Tony Leung Chiu-Wai and Sammi Cheng teamed up together in this 2001 romantic comedy from director Joe Ma. While the prospect of seeing two of Hong Kong cinema's biggest stars together does end up producing some good times because of their innate chemistry with each other, Fighting for Love as a whole is a sour experience due to uneven storytelling and a supporting cast of characters that could politely be called annoying. Or, if you're feeling a little more surly like this reviewer, really goddamn annoying.

Joe Ma has made his career out of helming movies such as this, with his biggest success (both critically and financially) coming via the Love Undercover trilogy. Most of Ma's releases are passable enough; it's just meant more as light breezy fare produced for brainless consumption by fans of the stars, rather than aspiring to create a deep cinematic experience. Fighting for Love takes a cynical detour from Ma's usual gameplan, in that both Veg (Tony Leung Chiu-Wai) and Deb (Sammi Cheng) are extremely unlikeable characters.

Veg has a beautiful girlfriend (Niki Chow) that is devoted to him, yet he still has no qualms cheating on her with Deb, who has her own set of problems. To put it bluntly, she's a bitch and treats everyone around her poorly. The two initially hook up for a drunken one-night stand, but through a series of far-fetched circumstances and coincidences, they end up living together. While I would not call Joe Ma a great director by any means, it is a testament to his skill that he actually manages to make these two incredibly shallow and self-absorbed people seem interesting.

Unfortunately, Ma does not keep the focus solidly on the two leads, instead bringing in a whole bevy of supporting characters. This sort of thing is common in Hong Kong film-making -- less is never more for many directors -- and many times, it creates the fun manic enenrgy we fans have come to love. However, here, it just makes matters too chaotic, especially when everyone involved makes you want to jam your head into the microwave and hit the turbo defrost button. Any sympathy and interest in the main characters, or the movie itself, is quickly eroded by these shrill urchins, making this a release to be viewed under a great amount of caution and perhaps heavy sedation.

RATING: 4