If you like romantic comedies, you'll probably dig Love Undercover, which was a big hit in Hong Kong upon its' premiere in 2002, going on to inspire two sequels and a spin-off. But if you've been reading this site for any amount of time, you can probably surmise that I am most definitely not a fan of the genre, so sitting through this -- especially in a house without air conditioning during the middle of August -- was about as pleasant as waiting in line at the DMV while battling a case of the green apple splatters.

Cantopop singer Miriam Yeung stars as Fong, a young woman who manages to become a cop even though she is incompetent in most any way because the police force is hurting for new recruits. Since she is unmarried with no family in the area, Fong's commander selects her to go undercover and investigate Hoi (Daniel Wu), the son of a high-level Triad who is under suspicion of conducting nefarious activities of his own. Can you guess what happens next? Yes, kids, Fong and Hoi fall in love, and hilarity ensues, along with the mandatory bit of touching drama and liberal use of some of Miriam's music.

A big variable in how successful movies of this type are the stars, and that's where Love Undercover lost me almost immediately. I really do not get the appeal of Miriam Yeung, at least as a comedic actress. She has shown she can do fine dramatic work, as with the under-rated horror picture Dumplings. But her style of comedy, which seems to channel Meg Ryan with a mouthful of marbles, isn't funny in the least to me, and grows old very quickly, to the point that I had to take a couple of breaks to down a delicious Mountain Crest in order to try and get through the next scene.

I will grant that I rolled into viewing Love Undercover with quite a bit of prejudice, and that most definitely is coloring this review. I'm sure fans of Miriam Yeung would really like this movie. It does everything it sets out to do competently enough and there were a few bits (mostly inspired by the supporting cast) that were actually funny. It's just that this particular genre is one of the toughest nuts for me as a grizzled and cynical veteran internet "critic" to crack, and it'll take more than a couple of cute scenes for me to change my tune about the world of romantic comedies.

RATING: 5