Mr. Right becomes Mr. Wrong while Mr. Wrong becomes Mr. Right in a tale about love and money.
In this China-Hong Kong co-production, Jiajia (Wei Tang) is the girlfriend of a wealthy, married businessman who showers her with expensive gifts and unlimited credit cards—but rarely his time. After becoming pregnant, she travels to Seattle to give birth. There, living among other Chinese mothers-to-be, she’s enabled through her multiple tantrums by mild-mannered driver, Frank (Wu Xiubo). A former doctor, the browbeaten Frank is dumped by his ruthlessly ambitious wife, becoming a single father to his pre-teen daughter.
Featuring prerequisite scenes of the Space Needle, waterfront, and other Seattle landmarks, this rom-com was mostly shot in Vancouver, B.C. The plot, too, feels contrived especially when the shrieking, spoiled fashionista, Jiajia, inexplicably begins to see the dejected Frank as a possible love interest. Wei Tang, once banned in China for her role in Lust, Caution, is rowdy and unrestrained, bordering on hysteria here.
With Mandarin, English subtitles, and some inappropriate and misplaced American slang, Mr. Right is a cultural mixed bag that cautions against excessive materialism in favor of true love.
Mr. Right opens November 8, AMC Pacific Place 11.
