Rosy Business

----------SPOILERS AHEAD!----------

Synopsis
During the mid 1820s, a natural disaster hit the city of Nantong. Running out of food supply for the citizens, governor Hong Chi-wing (Wong Wai Leung) used the city's military food supply to feed the citizens. A few days after the disaster, an official from Beijing arrived to the city to check the military supply. Seeing an empty trailer, the Hong family were sentenced to death. Hong Po-yin (Sheren Tang) escaped from punishment and became a maid in the Prince's mansion with the name Hong Po-kei.

Twenty years later, Po-kei meets the rich rice merchant Cheung Kiu (Elliot Yue) in Wuxi, whom she was betrothed to before the disaster, at his manor while the Prince was there for a visit. Cheung Kiu's wife, Yan Fung-yee (Susan Tse) recognizes her and reveals her identity to the Prince. Cheung Kiu manages to convince the Prince to free her, and marries Po-kei as his fourth wife. He appreciates Po-kei's wisdom and persistence, and decides to entrust his business to her, telling her to find a suitable successor for him before he dies.

Hungry for power and eager to keep tradition, Fung-yee finds every opportunity for her son, the eldest child Cheung Pit-man (Pierre Ngo) to be the only heir of the family business. She tries to strip Po-kei from power even when Cheung Kiu's final will reads that Po-kei should be the full owner of the business.

Despite attacks from the family, Po-kei manages to keep the business in good shape. She is impressed with second son Cheung Pit-ching (Ron Ng) and guides him to become the successor, but her efforts are met with Chai Gau's (Wayne Lai) challenges. Chai Gau seeks vengeance for being mistreated and wants a pay back from Pit-Man and the Cheung's family uncle, Pang Hang (Lee Shing-Cheung). After rounds of battle wits and fights, Po-kei and Chai Gau develop more than just a deep friendship.

(Edited from Wikipedia)

Performance of the cast

Sheren Tang as Hong Po-kei (4th Mistress) – If Susan is a natural in playing villain roles, then Sheren is a natural in acting itself. She has played the roles of a concubine, a career woman, a housewife and is about to play the role of an opium drug dealer in the upcoming Rosy Business II – Righteous Sea of Heroic Love. What else can Sheren Tang not play? Excellent performance from Sheren as usual! Sheren never fails to live up to the audience’s expectations for her, and I’m really glad she FINALLY won the TVB Best Actress Award in the 2009 TVB Awards Ceremony. Sheren could have, and should have won it back in 2004 and 2006 for her roles in War and Beauty and La Femme Desperado. She didn’t win it not because of her acting, but because of TVB’s biasness towards its “biological daughters” a.k.a contracted artistes. That aside, Sheren’s portrayal of Hong Po-kei was simply breathtaking, and I can’t imagine another actress playing this character. Nobody could have played Hong Po-kei as well as her. Her crying scenes were superb; her eye expressions when she looked at Chai Gau and the air of authority she commanded as Hing Fung Nin’s boss were fantastic as well! Sheren has a very strong screen presence and will definitely keep you hooked to this drama! (5/5)

Wayne Lai as Chai Gau – Although I have not seen any of Wayne’s dramas before (Rosy Business being the first one), his performance in Rosy Business was really excellent and he for one, definitely deserves the TVB Best Actor Award. From being a scoundrel in the first few episodes to becoming Po-kei’s close friend and helping Hing Fun Nin tide over crisis after crisis, Wayne really portrayed these changes very well! I do love the scenes between Chai Gau and Hong Po-kei very much! He, like Sheren, can really express his emotions through his eyes excellently. From a TVB Best Supporting Actor to Best Actor in just 12 months, you’re simply amazing, Wayne! (5/5)

Elliot Yue as Cheung Kiu – Although Cheung Kiu isn’t the main character in this drama, I believe that he is important to the development of the story. Elliot did very well in portraying his love for his family. Cheung Kiu was a strong leader and he did have a number of cute scenes in this drama, thus I was really sad that he had to die. Great performance from a veteran! (4/5)

Susan Tse as Yan Fung-yee (1st Mistress) – She is one of Confucius’ 78th generation of descendants ah, don’t play play! Anyway, wow. I have just one word to describe her performance in this drama. Fantastic! Her facial expressions can really portray a wide range of emotions. Her stares can really chill you to the bone and kill you with their murderous looks. Despite only joining TVB recently, her roles in Beyond the Realm of Conscience and this drama have brought her much popularity. She really shines in villain roles. I mean no offence, but it does really help that she has THE evil look, so she IS a natural in playing evil roles. For this, she definitely deserves the Best Supporting Actress Award in the 2009 TVB Awards Ceremony. Great job! (5/5)

Kiki Sheung as Pang Kiu (2nd Mistress) – To be honest, though 2nd Mistress was always in cahoots with 1st Mistress to overthrow 4th Mistress, I don’t think she was genuinely bad towards 4th Mistress. Yes, she might be jealous that Cheung Kiu loved 4th Mistress more than the rest of the wives, but she became the bad character only on the instigation of 1st Mistress. Anyway, I don’t think Kiki’s character really stood out here. I’ve seen her in other TVB dramas where she has a meatier role. I guess that’s because 1st Mistress really overshadowed her, hence she could not shine in this drama. Also, as compared to the other 3 wives, Pang Kiu died earlier, hence she has lesser scenes, leaving little impression on me. Kiki’s acting however, was acceptable, though not on par with Susan Tse and Sheren Tang. (3/5)

Kara Hui as Lau Fong (3rd Mistress) – 3rd Mistress had been manipulated by both 1st and 2nd Mistresses ever since she married Cheung Kiu. She was very shy and always had no opinions although she was asked for hers. She even ganged up with 1st and 2nd Mistresses to overthrow 4th Mistress for the safety of her son and herself. However, she slowly changed and learnt to stand up for herself, her son and even 4th Mistress, whom she became good friends with. She even sacrificed herself to save 4th Mistress. Anyway, I think Kara was good in here. She definitely made a deeper impression on me than Kiki. Kara did handle her weakness and her change to a stronger person quite well. I really like the scene where she slapped 1st Mistress really hard. I was totally going “YES 三奶奶! GOOD JOB!” (4/5)

Ron Ng as Cheung Pit-ching – I think Ron did a good job as Pit-ching in here. Contrary to what the synopsis said, I don’t think Pit-ching was really a good-for-nothing. Rather, he spent more time mixing around the workers from Hing Fung Nin instead of being interested in taking over the business, hence giving people the impression that he was a good-for-nothing who idled his time around. I have seen Ron in other TVB series that I felt that he has really matured a lot in his acting in this series. His rise from a nobody to Hing Fung Nin’s boss is one you should look out for in this drama, albeit a setbacks-aplenty one too. In terms of acting, Ron cannot be compared to the likes of the veteran actors, but he is slowly but surely improving. Give him time and I am sure that he will make a fine actor. (4/5)

Pierre Ngo as Cheung Pit-man – I absolutely hated this character from episode 1 to the last episode. Pierre really did a very good job as unfilial and useless son in here. He really made me hate him to the core. Oh, and I will never forget the scary look in his eyes as he slowly died in the fire. It was really very haunting. Great job Pierre, and you definitely deserve the Most Improved Actor Award! (4/5)

Nancy Wu as Suen Hoi-tong – From the vixen she was in the first few episodes to a loving wife, I think Nancy really did well in all these aspects. Good job Nancy! With your acting skills, I think you will have more opportunities to shine in the future! Do look out for her upcoming role in Rosy Business II – Righteous Sea of Heroic Love. She will definitely be playing a more evil role in there! (4/5)

The rest of the cast – Too minor for me to really comment on them, but on the whole, they were what contributed to the success of this drama.

Relationships

4th Mistress and Cheung Kiu – When 4th Mistress first saw Cheung Kiu after 20 over years, there was this look in her eyes that showed that she could never forget Cheung Kiu after all these years, and I think Sheren Tang brought that out very nicely. When 4th Mistress and Cheung Kiu sat down together to come up with plans to improve business, they really looked like business partners. When 4th Mistress and Cheung Kiu were fretting over family issues, they really looked and sounded like husband and wife. There were a few cute scenes with the 2 of them together, the more memorable one being the part where the 2 of them were stalking Pit-ching and Yau Mun (Pit-ching’s future wife) to find out where they were going and what they were going to do. That part was really hilarious! Up till this point, it never occurred to me that 4th Mistress and Cheung Kiu could be such a cute pair. Oh yes, despite the age difference between Elliot and Sheren, I do feel that the 2 of them do have chemistry together. They make a very good couple!

4th Mistress and Chai Gau – After watching Rosy Business, I finally know why there were so many rumours regarding Sheren and Wayne. Their chemistry, I must say, even beat many of the on-screen couples in both Hong Kong and Korean dramas. There were no kissing scenes between them and they didn’t even hug once in this show, much less say “I love you!”. Chai Gau liked 4th Mistress, but there was little indication of 4th Mistress liking Chai Gau romantically because she had Cheung Kiu. However, there was one part where she begged Chai Gau not to kill Pit-man because she did not want to lose him (Chai Gau), her confidant and her close friend. Why did I say that their relationship, though lacking in the romance factor, actually resulted in numerous rumours between Sheren and Wayne? It was in the way they looked at each other. Both Sheren and Wayne can really speak and portray their emotions with their eyes. It was the look of gratitude, respect and even admiration that both 4th Mistress and Chai Gau had for each other, the look that even speaks many times louder than love itself. To be frank, although these rumours can be damaging, especially when Wayne is already married, I’m quite happy to hear about the rumours between Sheren and Wayne. Oh, how I love these two! <3

Pit-ching and Yau Mun – Pit-ching and Yau Mun is the only funny and cute couple in this drama. They did have many cute scenes together and their bickering scenes are hilarious! However, after marriage, Yau Mun became more serious and started supporting her husband in whatever he did. It is such a pity that I don’t feel so much for them as much as I feel for the Chai Gau – 4th Mistress and Chai Gau – Hoi-tong pairings.

Chai Gau and Hoi-tong – I really didn’t like Hoi-tong in the first few episodes, especially when she was involved in setting up Chai Gau and causing him to nearly die under the hands of Pang Hang. However, after both she and Pit-man were caught red-handed by Pang Hang for having an affair, she was chased out by Pang Hang and endured Pang Hang’s many insults. I believe that was when she started to change. She truly loved Chai Gau though she knew that Chai Gau only married her to save her from Pang Hang. Her love for Chai Gau was really great, so great to the extent that she willingly gave up her boat ticket to 4th Mistress, knowing that Chai Gau would want 4th Mistress to accompany him through the last days of his life. That was a really big sacrifice on the part of Hoi-tong, knowing that she would never see Chai Gau again after he boarded the boat to Shanghai. I really respect Hoi-tong for this.

Final thoughts

Although I’ve heard that this is a remake of the Mainland China drama series The Grand Gate Mansion, and the Mainland Chinese have accused Rosy Business of being too similar to that, I do believe that the TVB version triumphs in terms of acting, casting (what’s there to complain, with Wayne and Sheren inside?) and with only 25 episodes (the Grand Gate Mansion is 72 episodes!!), the pacing. I did not have to finish watching this drama to know why it beat Beyond the Realm of Conscience (TVB’s 42nd Grand Anniversary production) to the Best Drama Award. From the directing, the storyline, and to the performance of the cast, everything about this drama is so flawless! Watching the ending of this drama further reinforced the fact that Rosy Business is every bit worthy of the Best Drama Award it has clinched at the 2009 TVB Awards Ceremony. This drama is indeed, one of the best TVB dramas that I have watched in a very long, long time… 2 thumbs-up is not good enough for this show! To quote from Chai Gau , “How many 10 years does one have in his lifetime? The most important thing is to live your life to the fullest! (人生有多少个十年？最重要是活得痛快!)” Well, you can start living your life to the fullest by watching this drama, because I guarantee, besides the underlying tension and the confrontations which are guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seats, you’ll learn a lot from this drama.

I will rate it 5*/5*, for I have learnt much from Rosy Business. I am sure you will enjoy this drama as much as I have. Thank you TVB and Lee Tim-sing for producing such an enjoyable and unforgettable drama. Come on TVB, bring on Rosy Business II – Righteous Sea of Heroic Love!