Riches and Stitches

Starring: Moses Chan, Anne Heung, Kong Wah, Gigi Lai, Melissa Ng, Marco Ng, and Michael Tong
Critique: Flawed piece of work that could or would have been great

I'll not go in deep into the plot of this series since there are two other reviews about this series already. So I'll only review the performances of the main characters in this series (Moses, Anne, Kong, and Gigi's characters). In a nutshell, this series is about how the chipao (qi-pao) came about. It was invented by Moses' character, and throughout that process we are introduced to a number of other characters. First off are: the princess from the past dynasty (Anne Heung's character), the mobster who runs a night club called the Phoenix (Kong Wah's character), and an inspired-to-be-a-famous-singer chorus girl (Gigi Lai's character), the famous singer (Melissa's character), the "don juan" who is the brother of Moses (Michael's character), and the lowly gangster (Marco's character).

This is a big production series since everything looks beautifully done--especially the Phoenix ballroom and the chipaos that were worn by Anne and Gigi. The story is above average, but it can be at times a little ridiculous. However, the only dark spot in this series is the miscast of the lead actors. Anne and Moses' love story is a drag in the whole series, yet that could have been overlooked if they were good actors who could transcend their performances beyond what was written in the script. But the silver linings in this series are Kong Wah, and the rest of the cast act their parts respectively well.

The characters:

Anne Heung: this character is an elegant, intelligent, and kind-hearted princess from the past dynasty. She tries to make a living as a hostess in her own restaurant where her mom is the cook. This character somewhat reminds me of Ada's character in "Where the Legend Begins" (Lok Sun). The similarity lies in that both characters are smart enough to know that the time they live in is a turbulent one--one that will drastically change the course of their lives. Anne brings out the elegance and a sense of dignity to this character, even though she isn't a princess anymore, one can see she has that royal aura. Another plus is Anne looks so wonderful in the chipao and enhances her character even more. However, on the acting part, Anne didn't do this character justice at all. Other actresses like Ada or Athena Chu would have been great in this role, for they can be much more expressive than Anne. In this series, Anne just had three facial expressions: annoyance, happy, and sad. And even worse, her love story with Moses was a drag in the whole series. To add insult to injury, she didn't have any chemistry with Moses at all.

Moses: the kind-hearted tailor who was diligent, a filial son to his father, and loves his younger brother. All these traits should make this character the most likable one in the series. Somehow for me, I didn’t care for this character very much. There was something missing in Moses' acting, I don't know what, but that something that makes the audience relate, care, and root for him. Moses does an average job, but when this character's story line starts to hallucinate - a rip off from "A Beautiful Mind" - that part would have been great if Moses has risen to the challenge.

Back to his love story with Anne, besides the draggy part, it was just the typical love story. Good girl meets good guy, and falls for him. I just remembered the actor who would have been great in this role - Tsang Wai Kin, the "Sixth gentleman", from "Treasure Raiders". He would have given life to this character and would have made the audience empathise with his plight--like losing his brother, his eyesight, the love of his life, etc. He would have made the audience root for him to overcome all those obstacles since he was the underdog. If Tsang Wai Kin were to have taken on this role, I would have bought the love between him and Anne, or even how Gigi's character would start to love him. The reason is this character is basically a nice guy whom everyone would want to have as a boyfriend. But in this series, the love triangle between Gigi-Moses-Anne is as dull as a doorknob.

Kong Wah: the mobster who is cool, street smart, and has an intense look that could melt butter. This character appears to be an arrogant and cold person to those around him. But deep inside he is just another good guy who knows when to do the right things. Kong Wah is so marvelous in this role. He just inhabits this character completely with the way he talks, walks, looks, and the way he moves his hands. As the series progresses, so too does this character's depth and complexity. In the beginning of the series, Wah's character is a shrewed mobster who wants to make a legit living. Later, he is a man who has to struggle with jealousy when the woman he loves is in love with someone else. One of the scenes that was so touching, and amusing at the same time, was when Anne came to visit him to see about his burn. He was so happy when he heard Anne had cooked noodles for him, but then sad when later Anne left with Moses, showing Kong Wah's softer side. This character was the saving grace that kept me interested in the series. For I was rooting that he would end up with Anne in the end, but the ending is an open ended one. I guess in a typical series Anne would have ended up with Moses, but this ending leaves it up to the audience whether they like Moses or Kong Wah's character more. This character is not the lead, but his story is so much more interesting, and Kong Wah just oozes with charisma. In his scenes with Anne, there is some poignancy in them where the audience knows Anne only loves Moses. But still I wish she would see the light and return to Kong Wah. Or better yet, it should end with Kong Wah's character meeting a beautiful stranger in the form of Esther Kwan (I really miss seeing them paired up since "Lady Flower Fist" - they really matched in that series). Back to this series. Hands down, Kong Wah stole the show.

Gigi: the kind, but uneducated, young country girl. I thought she was a WASTE of TALENT in this role. A younger artist like Shirley Yeung should have taken this role since Gigi is too old and looks to have weathered many life experiences. Remembering her role in "Fate Twister" (Amy Lam), I felt Gigi should have taken Melissa's character, since that character is quite complex and Gigi would have done a much more magnificent job than Melissa. Don't be mistaken, Gigi did a good job in this role, but there were some scenes that looked like she just tried too hard to cry. Furthermore, if Gigi were to take Melissa's role, there would have been more scenes of Gigi's dancing and singing (that would have been fun to watch). To sum up this role, it is a typecast of Gigi. I wish she would choose more roles that is against type.

This is a series where the audience looks at the supporting actors rather than the main lead actors. In the end, this series is one that could have been great. But in terms of entertainment value, this series is much better than the recent TVB series that I have watched.