Review of Yesterday Once More (2004) by Billy. L — 18 May 2005

[font=Tempus Sans ITC][b][i]"Its All Fun & Games...Til Someone Gets Hurt..."[/i][/b][/font].

[font=Tempus Sans ITC]Sammi Cheng & Andy Lau are coupled yet again in their 3rd film -- [b][i]YESTERDAY ONCE MORE[/i][/b] -- directed by HK's actioneer Johnnie To...fans of To's action films will be disappointed to find not a single gun was used in the filming...furthermore, fans of Cheng & Lau's previous films, [b][i]NEEDING YOU[/i][/b] & [b][i]LOVE ON A DIET[/i][/b], will also be disappointed to find that [b][i]YESTERDAY [/i][/b]is no where near as funny or endearing...[/font].

[font=Tempus Sans ITC]Mr. & Mrs. To (Lau & Cheng) are a divorced couple...both affluent HK citizens...both incredibly mischievous...both just happened to be professional thieves -- 'two birds of the same feather'....A couple years earlier, they divorced over an inability to find middle ground on splitting the loot...Now she's remarrying...to the son of a rich heiress -- a total momma's boy (Carl Ng) through & through...The soon-to-be mother-in-law (Jenny Woo) is suspicious of Mrs. To's past & thinks she's only marrying her son for the family jewels -- the heiress' priceless ruby necklace...[/font].

[font=Tempus Sans ITC]The necklace is stolen...is it Mrs. To's materialistic eye that gets the best of her?... or is it her ex-husband, Mr. To's way of sabotaging the marriage to steal the jewels for himslef?...[/font].

[font=Tempus Sans ITC]This is not a movie about two pple falling in love or rekindling a love...its about two pple who have always been in love but have somehow been to foolish to realize it...they let pride & greed overwhelm them...[/font].

[font=Tempus Sans ITC][b][i]Overall: YESTERDAY[/i][/b] is one part caper/heist film & one part homage to classic Hollywood glamour from its golden years -- i.e. Cary Grant & Grace Kelly's [b][i]TO CATCH A THIEF[/i][/b]...Johnnie To is riding too heavily on Cheng/Lau's chemistry from their previous films...hoping Cheng/Lau's immense popularity & fan base will be enough justification for this third film....I think Sammi Cheng is one of the most likable/charming entertainers working t'day...& Lau is definitely the Tom Cruise of asian cinema...[/font].

[font=Tempus Sans ITC]I really enjoyed their first two films & consider the Cheng/Lau pairing comparable to those classic Hollywood couples of the 40's & 50's...but [b][i]YESTERDAY[/i][/b] falls very short of expectations...terrible writing, ridiculous situations, product placements galore, & all the subplots & supporting characters were unnecessary...come to think of it...this film was unnecassary...unless you just love celebrity watching...[/font].