Fractured Follies is a pleasant little romantic comedy that isn't anything that's really going to make you laugh out loud or cry your eyes out, but it's not going to make you clutch your head in disbelief, either. It's done well enough that big fans of Chow Yun-Fat and Joey Wong will find the proceedings enjoyable.

After the 1987 stock market crash, light comedies became very popular in Hong Kong, because audiences were simply looking to see films that made them forget their troubles for ninety minutes. Fractured Follies fits right in with the template of the genre, throwing in big stars, a bit of comedy, a dash of drama, a dollop of romance, a couple of Cantopop songs, and even a couple of musical numbers. Like many movies of the time, Fractured Follies tries to bolster the waning spirits of the local populace, going so far as to explicitly say in a couple of scenes that all Hong Kongers have to work together to improve things.

At any rate, the basic story stars Chow Yun-Fat as Joe, a cab driver who runs into May (Joey Wong). In order to avoid a lawsuit, Joe begins to suck up to May's family, which includes her horny cousin, Scarlet (Nina Li Chi). Working in May's supermarket, Joe begins to bond with the family, and May in particular. As you might expect, the pair eventually fall in love, and look to spend the rest of their lives together in happy matrimony.

So, yeah, this is a pretty simple plot, even though the script had seven different writers working on it. And it's the sort of movie that's not really suited for nit-pickers, since there are story elements that seem to come and go at the drop of a hat. For instance, there is a sub-plot involving Joe's sister (Bonnie Law) getting peeped on by Triads that seems to really serve no purpose other than the impetus for a silly and superfluous action sequence.

But at the end of the day (or rather, the end of the DVD) Fractured Follies accomplishes what it ostensibly set out to do -- deliver some nice fluffy entertainment. Sure, it might coast by a lot on the charm and chemistry of Chow Yun-Fat and Joey Wong, but that's not really all that bad of a thing.

RATING: 6