Hong Kong's two most bankable stars dress in fat suits for LOVE ON A DIET in an upbeat tale of dignity regained. The location is Japan, where Hong Kong expat Mini Mo has surrendered to binge eating after breaking up with her handsome pianist boyfriend Tatsuya. Now weighing 300 pounds and consigning her former svelte figure to memory, Mini is down-and-out after blowing her savings following her former beau across the country, obese and unrecognisable to the man she loves.
Just as Mini reaches new lows, she meets similarly rotund Hongkonger Fat Lo who, despite a cold exterior, offers his support when it's most needed. Soon the ex-boyfriend announces on radio that Mini is his one true love and that he needs to see her within a few months. Pressure mounts for Mini to return to her former thin frame in record time. Fat enlists his hometown friends for assistance and soon a frantic race to lose weight builds an no diet technique is too preposterous.
Laxatives and an ingested tapeworm are among the film's more extreme dieting tips making LOVE ON A DIET stand out from the Hong Kong romantic comedy formula. Once the focus reaches beyond the lengths our protagonists go for love and into the territory of restoring one another's pride, lead actors Lau and Cheng shine. Lau is a particular standout, displaying a curiously endearing yet smug charm through masses of body make-up while Cheng follows the script's more frenzied moments with gusto. Wong Tin-lam and Lam Suet as members of Tokyo's Chinese diaspora enliven the diet-themed comedy scenes with their distasteful weight-loss tips.
Tim Youngs