Dummy Mommy, Without a Baby

As an office flunky who fakes a pregnancy to save her job, 27-year-old Miriam Yeung shows star caliber in the comedy DUMMY MOMMY, WITHOUT A BABY, a modest hit late last year in Hong Kong that drew good notices. Vancouver-born Chen is well-cast as the idle, rich-kid boss who's really interested in cookery, and Yeung, channeling the dopey charm of singer-actress Sammi Cheng, stands out amid a strong cast. Derek Elley, Variety, 18 February 2001 Fans of Miriam Yeung and Edison Chen will enjoy this one, and even non-fans are in for a breezy fifty minutes of entertainment - better than average for a typical 90-minute feature. Directors Joe Ma and Mak Kai-kwong have crafted a screwball farce whose first half is pleasantly wacky, starting with the wackiest English title of 2001. LK is about to be fired by her bitchy superior, Monica, when she gets the clever of idea of pretending to be pregnant and, according to the labour laws, unsackable for ten months. With the help of best friend Dina, secretary to the company's young CEO, Wu, she manages to keep up the charade till almost the supposed moment of birth. The plot bears no resemblance to the famous 1968 comedy YOUNG, PREGNANT, AND UNMARRIED, which shares the same Chinese title as DUMMY MOMMY, WITHOUT A BABY. Nevertheless, a nice touch is a cameo appearance by Chor Yuen, the director of the original farce. The picture has a number of zany touches and scenes that elevate DUMMY MOMMY, WITHOUT A BABY above typical comedic fare, such as Cheung Tat-ming's cameo as an instructor in pregnancy method acting. The entire cast appears to be having such a good time that their good humor is infectious, but DUMMY MOMMY requires better plotting and a stronger sense of internal logic to come to full term.