has a themesong
Moses/Charmaine – Close To You
Kenny/Alvina – Melody Fair
Wai Ka Hung/Tracy – Top Of The World
King Kong/Rachel – ?
Can anyone tell me what is the song that always play during King Kong/Rachel’s story?
Sorry but the love themesong was so very overplayed in this series.
There are some aspect I liked but overall I feel this series would have worked better as a mini series or a movie. As a series it was too long, repetetive and for most part draggy. The last episode however was entertaining for some tongue in cheek moments and I like the ending which focuses on the older generation.
But the way to the end, some parts are overly pretentious, some parts overly illogical, some parts rather sweet but overall it feels like the story goes in circles until it has to end at a certain episode. The connection between the love stories is non existent but how each party is connected to the other is entertaining, all this in the last 2 to 3 episodes.
What is interesting is how who we usually see as 2nd tier actors given prominence and in many ways outshine the main players such as Moses and Charmaine, but that being said Kam Kong was an absolute chore to watch. He has way too many dialogue for someone who can’t utter cantonese properly and whilst he is a competent actor, I feel his character does not fit the description.
Frankly unless you really like any of the actors in this series, and I mean really really like and not afraid of hearing same song for each couple played to death, and some rather stiff performances, this is the series for you. Basically for a series about love, it is to me cliche on the issues of love. I didn’t buy the couple’s falling in love, maybe except for Wai Ka Hung and Tracy’s love story which has a tinge of sincerity and earnestness in it but the rest were as the ending shows, out of this world.
I know the producer has been gaining prominence for daring to show “different” sort of stories, etc. But frankly, this series is no different than any series. They still fail in focusing on the couple and making you feel the journey from A to Z is worth following even if from episode 1 you know who ends up with who. For this, K-dramas are more effective even if K-drama is always about love at the end of the day.
Disagree. I was able to enjoy the stories and scenes that did not have actors I really really like. I find the series itself enjoyable.
Who do you really really like, Kidd?
Funn, I agree with you 100%. Good intention poorly executed.
Even though “close to you” was played over and over again, I never got sick of it.
I got sick of it by the 3rd play. And it became expected right on cue.
@Kidd,
Do you know who the singer is for the song, “Top of the World”?
“Do you know who the singer is for the song, “Top of the World”?”
The Carpenters.
Nature Boy by Nat King Cole
the ending with the UFO was a bit ridiculous and the part where charmaine decides to marry moses even though they barely know each other had me wondering “what on earth am i watching?” i did enjoy the music though and i liked how all of the characters connected to each other one way or another, but never actually met until the very end.
I love the UFO part. This is what called fantasy.
well, i guess, for me, fantasy is limited because the UFO scene was a kind of strange haha. overall i liked this drama though, gave off a very simple and feel-good vibe.
This drama was enjoyable, quirky in places (Charmaine’s love of UFOs) and different stories to focus on if you didn’t like a particular couple. In this instance I did not like Moses and Charmaine coupleing.
My fave would have to be Tracy and Wai Ka Hung. I loved their scenes in the hospital and then the realisation once they were healed that Tracy was taller. It was done really well with the development of their relationship.
One supporting actress I did not like in this series was Becky Lee, her hairstyle was annoying and her character was just so blah. I don’t know whether it was her acting but I could not see the so called connection that she had with Kenny Wong.
who is Becky Lee? never heard of this actress before?can you or anyone tell mevwho is her?
She played Tong Tong in the series. She dated Wai Ka Hung’s (short guy) character for a while.
She was also a regular actress in the sitcom ‘Be Home For Dinner’.
I really don’t like watching this actress…at all
I was hoping tong tong would get back together w/ Cyrus or maybe hook up w/ Stephen’s Marcus.
I like Becky but I guess her look was too mature for Jason Chan and Matt yeung in BHFD.
I don’t think Becky look to mature. Her look can match Jason and Matt well.
Tong Tong hooking up with Marcus will be a good idea, although I was hoping to see more development in Marcus and lady boss line. I initially thought Marcus think too much and Nick gives him wrong advice. But, it turns out that May really does like him.
Kidd,
I would’ve preferred Becky to pair w/ Jason or Matt but I think the BHFD producer didn’t think they look matched. Hence, u get lily Ho (I can’t stand her!) and katie kung instead. It made me lose interest to watch.
As for 4 in love, I thought May jeh’s right hand man maybe liked her. Marcus was just plain scared of her.
@ Josie
I’ve only watch until episode 56 for BHFD. But, I read wiki and know who ends up with who. Wiki said Tong Tong ends up with Ka Ming. Is that true? I was surprised when I read that part because I was sure Tong Tong will end up with Tin Hoi.
As for 4 In Love. I didn’t think the right hand man was in love with May jeh, just very very loyal to her. Kinda amazing how loyal he is. Haha, yeah, Marcus was scared of her.
Kidd,
I didn’t watch many of the episodes either. But they had tin hoi “discover” that he didn’t really love jing jing (I still like that name better than hoi yee) afterall. He only *thought* he loved her. Ridiculous!
Oh, and I still thought ka ming was too dopey for jing jing.
I like Ka Ming. Initially, I didn’t think much of him. But, I like him more as I watch further. He’s kinda cute in his dopeyness.
la la aaa a close to you… This music came up when Charmaine was caught in the elevator, Moses came to the rescue and she shout “Yue Zhen Tong!!”
This series made me thought of distance.. a MK guy vs celebrity? UFO vs MK? Old motorcyclist and a restaurant lady? tall vs short? friends vs lover..
Love the scene when the camera pan when Lau dan and Mary Hon drove away on their motorcycle.. makes me miss this series even more!
this drama actually not for kid under 12 and Muslim
too many adults theme ,however is not that bad ,the worst part is the story line between king kongb and the old actress rachel kan,this actress suppose to be kelefe before this drama.
same as the kelefe guy wai kar hung ,the fat kelefe have promote in this drama .
Rachel Kan and Wai Kar Hung are not kelefe actors. They are 2 line actors who mostly played supporting roles.
Sorry, another dude TVB series , not recommended Johnathan Chik series are crap, the best was War & Beauty and he hasn’t produced anything decent since
dunno why, I also find this series “let it be love” kinda boring. Have stop following this series after episode 3-4..
Shouldn’
t it be another Chik series as in Chick?
i think they meant “dud” series? lol
I havent seen this series yet im still kinda contemplating whether or not to watch it.
What throws me off is seeing Ah Sheh, Moses and Kenny again lol and i have seen snippet of their stories and it wasnt enough to make me want to sit down to watch the series.
What makes me want to watch the series is the Tracy and Wai Ka Hung story. From the comment ive seen people enjoyed this couple? also im a fan of Ka Hung and i haven’t seen him in a while so i wanna watch it for him
So i dunno… but i happened to watch the last ep – the UFO caught my attention and the police office scene i found rather funny – but ive read the end was they only good part so to watxh or not to watch that is the question…
ah…. wish someone would just upload Tracy and Wai Ka Hung story lol
I thought this series was pretty choppy and lacked a bonding factor. I can’t specifically pinpoint what it is, just couldn’t keep me concentrated..
And I’m tired of seeing Charmaine and Moses paired up.. They have no chemistry. Charmaine acted so fake in this series.
i think the first 5 episodes were fine, after that the story is getting boring but still acceptable until UFO showed up and ruined the whole story.
Worst tvb series!
nice review, but focusing much more on the Jonathan Chik factor on local Television, basically quite limited.
Actually, it is 4 couples + some minor like the Ex-Triad Leader and Restaurant Lady, Lady Boss and Staff relationship?
Like you said, it is more to echo the social issues of Hong Kong and may be the world.
While this is not a ‘Wong Kar Wai’ Chungking Express, this series definitely gain some fans.
This is possibly the best review of a TVB series I have read in years. You were able to bring out so many unique subtleties in the series that I couldn’t put to words, and I agree with you 100%. Kudos!
I found the series most enjoyable, especially for the Chik-spin that was prominent throughout. The loosely related plotlines also gave it a Love Actually-esque touch, which was quite refreshing to see on television.
I’ve just been catching it whenever I can. No a series I rush home for… no loss if you miss anything…
Disappointed in yet another uninteresting character for Charmaine Sheh. I’m a fan. However, there hasn’t been really good ones for her for a while. Is TVB bring out all the ‘bottom end’ ‘leftovers’ ‘time slotter’ series of Charmaine to trash her because she didn’t renew her contract with them? really don’t know but they are doing a good job.
Recommend to watch only if you have nothing else to watch.
btw… I find the ‘Obligatory disclaimer’ quite funny! ^_^
I find the dialogue in the series torturous, that is, they’re trying too hard to sound all meaningful. The same goes for When Heaven Burns, The Gem of Life, etc. – not sure if all of them falls under the same director/producer but sure sounds like they do. If the series itself is meaningful, it is not neccessary to purposely talk that way.
Agree. That’s the issue I have with these post-modern-wannabe series. I mean, fine, let go of the structure, narrate in a creative way, but please don’t come up with such unnatural dialogue and make your characters so pretentious they become annoying to watch. (I am using “post-modern” in a very loose way. Not trying to start a discussion on post-modernism here.)
I don’t think intelligent dialogue makes the characters pretentious.
Did u ever watch “gilmore girls”? There’s no way normal people can talk that fast and cleverly all the time but I enjoyed their wit anyway.
Very unnatural and annoying indeed.
By the way, I haven’t watched this series. But that shows how great SDS’ review is, given that those who haven’t even watched the series can relate to the review and the comments.
I found this show enjoyable and the storytelling interesting and modern. Very happy this was not pandering stock TVB romance where all the title characters meet each other somewhere in the beginning of the story and become best friends at the end.
It is not standard boy meets girl, misunderstanding or illness, struggle, ultimatum, split apart for some months, meet somewhere, ending shot with someone pregnant.
The characters had lives, personality, and tastes before they began romance and during romance it was choice to adapt, accept, and be willing to grow together.
Wonderful actors and actresses as well as great moral lessons.
SDS,
Thank you thank you thank you!!
As I watched this series, I kept circling back to the thought that I was maybe enjoying this more than I *should*. That there was something different, despite the seemingly formulaic outlines (boy + girl + overcoming obstacles = happy ending). And you hit the nail on the head!
Like you, I ended up seeing each story as a broad allegory of real life relationships. It was ultimately VERY relatable; despite the fact that I’ll never be as famous as Chloe, as tall as Elsa, or as promiscuous as Hayley, I saw a little of myself in each one of them. I understood where they were coming from, their fears and concerns. I can’t remember the last time I felt that way about characters in a TVB series!
One small point I’d (slightly) disagree with you though. I think the theme of the Nick/Hayley story wasn’t just about being ‘unwilling’ to commit. I think the theme is fear. Fear of being hurt, fear of putting your true self out there, fear of being ridiculed and laughed at.
I guess I can count myself as being a Chik-fan. I loved the fact that this series allowed you to draw your own conclusions without beating you over the head with it. I loved the unexpected humor (an international celebrity with a flatulence problem?! Genius!). I loved that each character was fleshed out with faults and tics and vices.
(Hm. I actually really enjoyed a lot of Fly with Me as well. Something tells me I should watch When Heaven Burns!)
With what appears as a fluffy piece, Let It Be Love ended up really resonating with me on a deeper level. Thanks again for writing the review; I feel like the general opinion of the series was mediocre, and I really wanted to hope that someone else saw it the same way as I did!
You should definitely give ‘When Heaven Burns’ a try if you like Chik’s series. I’m one of the few people who like ‘Fly With Me’ and I also like ‘When Heaven Burns’ and ‘Let It Be Love’.
I was not really a fan of Chik’s series before. But, after watching his 3 most recent series (FWM, WHB, LTBL), I’m starting to look forward to his series.
I’ll definitely put “When Heaven Burns” on my list.
Ha, I agree with you that most people didn’t like “Fly With Me”. There were definitely oddball moments, but it also made me think in a way that series usually don’t.
@Bonnie I agree with you. I also think this series very enjoyable and SDS has just said something that was in my head but i dunno how to explain how refreshing it is. may be I dated on that Sai-Yueng-choi Street fpr years thats why i have a strong feeling towards the scenes. All characters here are interesting to watch, and I just love the music.
I loved the music too! The Carpenters lent a nostalgic-y feel that really set the mood.
Me too! I really like Chiks series as well. He reuses the same actors and actresses too much but that doesn’t bother me anymore because I like them ^^
It’s weird, I got the feeling that SDS actually didn’t like the series too much. There seemed to be a lot of qualifiers implying the series failed on several levels. Since there is no rating this time, my guess would be around 3 stars.
Anyway, I thought the series was cute and quite funny. I remember the scene when Annie the transvestite was beating up her no-good husband on the street. An on-looker yelled out “waa… tony jaa!” I couldn’t stop laughing.
Maybe deep down SDS loves this series but trying to show impartiality by not over heaping it with praises that quite a few will disagree.
Fly With Me was a fantastic series. People just didn’t appreciate the fantasy that was involved. It seems like some people don’t like to accept something different from what they usually watch.
Personally I think Moses’ character in Fly With Me is one of the most profound characters written into a TVB series of all time. The struggle and conflict in realizing ones’ own vanity is, I daresay, deep.
There’s no need to use such long words to describe this series. I’ll use one word: Trainwreck. Cut it short, if you thought this series was good, then you need to get your eyes checked.
I thought this series was good. I loved When Heaven Burns (big fan of Fly With Me, also).
Frankly I was only lukewarm about Bottled Passion, had to check my brain at the door for Wish and Switch, thought L’Escargot devolved to trainwreck territory, but never attacked any fan’s taste level.
Ya love Fly With Me.
L’Escargot- I couldnt get pass the 5th chapter- totally pisses me off!!!…lol…
If you have watched The Hippocratic Crush or plan to, please write a review on it. I’m curious to read your thoughts on it.
am watchng it nw. enjoyng it