Released In
2013
Chinese Title
心路GPS, literally, Heart Road GPS
No. of Episodes
3 episodes too long - 20 episodes
Cast-Character
Louise Lee - Lau Chui Wan
Ruco Chan - Summer Ha Yat Cheung
Mak Cheung-ching - Leung Chung Shun
Priscilla Wong - May Hui Mei Fung
Rebecca Chan - Ha Siu Han
Stanley Cheung - Wong Wai Hong
Hero Yuen - Sky Cheung Tsun Kit
Rachel Kan - Mandy Chan Man Wah
Owen Cheung - Chan Man Chung
Vincent Lam - Simon Wong Sai Man
Jenny Lau - Chloe Au Ho Yee
Kaki Leung - Peggy Fong Pui Kei
Meini Cheung - Wai Lai Fun
Chow Chung - Leung Tung
Teresa Ha - Cheung Ki
Yoyo Law - Leung Ka Yang
Yu Tze Ming - Ho Chi Cheung
Law Lok Lam - Kit's father
Chan Wing Chun - May's father
Absolutely unknown
Most cast at the rural village scene in China but their names can be found here whilst the more important ones as follows (thanks to llwy12 of Jaynestars for the tip):-
Au Wai Kuen - Uncle Lau
Yuen Hoi Kam - Auntie Lau
Ho Cheuk Wai - Keung Jai (Uncle Lau’s oldest son)
Pang Gan - Zhuang Jai (little boy who plays Uncle Lau’s youngest son)
Dai Lo Yiu - Ching Ching (little girl who plays Uncle Lau’s daughter)
Plot/Summary
Taken from Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reality_Check_%282013_TV_series%29)
In preparation for filming a brand-new reality show, senior TV producer Summer Ha (Ruco Chan) is ready to document a Hong Kong teenager Sky Cheung (Hero Yuen), who goes back to mainland China from the city in pursuit of the realm of returning to nature through his experience of the rural life there.
However, the TV station has a drastic shortage of manpower, so Summer recruits a rookie May Hui (Priscilla Wong) as his assistant, and his best friend Leung Chung-shun (Mak Cheung-ching) as the photographer. During the filming, each of them witnesses the significant change of the hero’s personality when this typical Hong Kong Kid is confronted with the culture conflicts in the countryside. In addition, everyone’s blind spot in daily life has also been addressed. Summer, who is always subjective and persistent, starts afresh to review the love-hate relationship between him and his foster mother Lau Tsui-wan (Louise Lee) as well as his biological mother Ha Siu-han (Rebecca Chan). Being diligent and sincere, May works so hard to recover her self-esteem and the long-lost paternal love. Male chauvinist Shun's quarrel with his family members over trifles stirs up a great disturbance, resulting in his family being torn to pieces. Will the GPS Guide for the Soul eventually help them out of their predicament?
Interestingly, the plot summary is sorta on point. I have nothing more to add.
ENDING REVEALED
I shall put this first because the ending is actually what you probably would have guessed before watching this series. It is a happy ending. And when I say happy ending, those who deserves their comeuppance got their comeuppance, forgiveness everywhere and smiles in the end. What is not revealed is the process to that point which is the real pleasure of watching this heartfelt emotionally moving series with some of the best performances by the veterans and the young ones alike.
COMMENTS
It is easy to dismiss this series as one note and I do agree, at some point it was dangerously close to being one note repeated on perpetuity. There are a few elements that didn't fit, eventhough such elements are the main central theme of this series, mostly because I couldn't believe Louise Lee is a gambleholic. And the issue of her being a gambleholic comes and goes as and when it serves the story which makes it seems fleeting, not as serious as it ought to be and probably badly edited script or end production. I also can't see how May's chauvinistic father fits into the story as a whole because again, it was fleeting and it ended unconvincingly as it began. I felt more can be said about her father through the angry phone calls she had with him rather than meeting him face to face, which was anti-climatic in my opinion. There is no love story between 2 strangers, so you won't see May and Summer's love story eventhough it ended with one of the most romantic scene where they were on a small boat/sampan with the cave and lake forming a very romantic backdrop and these 2 sorta flirting with each other. Now I take a big liberal interpretation to the term flirting but there is no denying, if this series went on for another 5 episodes, we would have seen a love story between these 2. I also have major issues with the sudden change in the children; from good to selfish to good again. Again if the series went on for another 5 episodes, no doubt when money rolls in, the children will be rotten to the core again. I have nothing much to change about the ending, which I thought was beautiful except for the sudden bad luck of the children to became good again in 1 episode when they spent a good 15 episodes or so being so rotten, they can have fist fights with Lee Chi Hou of Kindred Spirit as to who is the WORST son/daughter ever on TV screen. I'd rather they remained rotten which would make better sense, a better ending even if a very depressing one for all mothers. But how can any mother trust their own child after what these children put them through, after what Chui went through, how can she ever believe anything they say ever again? I think this series did address this issue, off camera I suppose by her accepting that it is a fact her children was rotten, it is a fact that she probably has some part to play in it and that it is not really her fault alone.
To save you time, in case you hate reading long winded reviews, my opinion is this is perhaps one of TVB's best series for 2013 but since it is only March and way too early to say so, I will settle for one of TVB's best series in 2013 and probably one of the most heartfelt in a long long time. This is one series that does not depend on shock tactics of killing off characters with almost gleeful joy or headlines of how many minutes an actress had to go through in a rape scene. In fact there isn't much scandals so to speak in this series, except perhaps a woman's gambling addiction but that does not maketh a shocking headline even of Louise Lee is the one having that addiction which is to me, one reason to be shocked. In its simplest form, this is the usual TVB family fare. But simplicity can be a misleading term for a series as complicated as this in its character and dialogue driven script. The gem is not in the so called one note storyline but rather as the series goes by, we see each character being unravelled. Once a bad guy, we see the good side. One a confident guy, we see their insecurities and temper tantrums. Once an egoistical guy, we see what is actually a man deeply in love with his wife but unable to communicate with her. Once a guy lacking in confidence is actually a talent waiting for the right time to blossom. Once a good guy but is actually rotten to the core when bad times come. This series flips each character and plays with our emotions and I don't know about you, there were times I was carried away by that emotion, mostly from Summer's point of view. This series shouldn't be called Heart Road GPS because then it can be interpreted as what everyone needs is a navigation system. That is not the series' content since their hearts are misled. If your GPS is badly tuned, how then can it lead to the right location? This series to me is all about Pride And Prejudice. Each character is flawed, and if the script has not tried to reach a perfect end, it would have been perfect in showing not all characters are redeemable. Unfortunately, TVB wants and tries and will destroy any perfect script and in this series, makes every characters redeemable to varying degrees. That I hate and I am sure the hate for this series stems from the conventional end.
At the very core of this series, this series is a love story, but between a son and his 2 mothers, between a son and his aged parents and young wife, a grandson and his troublesome grandfather, a daughter and her chauvinistic father, a student and his master, a spoilt but lonely child and his misunderstood father. Which is which, I shall let you discover for yourself. That is the joy of this series.
In the story of Summer and his 2 mothers, Chui his foster mother and Han his biological mother, the gambling addiction of Chui merely serves to drive the series some where, but not the entire storyline. Yes her addiction is the weakest link in this series. I couldn't believe how many episodes were dedicated to her self pity and after the 3rd or 4th time she went back to gambling when everyone tried to help her, I felt more disgusted than pity. I believe that is the purpose. An addiction is ugly, and one that hurts your loved ones and is the basis of your self pity is probably the worst of all addiction. At that point I was frustrated with where the series WAS NOT GOING and it went on and on, and then it stopped for us to take a breather and then came back to it again. That was the repetitive part and it may turn off some viewers because it felt like Chui was whinging it so to speak. Probably you may ask "So what's her problem? She got a good friend and a good son and her own children also disowned her and she still gambles?!" which is a valid question. I asked that many times. But as the story reveals itself, her addiction stemmed from her loneliness after her husband died very very suddenly, it spiralled out of control when her children abandoned her which made her question many times, "Was I that bad a mother to have raised 2 rotten children?" and compounded by the fact that she felt this immense guilt that she was the wedge between Summer, a boy she raised and loved but not as her own son and Summer's biological mother, Han. She never wanted to replace Han as Summer's mother but when she realised she unexpectedly did so, she herself felt herself to be this rotten evil woman and there she goes, gambling again. I expected her to kill herself way before she actually wanted to kill herself. So when she did finally curbed her addiction, to many viewers probably quite suddenly, in actual fact 2 of her biggest driving force towards gambling were solved; she recognised the fact that her children were rotten and it was not her fault AND she finally accepts that she has a got a good son, that is Summer who finally reconciled with his biological mother. Her guilt lifted, her loneliness gone, her pain disappeared and so does her need to gamble. It is in the end psychological and yes, why can't she see a doctor about that, correct? But then that will be A Great Way To Care instead of this series.
Summer to me sometimes is such a prejudiced character. He hated his mother, to the point that he doesn't give a damn about her illness. That was a very realistic dialogue he had with May, where May chastised him for not caring about his own mom whilst running everywhere looking for someone else's mom but he replied sarcastically that Han can die and he doesn't care and he meant it, with enough venom to make you wince. Another actor would have made me fly kick him but Ruco did that scene with that terrible dialogue with such grace, I sorta wondered "Why man, why you hate her so?" instead of you know, "You bastard!". Automatically I assumed the mother must have been rotten but changed over the years. The truth was far simpler. She gave birth to Summer when she was 16, she was young, she didn't know how to care for a child, and she thought by giving him a father, and a family, was the best way to show how much she loved him. Unfortunately in Summer's eyes, these were her exact failure as a mother. He had very very low opinion of her, even when Chui advised him to forgive his mother, he was not ready to forgive. This series will trace that pain, the forgiveness, the final reconciliation to much joy I hope to the viewers. I certainly felt very emotional. We have all met mothers like Han, who had the right heart but not the right sense and we have met sons like Summer who wished another woman was their mom instead of their real mom. I felt the dialogue between Summer and Han and Chui were almost like a love/hate sonnet. Poetic, real and yet surreal at times. One of the most surreal scene which could have been a confession of love was Summer bemoaning to Chui "Why I am not yours?". I can't remember the exact dialogue but it was almost like you can replace the words mother to another girl's name and it can be a love confession. No doubt Summer is so close to Chui, he can even flirt with her. I like the ease he is whenever he is with her, and I also like the tension between Summer and Han. After a while it felt like Han is the third party in the relationship between Summer and Chui. And believe me, Summer is hard to like when he treats his mother like shit, he seems like a petulant spoilt child but in the end he is just a very insecure man. He derives his love from Chui's stability when he was growing up and when Chui rejected him, he felt hurt, he felt like that child that nobody wanted prior to living with Chui. He has issues and he directed his entire anger at Han. I like how realistic when he literally pushed Han out of the door. Oh that was a brilliant and cruel scene. But this relationship has a very very happy end. In one of the last scene where Summer reads a note he made and kept in a time capsule, in it was his dearest wish a year ago and it was "To call Auntie Chui mother". Deep down, that is what he wanted. In the end, as he was dancing with Han and Chui and Han asked cryptically "Have you said to her yet?" and he was a bit blur when Chui smiled and said to him "You can call me mom" which is something at that point we know he had wanted to say in his entire life and that is how the series came full circle at the very very last scene of a happy Summer standing between the 2 most important persons in his life, his mother and ... his mother. I seriously love that very last scene. Eventhough Summer's closeness to Chui is unbreakable, you can see the warmth and closeness with his real mom, Han. It was a great ending to a very emotional ride.
And that is what this series is ultimately about. It leads you everywhere, it goes everywhere but in the end it ends where it should end. I mean, what more can you ask for in a TVB series these days?
There are other stories as well. The first 4 or 5 episodes were brilliant as the story slowly builds up with the story of an obnoxious kid called Kit and how he ruined everyone's life in the village. Well, sorta. We all know he will end up a nice kid but I never expected to be so captivated by the rural village sequence where we have unknown actors who were genuinely sincere in the way they performed their roles. It could have felt fake but it felt genuine to me. I love that few episodes and how Kit changed eventhough he still had an attitude, he became a better man for what he went through. It also spent time showing the other characters, and so when they all returned to HK, it felt like I knew Summer, May, and everyone else. Yes, thereafter things sorta went a little downhill where it seems so usual TVB fare but then the story actually starts when Han's husband died suddenly and we see for each family, things are not as simple as we think they are. I predicted, very wrongly that Shun's wife, Fun will run away with another man, thus the emotional arc for this character. Yes, I was thinking the cheap shock tactics again and this series turned out classier than I thought. She didn't run away, she stayed but the almost breakup of this marriage was at times rather funny to watch thanks to the antics of Hong's very nosy grandfather and Fun's sometimes misunderstood parents in law. These set/couple is the comedic element in this series and it can be very very funny. May's story is the most underdeveloped and at times I feel she was too judgmental of Summer and too opinionated but again the heart is in the right place. The good thing about May is she doesn't annoy even if she frustrates so that makes her character easier to accept. I also love the very funny story of Kit and his cafe owner father. I never thought I see Law Lok Lam in a lighthearted role but it happened in this series!
Frankly, I can find a lot of faults with this series in terms of storyline or editing or the script but you know what? Who cares! As long as it makes good sense, I can accept the flaws. I suppose my expectations are lower these days. Truth is I went into this series having zero expectations and was very surprised to have watched every episode and loving it. If you're someone who finds nothing from a character driven series, then this series is not for you. And what a pity if you missed it because then you won't see the awesomeness of some really fantastic performances.
RUCO CHAN
Ruco Chan must get his TV King title soon but I know he won't because by the time the nominations are in, this series will be long gone and forgotten. So let's hope AOD viewers remember him, so that he will come to Malaysia and get his award for Malaysia AOD's TV King and since TVB is rarely original in anything, they may then copy AOD and give him their TVB TV King award. I look forward to seeing Ruco in Malaysia! Anyway he looks very good physically. He looks slimmer, more toned, the earring adds a bad boy vibe to him instead of "sissy-fied" him. His jeans looks tighter, shirts tighter, everything tighter. What I am trying to say is he looks really good. And he was convincing as the supremely "arrogant" Summer as well as the overly "insecure" Summer. The only time he didn't do too well was at the beginning of the 2 foster sibling's betrayal and I thought he was too nice to them in his tone. But of course eventually he did shout at them and even punched the foster brother, to my delight and if you look at Chui's face, to her delight as well. He was flirty with Louise Lee and this lucky bastard got to hug Louise and Rebecca many many times. He got a lot of female attention in here I tell you! For all those who sees him as a siu sang, oh puh-lease!! He is a veteran now! He is beyond Siu Sang. And don't give me that crap that he is most improved. He is lead actor quality. As in he can really act. But can he really lead? I believe his legions of fans will agree. I was impressed with him after The Other Truth, where he didn't feel like the serial killer accountant vibe anymore. I felt his best performance todate was in Three Kingdoms RPG because that character was meant to be one layered character but he injected into the character so many emotional layers that to me, he was more layered than the one note Zhuge Liang. But it was really No Good Either Way that made me sit up and notice him. However Reality Check convinces me he has that leading quality vibe backed up with what I feel is an evolving acting skill, which is evolving for the better. He can do better of course, he is not Bowie who can do drama and comedy and be sexy and dangerous as he can be dowdy and uncle-ish. He is also not Roger Kwok or Gallen Lo or one with a commanding presence like Bobby Au Yeung. But he has better acting skills than most you see onscreen today and he does his emotional scenes well. And he has better chemistry with his knapsack than Jason Chan had with his. Seriously, when I saw Ruco holding his knapsack with such conviction, I was like "Give him an award!!" because dear Jason really screwed up badly with his knapsack which probably just sued Jason for ruining its career prospect with his unconvincing way of carrying it.
BEST SCENE
The best being that scene where Chui rejected him and that hurt in his eyes, oh that hurt, I feel like hugging him and go "Now now don't cry, she doesn't want you, I want you". What more can I say? I have been Ruco-fied and enlist me into Ruco Chan Fan Club please!
MOST HEARTBREAKING SCENE
When Chui left HKD200,000 to Summer instead of HKD1m for each of her biological child as payback for him for taking care of her during those few months and then ran away and hide, May said to Summer "I feel more unfair for you that you did so much and yet she gave you not an equal sum she gave to those 2 rotten children" but Summer quietly said "If you really see someone as your loved one, you will not say you pay them back for the months they helped you..." which means, in his broken heart he felt that Chui never really saw him as her own son and that was why that scene was very heartbreaking, for Summer.
UNINTENTIONALLY FUNNIEST SCENE
The one where he overheard Chui and Han overemphasising on "We must never let him know", "We must lie to him", "Yes, we must lie to him .. forever!". I thought how can anyone not misunderstand the meaning with so much "we must lie to him..." dialogue in one scene. It sounds almost evil.
ONE HUGE QUESTION MARK
I don't get it! Why when Summer was beaten with bruises on his face, very prominent bruises and NOT ONE even said "Oh dear what happened?" but when he was coughing and sorta sick, suddenly all 3 women (Chui, Han and May) all went into panic mode like "Oh you're sick, you must rest"? I mean poor guy, good looking face punched and yet no one cared, no one asked, no one wondered and one cough, woah all the women rushing to him. Doesn't make sense at all.
LOUISE LEE
I consider her a complete miscast as the gambleholic Chui. This is in part because Louise is too elegant to be a believable no-shame-gambleholic. However she was fantastic as the woman driven mad with guilt over Summer's rejection of his real mom, that good woman and good mother sort of role. That I can't critique and she shares the best chemistry with Ruco. They can be lovers and I will be convinced. Anyway I didn't catch the age difference but I do think Chui should be about a decade older than Han. Or maybe a bit more. We do know Summer was 8 when he went to live with him. Han was 16 when she gave birth to Summer. It was 3 years after Summer moved in that Chung was born. Mandy presumably only a few years younger. None of these matters, just for comparison sake. Anyway Chui's husband is the often seen ke-le-fe veteran but never quite in prominent roles like patriarch of a family. So when I saw him I thought "Wow, either he has been promoted since he is now husband of Louise or Louise is demoted with a nobody husband so to speak". And then of course he died so that settles the whole promotion/demotion. The role is too small for Chun Pui and a bit too prominent (hey! Louise is your wife, that must mean a promotion!) for ke-le-fes.
BEST SCENE
Quite a few. I like how in the end she realises that her children's turning to the dark side isn't really due to her gambling habits but her gambling habits showed to her their real personality, how she reconciled with the fact that their relationships will never be the same ever again, the subtle smile she had when she saw Ruco's Summer beating her son whom she loved very much but became very very disappointed with. Her confrontation with her pretentious children with some really hard hitting dialogue ever spoken, probably by Louise herself. I think those are her best scenes, as she confronted her children's hypocrisy and yet you see from her eyes, her heart is breaking and she is constantly asking herself what did she do wrong, that she ended up with 2 rotten children.
REBECCA CHAN
Another fine performance. I always thought for a veteran Rebecca Chan is often not very much appreciated. She has fine acting skills. And she is still beautiful. I don't have much to say except this is a very subdued performance and it suits her character well.
BEST SCENE
Lying side by side with Chui, who regretfully and tearfully said "Han.. I am so sorry...I always thought I can fix the rift between you and Summer but in the end I was the reason for the rift... I never expected by my loving him unconditionally as he was growing up that he will see me as his mother and reject you. I am so sorry Han, I am so very sorry" and we see Chui lying by her side, her back facing Han and she was silently crying. It was a heart wrenching scene. Han never blamed Chui for taking her place, she was grateful and in a way she blamed herself for her failure to be a good mother in Summer's eyes but it doesn't make that scene any less heart wrenching.
ANOTHER MOST HEARTBREAKING SCENE
Many times Summer said some terrible stuff to her, from "please leave" to outright "get lost" but the most heartbreaking was when he said "Auntie Chui can do no wrong in my eyes! She is perfect in my eyes! Whatever she does, however she does wrong, I will always forgive you! But I will never ever forgive you!" and pushes Han out of the door. Sometimes I hate Summer for resenting his mom who was making a lot of effort and poor Han did give up for a while, thinking she didn't want to force her presence onto Summer who clearly hated him. But I believe Chui did say "When there's hate, there's love".
MAK CHEUNG CHING
He really looks like a camera man. A very convincing performance and at times a comic relief. Whilst his story with his wife and parents (as in the guy stuck between 2 forces) may seem disconnected to Summer's story, you can say it is not disconnected but rather a separate story of his own. I enjoyed his story, how he avoided going home to avoid arguments. After a while his arguments is lost in his unrelentlessness in bending his wife to his will so to speak. I mean he loves his wife, no doubt about it but he never once in his own way respected his wife's own free will. Yes the woman is silly in thinking letting her manager grope her means she can get her promotion but her husband never quite asked her why she was desperate to stay in her job. He never considered she took pride in her job or why she argued with his old aged mother or why she wanted to move out, etc. In the end all things right itself and we see Evergreen as the unlikely romantic guy sorta wooing his wife in a rather cute scene by the beach. I thought he did very well.
BEST SCENE
The scene where he raged against his nosy neighbours for tearing his family apart, sad and yet funny. Also like the cute small small stuff like his wife's picture on his handphone, with her looking glamorous. And lookout for his impersonation of Andy Lau at the end!
MEINI CHEUNG
Seen her but not idea who she is. But she has a substantial role and I feel she was adequate and served her role well.
BEST SCENE
I suppose that scene where her manager was caught filming her legs or something and everyone rallied around her and her mother in law said she can be a witness and the manager dismissed her mother in law as lying and for probably the first time ever, she shouted out loud "IF MY MOTHER IN LAW SAYS YOU DID IT, I BELIEVE HER!".
PRISCILLA WONG
This is her first acting role I believe? Was she horrible? No, far from it. She was a natural. I am not saying she is great, I am saying she did not ruin this series, at all. In fact she was sincere, genuine and heartfelt in her performance of a PA who isn't afraid to speak her mind without being annoying. The most annoying thing about her May is not her acting or her delivery of lines but rather the fact that her wardrobe consists of short pants, short jeans, and anything short and I wonder, does TVB in real life has that sort of dress code for PAs in their offices? However there were times I felt like she was virtually near tears because she sounded like she was scared, terrified, her voice trembling. I suppose she was scared in her first performance and it showed, through her voice. But for a first timer, she was rather charming and served her role well and has good chemistry with her co-stars. So I am not complaining. And as opposed to Jason Chan, she looks believable when carrying her bags and knapsacks.
BEST SCENE
Probably her worst scene was her argument with her father. She doesn't do argument scenes well. Best scene probably the scene where she stood by the door, relaxed, thinking her father lying unconscious on the floor was just pretending to be unconscious.
HERO YUEN
Who the heck is this young actor? First question in my mind. Pretty raw but is convincing as a douchebag who turned to be a nice guy in the end. He has a lot of roles in the first few episodes and when he was gone from the screen I kinda missed him. An effective performance and let's be frank, he was rather good even if rather raw.
BEST SCENE
Entire rural village scenes.
STANLEY CHEUNG
Another effective performance and even if rather raw as well. I don't have much to comment but he does have a substantial role and he doesn't annoy me. In fact I thought he did rather well.
BEST SCENE
Every scene he is in with his nosy grandfather, makes for comical moments.
YU TZE MING
To me the most hated old man in this series, who provokes others and yet doesn't admit it. But that's what makes him lovable I suppose; he penchant for "stoking fire" in other people's problems.
BEST SCENE
Without a doubt, that scene where he spoke to Mak's Shun about his rather loud argument with his wife and Shun said "You were the cause of our rift!" and he said meekly "But this time I didn't say anything at all, you were the one who started it" and Shun said "What did I say?!" and basically he repeated the exact dialogue which was funny and when Hong joined in and offered to advice Shun and Shun angrily dismissed Hong and said "What do you know? You're just a kid, how dare you advise me!" and he walked away and old grandpa looked confused as he said "But I am 70... surely I am qualified to advise you..". Ahhhh lost in translation. It was a very funny scene!
JENNY LAU
It took me a while to realise she is that poor actress who was manhandled and pushed so roughly to the door that she crumbled into the floor and cried her heart out. That scandal that exposed that rude director who once scolded obscenities at a very young Charmaine Sheh. Joke is, that was her best acting moment, it felt real, the fear felt real and in retrospect she probably felt real scared. Other times, I can't stand her bitchy "Ah Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeee". I can do without her but this series needs a villain.
RACHEL KAN
She has been getting a lot of prominent supporting roles lately. I don't like the way she grits her teeth as she talks. But performance wise, a very good one as she lets her inner bitch out and gave it her all as the cruel bitchy greedy daughter whose comeuppance in the end was more of an afterthought.
BEST SCENE
When she turned her inner bitch on with her mom, Chui. Cruel words, real dialogue, evil woman!
OWEN CHEUNG
No idea who he is but again same comments as per Rachel Kan above, except acting is raw BUT effective. And perhaps the most unconvincing turnaround in the end.
BEST SCENE
Which probably is one of the most cruel to Chui when he suddenly stopped her as she was about to leave his pink-ki-fied apartment and I thought, could it be he had a sudden blast of conscience? when he said sheepishly "Mom, can you give me back my house keys?" and zing! Oh poor Chui... poor poor Chui! I bet at that moment she thinks "I should have had a plate of Char Siew rather than this piece of crap!".
VINCENT WONG
Very surprised to see this actor with "huge flared up nostrils" back at TVB. How many years I haven't seen him? Anyway zero development for a character, one of the weakest in here. Acting wise, one dimensional because his character IS one dimensional.
KAKI LEUNG
She is cute here, she excels as the girl next to the leading lady and always the cheerful one. However I was rather annoyed with her constant grins in here. She quite simply laughed too much.
CHOW CHUNG
Probably one of the very few performances of Chow Chung that I actually like and that I find amusing and funny at times. He was effective in here and I like the little details like how he will hold his onscreen wife's hands when walking, like a loving old couple should.
TERESA HA
She has aged a lot. No comment since she is always effective in her performances. You may dislike her in the beginning in this series since a lot of the misunderstanding between her son and his wife stemmed from her own misunderstanding of her daughter in law.
BEST SCENE
For both her and Chow Chung, has to be the one where Shun reluctantly told them he had to move out to be with his wife and daughter and the father quietly pulled up a notice and on it is the number of tha mover lorry service and he told his son he does not disagree with his actions.
OTHER PERFORMANCES
I do not know their names but they were all competent and effective. Some of the best and most natural acting had to be the rural village scenes where the kids and the older actors were at ease, had great chemistry and were very likable. I wish I knew all of their names because they all deserved a mention for a job well done. I specially love the Lau family and the cute boys and girl. Seriously natural in their performances.
And a special mention to the detective at the police station where all the family drama happened. It was very funny how stern the cop was and then soft-hearted enough to devise a reunion between Summer and Chui who was hiding herself and later on gets front row seat in many emotional encounters. I thought those scenes did more to the police image than all those stupid detective series that ruined the police image.
VERDICT
The ending may be predictable, the middle may be repetitive, the story may have been recycled from other stories but there is no denying, this is quite a ride. I absolutely enjoyed this series and whilst I can do without certain elements, tweaking here and there, overall this is as I have said earlier, one of the best series of 2013 and I do not make the claim lightly. Fans of Ruco Chan and Mak Cheung Ching must watch this for their fantastic performances, especially Ruco Chan's. Those who loved the veterans should watch this series as well as they are all given prominent roles. The dialogues are crisp and clear, some realistic, some dreamy and romantic. It is more character driven than story driven, but doesn't mean it should be dismissed as boring, one note, one story, etc. It has its charm and for all the craps TVB's been churning out, it is always the one with least publicity and without headlines screaming everywhere are the ones that is worth paying attention to. Reality Check is such a series and it deserves more attention it is getting. Don't miss this one but do be patient with it and you will be rewarded with some very emotional moments and great dialogue that shows to us all, TVB can make a series with heart in it (if they want to).
INTERESTING FACTS
Thanks to llwy12 of Jaynestars for the tip which is fascinating although each had a few speaking lines, I thought they were convincing and now I know why!
2013
Chinese Title
心路GPS, literally, Heart Road GPS
No. of Episodes
3 episodes too long - 20 episodes
Cast-Character
Louise Lee - Lau Chui Wan
Ruco Chan - Summer Ha Yat Cheung
Mak Cheung-ching - Leung Chung Shun
Priscilla Wong - May Hui Mei Fung
Rebecca Chan - Ha Siu Han
Stanley Cheung - Wong Wai Hong
Hero Yuen - Sky Cheung Tsun Kit
Rachel Kan - Mandy Chan Man Wah
Owen Cheung - Chan Man Chung
Vincent Lam - Simon Wong Sai Man
Jenny Lau - Chloe Au Ho Yee
Kaki Leung - Peggy Fong Pui Kei
Meini Cheung - Wai Lai Fun
Chow Chung - Leung Tung
Teresa Ha - Cheung Ki
Yoyo Law - Leung Ka Yang
Yu Tze Ming - Ho Chi Cheung
Law Lok Lam - Kit's father
Chan Wing Chun - May's father
Absolutely unknown
Most cast at the rural village scene in China but their names can be found here whilst the more important ones as follows (thanks to llwy12 of Jaynestars for the tip):-
Au Wai Kuen - Uncle Lau
Yuen Hoi Kam - Auntie Lau
Ho Cheuk Wai - Keung Jai (Uncle Lau’s oldest son)
Pang Gan - Zhuang Jai (little boy who plays Uncle Lau’s youngest son)
Dai Lo Yiu - Ching Ching (little girl who plays Uncle Lau’s daughter)
Plot/Summary
Taken from Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reality_Check_%282013_TV_series%29)
In preparation for filming a brand-new reality show, senior TV producer Summer Ha (Ruco Chan) is ready to document a Hong Kong teenager Sky Cheung (Hero Yuen), who goes back to mainland China from the city in pursuit of the realm of returning to nature through his experience of the rural life there.
However, the TV station has a drastic shortage of manpower, so Summer recruits a rookie May Hui (Priscilla Wong) as his assistant, and his best friend Leung Chung-shun (Mak Cheung-ching) as the photographer. During the filming, each of them witnesses the significant change of the hero’s personality when this typical Hong Kong Kid is confronted with the culture conflicts in the countryside. In addition, everyone’s blind spot in daily life has also been addressed. Summer, who is always subjective and persistent, starts afresh to review the love-hate relationship between him and his foster mother Lau Tsui-wan (Louise Lee) as well as his biological mother Ha Siu-han (Rebecca Chan). Being diligent and sincere, May works so hard to recover her self-esteem and the long-lost paternal love. Male chauvinist Shun's quarrel with his family members over trifles stirs up a great disturbance, resulting in his family being torn to pieces. Will the GPS Guide for the Soul eventually help them out of their predicament?
Interestingly, the plot summary is sorta on point. I have nothing more to add.
ENDING REVEALED
I shall put this first because the ending is actually what you probably would have guessed before watching this series. It is a happy ending. And when I say happy ending, those who deserves their comeuppance got their comeuppance, forgiveness everywhere and smiles in the end. What is not revealed is the process to that point which is the real pleasure of watching this heartfelt emotionally moving series with some of the best performances by the veterans and the young ones alike.
COMMENTS
It is easy to dismiss this series as one note and I do agree, at some point it was dangerously close to being one note repeated on perpetuity. There are a few elements that didn't fit, eventhough such elements are the main central theme of this series, mostly because I couldn't believe Louise Lee is a gambleholic. And the issue of her being a gambleholic comes and goes as and when it serves the story which makes it seems fleeting, not as serious as it ought to be and probably badly edited script or end production. I also can't see how May's chauvinistic father fits into the story as a whole because again, it was fleeting and it ended unconvincingly as it began. I felt more can be said about her father through the angry phone calls she had with him rather than meeting him face to face, which was anti-climatic in my opinion. There is no love story between 2 strangers, so you won't see May and Summer's love story eventhough it ended with one of the most romantic scene where they were on a small boat/sampan with the cave and lake forming a very romantic backdrop and these 2 sorta flirting with each other. Now I take a big liberal interpretation to the term flirting but there is no denying, if this series went on for another 5 episodes, we would have seen a love story between these 2. I also have major issues with the sudden change in the children; from good to selfish to good again. Again if the series went on for another 5 episodes, no doubt when money rolls in, the children will be rotten to the core again. I have nothing much to change about the ending, which I thought was beautiful except for the sudden bad luck of the children to became good again in 1 episode when they spent a good 15 episodes or so being so rotten, they can have fist fights with Lee Chi Hou of Kindred Spirit as to who is the WORST son/daughter ever on TV screen. I'd rather they remained rotten which would make better sense, a better ending even if a very depressing one for all mothers. But how can any mother trust their own child after what these children put them through, after what Chui went through, how can she ever believe anything they say ever again? I think this series did address this issue, off camera I suppose by her accepting that it is a fact her children was rotten, it is a fact that she probably has some part to play in it and that it is not really her fault alone.
To save you time, in case you hate reading long winded reviews, my opinion is this is perhaps one of TVB's best series for 2013 but since it is only March and way too early to say so, I will settle for one of TVB's best series in 2013 and probably one of the most heartfelt in a long long time. This is one series that does not depend on shock tactics of killing off characters with almost gleeful joy or headlines of how many minutes an actress had to go through in a rape scene. In fact there isn't much scandals so to speak in this series, except perhaps a woman's gambling addiction but that does not maketh a shocking headline even of Louise Lee is the one having that addiction which is to me, one reason to be shocked. In its simplest form, this is the usual TVB family fare. But simplicity can be a misleading term for a series as complicated as this in its character and dialogue driven script. The gem is not in the so called one note storyline but rather as the series goes by, we see each character being unravelled. Once a bad guy, we see the good side. One a confident guy, we see their insecurities and temper tantrums. Once an egoistical guy, we see what is actually a man deeply in love with his wife but unable to communicate with her. Once a guy lacking in confidence is actually a talent waiting for the right time to blossom. Once a good guy but is actually rotten to the core when bad times come. This series flips each character and plays with our emotions and I don't know about you, there were times I was carried away by that emotion, mostly from Summer's point of view. This series shouldn't be called Heart Road GPS because then it can be interpreted as what everyone needs is a navigation system. That is not the series' content since their hearts are misled. If your GPS is badly tuned, how then can it lead to the right location? This series to me is all about Pride And Prejudice. Each character is flawed, and if the script has not tried to reach a perfect end, it would have been perfect in showing not all characters are redeemable. Unfortunately, TVB wants and tries and will destroy any perfect script and in this series, makes every characters redeemable to varying degrees. That I hate and I am sure the hate for this series stems from the conventional end.
At the very core of this series, this series is a love story, but between a son and his 2 mothers, between a son and his aged parents and young wife, a grandson and his troublesome grandfather, a daughter and her chauvinistic father, a student and his master, a spoilt but lonely child and his misunderstood father. Which is which, I shall let you discover for yourself. That is the joy of this series.
In the story of Summer and his 2 mothers, Chui his foster mother and Han his biological mother, the gambling addiction of Chui merely serves to drive the series some where, but not the entire storyline. Yes her addiction is the weakest link in this series. I couldn't believe how many episodes were dedicated to her self pity and after the 3rd or 4th time she went back to gambling when everyone tried to help her, I felt more disgusted than pity. I believe that is the purpose. An addiction is ugly, and one that hurts your loved ones and is the basis of your self pity is probably the worst of all addiction. At that point I was frustrated with where the series WAS NOT GOING and it went on and on, and then it stopped for us to take a breather and then came back to it again. That was the repetitive part and it may turn off some viewers because it felt like Chui was whinging it so to speak. Probably you may ask "So what's her problem? She got a good friend and a good son and her own children also disowned her and she still gambles?!" which is a valid question. I asked that many times. But as the story reveals itself, her addiction stemmed from her loneliness after her husband died very very suddenly, it spiralled out of control when her children abandoned her which made her question many times, "Was I that bad a mother to have raised 2 rotten children?" and compounded by the fact that she felt this immense guilt that she was the wedge between Summer, a boy she raised and loved but not as her own son and Summer's biological mother, Han. She never wanted to replace Han as Summer's mother but when she realised she unexpectedly did so, she herself felt herself to be this rotten evil woman and there she goes, gambling again. I expected her to kill herself way before she actually wanted to kill herself. So when she did finally curbed her addiction, to many viewers probably quite suddenly, in actual fact 2 of her biggest driving force towards gambling were solved; she recognised the fact that her children were rotten and it was not her fault AND she finally accepts that she has a got a good son, that is Summer who finally reconciled with his biological mother. Her guilt lifted, her loneliness gone, her pain disappeared and so does her need to gamble. It is in the end psychological and yes, why can't she see a doctor about that, correct? But then that will be A Great Way To Care instead of this series.
Summer to me sometimes is such a prejudiced character. He hated his mother, to the point that he doesn't give a damn about her illness. That was a very realistic dialogue he had with May, where May chastised him for not caring about his own mom whilst running everywhere looking for someone else's mom but he replied sarcastically that Han can die and he doesn't care and he meant it, with enough venom to make you wince. Another actor would have made me fly kick him but Ruco did that scene with that terrible dialogue with such grace, I sorta wondered "Why man, why you hate her so?" instead of you know, "You bastard!". Automatically I assumed the mother must have been rotten but changed over the years. The truth was far simpler. She gave birth to Summer when she was 16, she was young, she didn't know how to care for a child, and she thought by giving him a father, and a family, was the best way to show how much she loved him. Unfortunately in Summer's eyes, these were her exact failure as a mother. He had very very low opinion of her, even when Chui advised him to forgive his mother, he was not ready to forgive. This series will trace that pain, the forgiveness, the final reconciliation to much joy I hope to the viewers. I certainly felt very emotional. We have all met mothers like Han, who had the right heart but not the right sense and we have met sons like Summer who wished another woman was their mom instead of their real mom. I felt the dialogue between Summer and Han and Chui were almost like a love/hate sonnet. Poetic, real and yet surreal at times. One of the most surreal scene which could have been a confession of love was Summer bemoaning to Chui "Why I am not yours?". I can't remember the exact dialogue but it was almost like you can replace the words mother to another girl's name and it can be a love confession. No doubt Summer is so close to Chui, he can even flirt with her. I like the ease he is whenever he is with her, and I also like the tension between Summer and Han. After a while it felt like Han is the third party in the relationship between Summer and Chui. And believe me, Summer is hard to like when he treats his mother like shit, he seems like a petulant spoilt child but in the end he is just a very insecure man. He derives his love from Chui's stability when he was growing up and when Chui rejected him, he felt hurt, he felt like that child that nobody wanted prior to living with Chui. He has issues and he directed his entire anger at Han. I like how realistic when he literally pushed Han out of the door. Oh that was a brilliant and cruel scene. But this relationship has a very very happy end. In one of the last scene where Summer reads a note he made and kept in a time capsule, in it was his dearest wish a year ago and it was "To call Auntie Chui mother". Deep down, that is what he wanted. In the end, as he was dancing with Han and Chui and Han asked cryptically "Have you said to her yet?" and he was a bit blur when Chui smiled and said to him "You can call me mom" which is something at that point we know he had wanted to say in his entire life and that is how the series came full circle at the very very last scene of a happy Summer standing between the 2 most important persons in his life, his mother and ... his mother. I seriously love that very last scene. Eventhough Summer's closeness to Chui is unbreakable, you can see the warmth and closeness with his real mom, Han. It was a great ending to a very emotional ride.
And that is what this series is ultimately about. It leads you everywhere, it goes everywhere but in the end it ends where it should end. I mean, what more can you ask for in a TVB series these days?
There are other stories as well. The first 4 or 5 episodes were brilliant as the story slowly builds up with the story of an obnoxious kid called Kit and how he ruined everyone's life in the village. Well, sorta. We all know he will end up a nice kid but I never expected to be so captivated by the rural village sequence where we have unknown actors who were genuinely sincere in the way they performed their roles. It could have felt fake but it felt genuine to me. I love that few episodes and how Kit changed eventhough he still had an attitude, he became a better man for what he went through. It also spent time showing the other characters, and so when they all returned to HK, it felt like I knew Summer, May, and everyone else. Yes, thereafter things sorta went a little downhill where it seems so usual TVB fare but then the story actually starts when Han's husband died suddenly and we see for each family, things are not as simple as we think they are. I predicted, very wrongly that Shun's wife, Fun will run away with another man, thus the emotional arc for this character. Yes, I was thinking the cheap shock tactics again and this series turned out classier than I thought. She didn't run away, she stayed but the almost breakup of this marriage was at times rather funny to watch thanks to the antics of Hong's very nosy grandfather and Fun's sometimes misunderstood parents in law. These set/couple is the comedic element in this series and it can be very very funny. May's story is the most underdeveloped and at times I feel she was too judgmental of Summer and too opinionated but again the heart is in the right place. The good thing about May is she doesn't annoy even if she frustrates so that makes her character easier to accept. I also love the very funny story of Kit and his cafe owner father. I never thought I see Law Lok Lam in a lighthearted role but it happened in this series!
Frankly, I can find a lot of faults with this series in terms of storyline or editing or the script but you know what? Who cares! As long as it makes good sense, I can accept the flaws. I suppose my expectations are lower these days. Truth is I went into this series having zero expectations and was very surprised to have watched every episode and loving it. If you're someone who finds nothing from a character driven series, then this series is not for you. And what a pity if you missed it because then you won't see the awesomeness of some really fantastic performances.
RUCO CHAN
Ruco Chan must get his TV King title soon but I know he won't because by the time the nominations are in, this series will be long gone and forgotten. So let's hope AOD viewers remember him, so that he will come to Malaysia and get his award for Malaysia AOD's TV King and since TVB is rarely original in anything, they may then copy AOD and give him their TVB TV King award. I look forward to seeing Ruco in Malaysia! Anyway he looks very good physically. He looks slimmer, more toned, the earring adds a bad boy vibe to him instead of "sissy-fied" him. His jeans looks tighter, shirts tighter, everything tighter. What I am trying to say is he looks really good. And he was convincing as the supremely "arrogant" Summer as well as the overly "insecure" Summer. The only time he didn't do too well was at the beginning of the 2 foster sibling's betrayal and I thought he was too nice to them in his tone. But of course eventually he did shout at them and even punched the foster brother, to my delight and if you look at Chui's face, to her delight as well. He was flirty with Louise Lee and this lucky bastard got to hug Louise and Rebecca many many times. He got a lot of female attention in here I tell you! For all those who sees him as a siu sang, oh puh-lease!! He is a veteran now! He is beyond Siu Sang. And don't give me that crap that he is most improved. He is lead actor quality. As in he can really act. But can he really lead? I believe his legions of fans will agree. I was impressed with him after The Other Truth, where he didn't feel like the serial killer accountant vibe anymore. I felt his best performance todate was in Three Kingdoms RPG because that character was meant to be one layered character but he injected into the character so many emotional layers that to me, he was more layered than the one note Zhuge Liang. But it was really No Good Either Way that made me sit up and notice him. However Reality Check convinces me he has that leading quality vibe backed up with what I feel is an evolving acting skill, which is evolving for the better. He can do better of course, he is not Bowie who can do drama and comedy and be sexy and dangerous as he can be dowdy and uncle-ish. He is also not Roger Kwok or Gallen Lo or one with a commanding presence like Bobby Au Yeung. But he has better acting skills than most you see onscreen today and he does his emotional scenes well. And he has better chemistry with his knapsack than Jason Chan had with his. Seriously, when I saw Ruco holding his knapsack with such conviction, I was like "Give him an award!!" because dear Jason really screwed up badly with his knapsack which probably just sued Jason for ruining its career prospect with his unconvincing way of carrying it.
BEST SCENE
The best being that scene where Chui rejected him and that hurt in his eyes, oh that hurt, I feel like hugging him and go "Now now don't cry, she doesn't want you, I want you". What more can I say? I have been Ruco-fied and enlist me into Ruco Chan Fan Club please!
MOST HEARTBREAKING SCENE
When Chui left HKD200,000 to Summer instead of HKD1m for each of her biological child as payback for him for taking care of her during those few months and then ran away and hide, May said to Summer "I feel more unfair for you that you did so much and yet she gave you not an equal sum she gave to those 2 rotten children" but Summer quietly said "If you really see someone as your loved one, you will not say you pay them back for the months they helped you..." which means, in his broken heart he felt that Chui never really saw him as her own son and that was why that scene was very heartbreaking, for Summer.
UNINTENTIONALLY FUNNIEST SCENE
The one where he overheard Chui and Han overemphasising on "We must never let him know", "We must lie to him", "Yes, we must lie to him .. forever!". I thought how can anyone not misunderstand the meaning with so much "we must lie to him..." dialogue in one scene. It sounds almost evil.
ONE HUGE QUESTION MARK
I don't get it! Why when Summer was beaten with bruises on his face, very prominent bruises and NOT ONE even said "Oh dear what happened?" but when he was coughing and sorta sick, suddenly all 3 women (Chui, Han and May) all went into panic mode like "Oh you're sick, you must rest"? I mean poor guy, good looking face punched and yet no one cared, no one asked, no one wondered and one cough, woah all the women rushing to him. Doesn't make sense at all.
LOUISE LEE
I consider her a complete miscast as the gambleholic Chui. This is in part because Louise is too elegant to be a believable no-shame-gambleholic. However she was fantastic as the woman driven mad with guilt over Summer's rejection of his real mom, that good woman and good mother sort of role. That I can't critique and she shares the best chemistry with Ruco. They can be lovers and I will be convinced. Anyway I didn't catch the age difference but I do think Chui should be about a decade older than Han. Or maybe a bit more. We do know Summer was 8 when he went to live with him. Han was 16 when she gave birth to Summer. It was 3 years after Summer moved in that Chung was born. Mandy presumably only a few years younger. None of these matters, just for comparison sake. Anyway Chui's husband is the often seen ke-le-fe veteran but never quite in prominent roles like patriarch of a family. So when I saw him I thought "Wow, either he has been promoted since he is now husband of Louise or Louise is demoted with a nobody husband so to speak". And then of course he died so that settles the whole promotion/demotion. The role is too small for Chun Pui and a bit too prominent (hey! Louise is your wife, that must mean a promotion!) for ke-le-fes.
BEST SCENE
Quite a few. I like how in the end she realises that her children's turning to the dark side isn't really due to her gambling habits but her gambling habits showed to her their real personality, how she reconciled with the fact that their relationships will never be the same ever again, the subtle smile she had when she saw Ruco's Summer beating her son whom she loved very much but became very very disappointed with. Her confrontation with her pretentious children with some really hard hitting dialogue ever spoken, probably by Louise herself. I think those are her best scenes, as she confronted her children's hypocrisy and yet you see from her eyes, her heart is breaking and she is constantly asking herself what did she do wrong, that she ended up with 2 rotten children.
REBECCA CHAN
Another fine performance. I always thought for a veteran Rebecca Chan is often not very much appreciated. She has fine acting skills. And she is still beautiful. I don't have much to say except this is a very subdued performance and it suits her character well.
BEST SCENE
Lying side by side with Chui, who regretfully and tearfully said "Han.. I am so sorry...I always thought I can fix the rift between you and Summer but in the end I was the reason for the rift... I never expected by my loving him unconditionally as he was growing up that he will see me as his mother and reject you. I am so sorry Han, I am so very sorry" and we see Chui lying by her side, her back facing Han and she was silently crying. It was a heart wrenching scene. Han never blamed Chui for taking her place, she was grateful and in a way she blamed herself for her failure to be a good mother in Summer's eyes but it doesn't make that scene any less heart wrenching.
ANOTHER MOST HEARTBREAKING SCENE
Many times Summer said some terrible stuff to her, from "please leave" to outright "get lost" but the most heartbreaking was when he said "Auntie Chui can do no wrong in my eyes! She is perfect in my eyes! Whatever she does, however she does wrong, I will always forgive you! But I will never ever forgive you!" and pushes Han out of the door. Sometimes I hate Summer for resenting his mom who was making a lot of effort and poor Han did give up for a while, thinking she didn't want to force her presence onto Summer who clearly hated him. But I believe Chui did say "When there's hate, there's love".
MAK CHEUNG CHING
He really looks like a camera man. A very convincing performance and at times a comic relief. Whilst his story with his wife and parents (as in the guy stuck between 2 forces) may seem disconnected to Summer's story, you can say it is not disconnected but rather a separate story of his own. I enjoyed his story, how he avoided going home to avoid arguments. After a while his arguments is lost in his unrelentlessness in bending his wife to his will so to speak. I mean he loves his wife, no doubt about it but he never once in his own way respected his wife's own free will. Yes the woman is silly in thinking letting her manager grope her means she can get her promotion but her husband never quite asked her why she was desperate to stay in her job. He never considered she took pride in her job or why she argued with his old aged mother or why she wanted to move out, etc. In the end all things right itself and we see Evergreen as the unlikely romantic guy sorta wooing his wife in a rather cute scene by the beach. I thought he did very well.
BEST SCENE
The scene where he raged against his nosy neighbours for tearing his family apart, sad and yet funny. Also like the cute small small stuff like his wife's picture on his handphone, with her looking glamorous. And lookout for his impersonation of Andy Lau at the end!
MEINI CHEUNG
Seen her but not idea who she is. But she has a substantial role and I feel she was adequate and served her role well.
BEST SCENE
I suppose that scene where her manager was caught filming her legs or something and everyone rallied around her and her mother in law said she can be a witness and the manager dismissed her mother in law as lying and for probably the first time ever, she shouted out loud "IF MY MOTHER IN LAW SAYS YOU DID IT, I BELIEVE HER!".
PRISCILLA WONG
This is her first acting role I believe? Was she horrible? No, far from it. She was a natural. I am not saying she is great, I am saying she did not ruin this series, at all. In fact she was sincere, genuine and heartfelt in her performance of a PA who isn't afraid to speak her mind without being annoying. The most annoying thing about her May is not her acting or her delivery of lines but rather the fact that her wardrobe consists of short pants, short jeans, and anything short and I wonder, does TVB in real life has that sort of dress code for PAs in their offices? However there were times I felt like she was virtually near tears because she sounded like she was scared, terrified, her voice trembling. I suppose she was scared in her first performance and it showed, through her voice. But for a first timer, she was rather charming and served her role well and has good chemistry with her co-stars. So I am not complaining. And as opposed to Jason Chan, she looks believable when carrying her bags and knapsacks.
BEST SCENE
Probably her worst scene was her argument with her father. She doesn't do argument scenes well. Best scene probably the scene where she stood by the door, relaxed, thinking her father lying unconscious on the floor was just pretending to be unconscious.
HERO YUEN
Who the heck is this young actor? First question in my mind. Pretty raw but is convincing as a douchebag who turned to be a nice guy in the end. He has a lot of roles in the first few episodes and when he was gone from the screen I kinda missed him. An effective performance and let's be frank, he was rather good even if rather raw.
BEST SCENE
Entire rural village scenes.
STANLEY CHEUNG
Another effective performance and even if rather raw as well. I don't have much to comment but he does have a substantial role and he doesn't annoy me. In fact I thought he did rather well.
BEST SCENE
Every scene he is in with his nosy grandfather, makes for comical moments.
YU TZE MING
To me the most hated old man in this series, who provokes others and yet doesn't admit it. But that's what makes him lovable I suppose; he penchant for "stoking fire" in other people's problems.
BEST SCENE
Without a doubt, that scene where he spoke to Mak's Shun about his rather loud argument with his wife and Shun said "You were the cause of our rift!" and he said meekly "But this time I didn't say anything at all, you were the one who started it" and Shun said "What did I say?!" and basically he repeated the exact dialogue which was funny and when Hong joined in and offered to advice Shun and Shun angrily dismissed Hong and said "What do you know? You're just a kid, how dare you advise me!" and he walked away and old grandpa looked confused as he said "But I am 70... surely I am qualified to advise you..". Ahhhh lost in translation. It was a very funny scene!
JENNY LAU
It took me a while to realise she is that poor actress who was manhandled and pushed so roughly to the door that she crumbled into the floor and cried her heart out. That scandal that exposed that rude director who once scolded obscenities at a very young Charmaine Sheh. Joke is, that was her best acting moment, it felt real, the fear felt real and in retrospect she probably felt real scared. Other times, I can't stand her bitchy "Ah Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeee". I can do without her but this series needs a villain.
RACHEL KAN
She has been getting a lot of prominent supporting roles lately. I don't like the way she grits her teeth as she talks. But performance wise, a very good one as she lets her inner bitch out and gave it her all as the cruel bitchy greedy daughter whose comeuppance in the end was more of an afterthought.
BEST SCENE
When she turned her inner bitch on with her mom, Chui. Cruel words, real dialogue, evil woman!
OWEN CHEUNG
No idea who he is but again same comments as per Rachel Kan above, except acting is raw BUT effective. And perhaps the most unconvincing turnaround in the end.
BEST SCENE
Which probably is one of the most cruel to Chui when he suddenly stopped her as she was about to leave his pink-ki-fied apartment and I thought, could it be he had a sudden blast of conscience? when he said sheepishly "Mom, can you give me back my house keys?" and zing! Oh poor Chui... poor poor Chui! I bet at that moment she thinks "I should have had a plate of Char Siew rather than this piece of crap!".
VINCENT WONG
Very surprised to see this actor with "huge flared up nostrils" back at TVB. How many years I haven't seen him? Anyway zero development for a character, one of the weakest in here. Acting wise, one dimensional because his character IS one dimensional.
KAKI LEUNG
She is cute here, she excels as the girl next to the leading lady and always the cheerful one. However I was rather annoyed with her constant grins in here. She quite simply laughed too much.
CHOW CHUNG
Probably one of the very few performances of Chow Chung that I actually like and that I find amusing and funny at times. He was effective in here and I like the little details like how he will hold his onscreen wife's hands when walking, like a loving old couple should.
TERESA HA
She has aged a lot. No comment since she is always effective in her performances. You may dislike her in the beginning in this series since a lot of the misunderstanding between her son and his wife stemmed from her own misunderstanding of her daughter in law.
BEST SCENE
For both her and Chow Chung, has to be the one where Shun reluctantly told them he had to move out to be with his wife and daughter and the father quietly pulled up a notice and on it is the number of tha mover lorry service and he told his son he does not disagree with his actions.
OTHER PERFORMANCES
I do not know their names but they were all competent and effective. Some of the best and most natural acting had to be the rural village scenes where the kids and the older actors were at ease, had great chemistry and were very likable. I wish I knew all of their names because they all deserved a mention for a job well done. I specially love the Lau family and the cute boys and girl. Seriously natural in their performances.
And a special mention to the detective at the police station where all the family drama happened. It was very funny how stern the cop was and then soft-hearted enough to devise a reunion between Summer and Chui who was hiding herself and later on gets front row seat in many emotional encounters. I thought those scenes did more to the police image than all those stupid detective series that ruined the police image.
VERDICT
The ending may be predictable, the middle may be repetitive, the story may have been recycled from other stories but there is no denying, this is quite a ride. I absolutely enjoyed this series and whilst I can do without certain elements, tweaking here and there, overall this is as I have said earlier, one of the best series of 2013 and I do not make the claim lightly. Fans of Ruco Chan and Mak Cheung Ching must watch this for their fantastic performances, especially Ruco Chan's. Those who loved the veterans should watch this series as well as they are all given prominent roles. The dialogues are crisp and clear, some realistic, some dreamy and romantic. It is more character driven than story driven, but doesn't mean it should be dismissed as boring, one note, one story, etc. It has its charm and for all the craps TVB's been churning out, it is always the one with least publicity and without headlines screaming everywhere are the ones that is worth paying attention to. Reality Check is such a series and it deserves more attention it is getting. Don't miss this one but do be patient with it and you will be rewarded with some very emotional moments and great dialogue that shows to us all, TVB can make a series with heart in it (if they want to).
INTERESTING FACTS
Thanks to llwy12 of Jaynestars for the tip which is fascinating although each had a few speaking lines, I thought they were convincing and now I know why!
a few of the cameos, especially in the last episode, are actual crew members — for example, the guys who played Ruco and Evergreen’s new assistants during the return to the village were real PAs and cameramen…TVB Magazine actually did a piece on this last week
