How irritating: sitting through an entire flick expecting it to be loathsome and ending up enjoying the thing. That much can be said of Adrian Kwan's big screen revision of several older concepts featuring a mean, selfish character driven to antipathy by greed and over-active elbows only to experience some life changing traumatic event transforming the unwitting scrooge into reluctant societal angel.
Kind of similar to Liar, Liar and a few long forgotten Twilight Zone episodes, this movie centers on gradually successful singer/songwriter cum actor Eason Chan, now pulling in top billing roles at long last. Chan's comedic renditions of any part given him have been previously seen in run-of-the-mill bits such as Cop Shop Babes, but now he's apparently matured enough to introduce substantial flair into proceedings, one large factor helping If U Care challenge all reason by being more than a ludicrous heap of nonsense, as its face-value may seem to dictate.
Well-off yuppie executive Gino's track record of embezzling colleagues' ideas and trampling over all and sundry on his endless pursuit of material comforts brought about resentment and isolation from others. Being a total jackass, he couldn't care less. Following a car accident his broken arm develops paranormal abilities to convey people's emotional core to its owner, forcing Gino to intimately identify with his victims' misery and distress. Slowly but surely this leads to his eventual enlightenment, helped along by visits to childhood home Rainbow Village (where fond memories lurk) as well as socializing with lifelong love and idol Kiu (played by tolerable Twins member Gillian Chung), who grew into one of HK's most valiant firefighters, effectively living out Chan's amiable alter ego.
Surprisingly rich in symbolism and deeper philosophical components, If U Can may not storm Mann's Chinese Theater come next spring but it will catch you off guard. As a capper we get Eason Chan in one of his best appearances to date. While his doofus act gets tiresome as the movie starts, it does evolve beyond infantilism to something quite oddly meaningful and satisfying. Bonuses include showings by always potent Candy Lo (No Problem 2) and funnily crazed Rain Li. Go in looking for your inner buffoon, come out having discovered your inner child.
Rating: * * *
