The Fierce Wife

犀利人妻˳ – 最终回 – 幸福男•不难

Taiwan, 2012, colour, 2.35:1, 108 mins.

Directors: Wang Peihua 王佩华, Wang Renli 王仁里.

Rating: 6/10.

Feature-film finale to the popular TV series looks great and has a strong first half.

STORY

Taibei, 2012, summer. Four years have gone by since Xie Anzhen (Sui Tang) divorced Wen Ruifan (Wen Shenghao) over his adultery with her cousin Li Wei’en (Zhu Xinyi). She is now assistant manager of the Grand Hyatt Taipei and her daughter, Wen Yumeng  (Lin Li), is nine. Her friend He Ailin (Cai Shuzhen), visiting from the US, says she is now also divorced and on the lookout for a new love adventure; she urges Xie Anzhen to find a new man too. Soon afterwards, Xie Anzhen’s closest male friend, Lan Tianwei (Wang Yousheng), who had supported her during her troubles and finally declared his love for her, returns to Taiwan from Germany as sales head of Volkswagen Asia-Pacific. He surprises her with a dinner on her birthday, and signals that he wants to settle down from his globe-trotting life. Next, Wen Ruifan, visiting Taibei for a skin-product launch, also signals he’d like to patch things up with her, as he’s being transferred back to the city. Meanwhile, Xie Anzhen is asked to personally look after her boss’ spoilt daughter, Hu Rouyi (Lin Yingzhen), as a trainee at the hotel. Man-eater Hu Rouyi immediately falls for Lan Tianwei, who is staying at the hotel, and challenges Xie Anzhen to a love battle over him. Lan Tianwei, who’s been helping Xie Anzhen babysit Wen Yumeng, finally breaks down Xie Anzhen’s reserve towards him; but then Wen Ruifan arrives back in Taibei and Wen Yumeng makes it clear she wants the family reunited. Lan Tianwei proposes to Xie Anzhen, but she gets cold feet at the registration office. Wen Ruifan is also planning to propose he and Xie Anzhen re-marry; but then he bumps into Li Wei’en, who’s visiting Taiwan from the US with her young son Oliver (Lai Binxu).

REVIEW

A feature-film finale to the popular Taiwanese TV drama of the same name, The Fierce Wife 犀利人妻˳ – 最终回 – 幸福男·不难, set four years later, answers the thorny question of whether or not Xie Anzhen will finally get it on with the close male friend who provided a comforting shoulder during her messy divorce. Just to spice things up a bit, the script, co-written by original author Yang Haiwei 杨海薇, reintroduces Xie Anzhen’s adulterous husband, who now wants to patch things up. Not having the luxury of developing the story into a lengthy Round Two, the movie wisely keeps things light, with plenty of comedy – especially as fans of the original have already followed every tiny emotional tic of the characters over 23 episodes on the small screen.

It’s not necessary to have seen the original TV drama (broadcast on TTV during Nov 2010-Apr 2011) to enjoy the first hour of Wife, which is shot in the style of a slick, big-screen rom-com. Wang Renli 王仁里, who co-directed with producer Wang Peihua 王佩华, is an experienced musicvideo maker, and he and d.p. Che Lianyi 车亮逸 [Randy Che] (Make Up 命运化妆师, 2011; Mayday 3DNA 五月天  追梦, 2011) serve up a super-glossy, wish-fulfilment Taibei – similar to the TV series but much more so – where everyone lives in spotless luxury, wears immaculate clothes, eats western food, and never breaks sweat even in summer. The pace is kept lively by most of the original cast, led by Sui Tang 随堂 who’s terrific as the titular Xie Anzhen, and supported by a wide array of colourful supports, the best and funniest of whom is TV presenter Hu Yingzhen 胡盈祯 as her extrovert sister-in-law.

It’s only in the second half, when the writers have to knuckle down and resolve Xie Anzhen’s indecision, that the writing shows its TV-drama roots, though a loopy finale (set in Guam!) recovers the original lightness, and copious unused scenes perk up the end titles. Wife has the look and production values of a big-screen movie, and in several respects is better acted than the TV original, so it’s a shame it couldn’t sustain its new format in the second half.

As the two male leads, Wen Shenghao 温升豪 and Guo Fucheng 郭富城 [Aaron Kwok] lookalike Wang Yousheng 王宥胜 come across rather flatly this time, especially Wen. Wang, with his electric quiff, makes a suitably handsome “best friend” but still looks stiff on the big screen. Both end up as supports in what is basically Sui’s show, and the model-actress (Make Up; Together 甜•祕密, 2012) is again aces, handling everything from comic double-takes, via a drunk scene, to tearful drama.

The film is also known under the English title The Fierce Wife: Final Episode. A better translation of the original Chinese would be “The Sharp Wife”, in the sense of “incisive”, as there’s nothing harridan-like about Xie Anzhen.

CREDITS

Presented by Kings Creative Media (TW), Sun Dance Entertainment International (TW), CL Pictures (TW). Produced by Good Whale Studio (TW).

Script: Yang Haiwei, Chen Huiru, Hong Liyan. Photography: Che Liangyi [Randy Che]. Editing: Wu Baoyu, Gu Zhengyan, Wang Renli. Music direction: Li Zhenquan [Jim Lee]. Art direction: Xie Yilin. Styling: Fan Wei. Sound: Tang Xiangzhu, Zhu Shiyi, Xu Chengyi, Du Duzhi. Action: Wu Rubin. Visual effects: Lin Junyou.

Cast: Sui Tang (Xie Anzhen), Wen Shenghao (Wen Ruifan), Wang Yousheng (Lan Tianwei), Li Peixu (Hao Kangde, Wen Ruifan’s brother-in-law), Hu Yingzhen (Wen Ruixuan, Wen Ruifan’s younger sister), Cai Changxian (Ren, Xie Anzhen’s work colleague), Lin Yingzhen (Hu Rouyi/Zoe), Xiaoxiaobin [Wen Xuanye] (Hao Zhuangzhuang, Wen Ruixuan’s son), Zhu Xinyi (Li Wei’en, Xie Anzhen’s cousin), Cai Shuzhen (He Ailin, Xie Anzhen’s friend), Lin Li (Wen Yumeng, Xie Anzhen’s daughter), Xiaoxia [Chen Daoxian] (groom), Zhong Xinyi (bride), Lei Selin [Zhang Yalan] (Mei), Li Xianglin (Jean), Chen Yirui (Allen), Wang Jiajie, Xiao Ruping (air hostesses), Wonder (western male stripper), Fu Guanjie (Fu), Lai Binxu (Oliver, Li Wei’en’s son), Ma Nianxian (Zhong, hotel manager), Tang Liqi (Li Fei).

Release: Taiwan, 17 Aug 2012.

(Review originally published on Film Business Asia, 5 Feb 2013.)