MOMENTS OF ENDEARMENT [TVB]

Written by Funn Lim

This review was posted many years ago, exactly when I am not sure but it should be within months from the original broadcast of this series. I am posting it as I have posted it originally.

SPOILERS ... SPOILERS ... SPOILERS

Which Is
A doting father's greatest nightmare kinda serial,where a father has to learn to give up his daughter so that she could start a family of her own and also the story of second chances,and falling in love again.A comedy about marriage,dating and overprotective parents.

How Long
20 epsiodes/10 tapes

Who
Nick Cheung ~ Chan Yau Chung
Miriam Yeung ~ Jung Lok Yee
Chun Pui ~ Jung Ji Wai
Louisa So ~ Yeung Jan Naam
Yun King Dan ~ Jung Ji Mei
Michael Tse ~ Lee Jeun Fai
Gigi Fu ~ Leung Nga Si
Yew Lok Yee ~ Hoh Yin Hou (Virginia)
Mak Cheung Ching ~ Tsang Ying Wai
Kwok Fung ~ Chan Ging
Chan Man Noh ~ Shum Louh Louh

The Plot
Interesting storyline but degenarates into a farce later into the serial.

Chun Pui is your typical doting father of a young adult daughter,Miriam who just came back from overseas from her studies.He forsakes his own career as an insurance salesman to give more time for raising his daughter.He arranged for her first work,her first everything and then came the bad news,she met and fell for his co-worker,a nice guy,Nick Cheung just weeks after their first date.He had no choice but to agree and he paid for the best of a wedding dress,wedding cake,even if he had to use his hard earned cash.But he was happy.But when his daughter got married,he felt lonely and he never really let go of his daughter until he found a new love interest,in teh form of his boss,So Yoke Wah ho at first disliked his lazy attitude but we later realised that she was actually his muse when she first entered the business and that she admired him eventhough she later shouted at him as his boss.Now the tables are turned.This 30 something woman has an even more domineering and over protective father,and for once he knw how Nick felt when he was pursuing Miriam.

At the mean time,marotal paradise was shattered when Nick and Miriam argued about their parents.Yes,they love each other but do not even talk bad about their parents.And when a great big misunderstanding was formed between Nick and Miriam's father about So's father,you would have guessed which side his wife took.

But there's a happy ending,do not worry about that.

How About..
The others right?I mean what's Tse Tin Wah and Foo Ming Hin doing in here right?Foo plays Miriams tom-boyish best friend,a very pretty tom boy who is independat and opinionated.She fell for the "woman" of the serial,Tse,because he is a bit effiminate.I mean she fell for him becaus ehe is nice and thye ahve a lot in comon.A big problem would be his Virginia,an aspriing actress and a bitch for all accounts.But all;s well ends well.

As for Yuen keng Tan,she plays the 40 ish aunt of Miriam,sister of Chun Pui,no BF,but got an ex Husband I think whom she still takes care of sometimes.Then she met and fell for her nice boss but over tested his patience and one day he left,but not because he couldn't stand her but because he ahd some other urgent matters.But she thought he left because she didn't care for him.True,she thought the best way to keep a relationship is to act like you don't care,and so the guy would give you expensive gifts.

Anyway,this is a serial about happy endings for happy people.

The Funniest Scenes
Any scene with Tse Tin Wah in it,and the sometimes ridiculous hairdo of Virginia.

And this one scene,where on the day of the marriage,Nick was too late for the wedding and when Miriam saw him,stubbles,hair uncombed and all,she refused to marry him and he begged for forgiveness.Quite funny actually,that look of Nick just woken up from a deep slumber after a night of bachelor party.

The Farce Aspect
The romance that started between So and Chun was the turning point of the serial,for the worst.From then on it was a farce.The storyline became ridiculously unbelievable.I mean,30 something and the father being that protective,how to expect his daugther to be married at all?

But the salvage point would be the almost ending where Nick and Miriam argued over their parents' actions.And also some in between scenes of how wasteful Nick and Miriam was and how unappreciative of them over Chun's devotion of soups and all,never thinking that the way they spent,some of their apartment's rent was also paid by her father!After being scolded by Miriams cousin brother(Mak Cheung Ching),they reliased that her father really loved her and worked hard for the monet that they both began to save money to pay for their own food,etc.A very touching plot of fatherly love.Though the endingw as bit corny but still,well,sentimental where Chun became Mother Of The Year so to speak.

Most Compatible Couple(s) as in the serial
Tse and Foo,ok I guess.So and Chun?Too large and age gap.But Miriam and Nick,makes a cute couple.

Best Performances
Chun Pui could do drama,could do comedy,he is too good.And Nick Cheung in here,no over acting like saliva spurting everywhere or bulging veins on his neck like SOH.He is funny in here and I like his charcater.

Foo was ok,Tse was hilarious ,and as usually,Yew Lok yee was very good in here as the bitchy Virginia.

So yoke Wah was ok,though the romance between So and Chun was too sudden.

Most Improved Performance
She was horrible in Recipe For The HEart though her character is funny not because of how she protrayed it but because of how it was written.In here she plays a very pampered daughter,and her acting is a bit too lacking though I must say,quite an improvement from her last TV appearance.But her flaw is the way she talks,to lazy and draggy in her speach.As an actress,she is horrible and she can't act.As a singer acting in a serial,she was terrible but nevertheless tolerable.But if only somebody else was in this serial,but i do think she was the star in this serial.

Is it worth Renting
It has its moments,it is sometimes funny but like I said above,it can be pretty crappy in the middle but the ending was though corny,but i guess I hate anything sentimental.Anyway,quite a good serial.Give it a try.

Interesting Observation
I like the English Title,but the Chinese title is a bit more to the point though it may not have nything to do with the serial's theme.

In chinese,it is Ngoi Foo Ng Pah Jou,meaning Fear Not In Being A Father In Law.But the funny thing is he is not afraid of being a father in law,he is just afraid of losing his beloved daughter.Anyway,I would've wished for a longer segment of their dating,his worries over his daughter's love life,his fear of being a father in law,not much in here.

Interesting Comparison : Now,the real movie that YOU must watch for such a fearf would be Father Of The Bride.You can watch the latest version with Steve Martin but believe me,go for the Spencer Tracy and Elizabeth Taylor version,it's funnier,and it's a classic.Same set of storyline as with this serial,his only daughter announcing that she wants to get married at a very youn age,and he lives in fear of having to pay all the wedding bills,etc.It 's a story of how a father learns to let go of his growing daughter.Excellent stuff.

By the way,in Western world,women pay for everything.
In Chinese world,men pay for everything and also a dowry for the woman,not for tbe parenst actually.The original intention was to be as a safegurd for the wife so that if he ever does leave her,she has some money to start her life again.
In Indian World,dowry has sadly become one of the reasons for the high rates of suicides and murder in India.Women pay men the dowry and men can be pretty demanding,like TV,Cars,houses,cash and we are talking about a poor family here.And if she can't pay,some even go to the extent of killing the young bride.So some poor families opt for suicides.there's always an alternative of course,not marrying at all but they're poor and marriage in my opinion is like a merger of two families for economic purposes,two incoms instead of one.

Interesting Facts
Foo Ming Hin is married and officially retired from entertainment world.