A family oriented series, but what did I expect from it?
Drama...drama...and more drama?
No.
I was looking forward to a series that could entertain me and it did exactly what I expected to. Surprisingly the plot was nicely put together. Who would've thought that one murder mystery would help run an entire series? I didn't and I was surprised when it did. I thought that the pacing was reasonable not too draggy or too fast like some.
The storyline speaks of the life of a housewife, a married woman who stays home to look over the kids and take care of her husband. These women have nothing better to do but gossip and put their noses into everyone's business thinking its their own. Financially dependent on their husbands all expenses are usually calculated carefully because their husband makes just enough for them to live a decent life, that is if they are middle to a bit lower class. As for the richer women, they too have nothing to do but gossip, but their extra hobby would be to go around and spend money. But these women whether rich or poor have something in common...to get their kids into the best school and for their kids to outshine others or at least that is what most of them think.
This series is really focused around three women, Sheren Tang, Cecilia Yip and Kiki Sheung. Oh...and I almost John Chiang as the male version of a housewife.
I should start off with Sheren Tang. At first I thought her role in here would be very similar to her role in Le Femme Desparado (lol...wonder what language TVB was thinking about when naming that series) anyways...moving on. I really thought that Sheren would have a strong mentality and is decisive and even conniving like her role in LFD but I was wrong. Her role was very dependent on her husband (Michael Tse), very family-oriented and almost to a point where she would do anything to get her family together. She was a good wife, caring mother and good friend to the other housewives. Even though she was dependent on her husband people around her were dependent on her...and when she 'collapsed' and needed someone to be there for her she sought for the help of her neighbor. In the end her LFD role started to peek through a bit as she became more decisive and had full control of her own life. Sheren played a very convincing housewife, especially when she started to go a bit 'crazy' after finding out her husband was a cross-dresser.
Next is Cecilia Yip. She's the 'rich' one who became 'one of them.' She has been in a rivalry with Sheren's character ever since high school. And it really showed in the first few episodes, with the swimming race to the ' my kid is better than yours' sort of thing to the ' my husband is better than yours' Kinda childish when you think about it...these women are in their thirties...and maybe even forties (or so some of them appear) but whatever floats their boats. Her story is quite interesting because not only is she in rivalry with Sheren but she is also in rivalry with the real rich women. Her character would do anything to gain a higher status in the society that she's living in. Compared to the others...she's definitely not a very good housewife or mother. All she cared about was herself and her own status and she did that by using her husband and daughter. A not very nice character played by an actress who can't act very well...it's quite an interesting connection. Though she doesn't go all 'crazy' like Sheren did...she definitely was angry when she found out she had...shhh...some sort of STD =O
Kiki Sheung. She acted as a 'younger' person in this series? The last time I recalled seeing her was when she played Charmaine's aunt or something in that series where Charmaine won Best Actress. (That series isn't good enough for me to remember its name) Anyways...her character in here really reminded me of Myolie's character in War and Destiny. She was so nice...always the peace maker for Cecilia and Sheren and she did everything for her family. She's naive and caring. Luckily her character didn't make me pull out my hair like Myolie's did just because she didn't cross that very thin line between being nice and way too too nice, at least in the end she did something for herself. I liked how Kiki portrayed her character and I don't think anyone else would do her role justice. Kiki just really has that look of someone who lacks that confidence because she's just a tad bit on the heavy side compared to her friends (Sheren & Cecilia), she's a bit older and her son is as poor in academics as she is in dressing up. Let's just say due to her lack of confidence and her nice and naive character her husband found someone else.
Now onto the
one and only John Chiang. He's a food inspector who turned housewife. That's a more drastic change than Michael becoming a cross-dresser. For someone who is morally conscious and rule abiding to gossiping and bargaining is a huge change. But did he pull is character off? My answer is no. To be honest I see Mr. John Chiang as a veteran but his acting isn't exactly up to par with his status. He's not very convincing as the gossiping man who cares for his daughter and then starts to have feelings for Sheren. I really think he should stick to playing more evil roles like in RDOV. His character in RDOV really really annoyed me...and I enjoyed being annoyed by his presence because it just shows that he can act. But this character is too 'nice' for him or it's just too weird to see him like this. Like when he smiles and act all cutesy for his daughter or whatnot...I was a bit scared. It's his face...no...his smile...no...it's his acting.Now for the main supporting actresses:
Leila Tong. I love watching her in almost every single series and this was definitely not an exception. She really portrayed a convincing 'evil' character when she first appeared. Well she played a more convincing 'slut' as the housewives thought she was. Either way she was convincing enough...but there's always room for improvement.
This series was led by 3 housewives. John, even though a housewife didn't portray his character strongly enough for me to be able to say he's a true lead in the show. Let's just say the men in this series were weaker than their counterparts whether it is the acting or the character itself.
Overall...a watchable series with a watchable cast and a few entertaining scenes in the beginning where Michael first dressed as a woman. My mom thinks he's pretty (-_^)
As for the chemistry...I'll add that on later
That's all folks!
