On the Track or Off - comments, short review

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I agree that Bondy is very good.  But I don't think she is the best.  I think she is equally as good as Ada Choi, Zhu Mimi and Rain Lau.

I'm not saying it's easier to act the *itchy role but IMO it's easier to attract attention if you act the *itchy part even if you are not incredibly good at it.  That said, I must also say that I liked Bondy, she is good as Ah Tong.  I'm just don't agree with the statement that she is the best in the series.

I don't think Steven Ma was THAT bad.  Gam Yuen's really not an easy character to act.  He's lively, jumpy, immature fellow who has rather protective parents.  There is a certain goofy earnestness in Gam Yuen & Steven Ma's acting  which I find endearing.  I don't think the character is that annoying either.  In fact, I found "Shrimphead" & "Ma Yao" (from A Taste of Love) far more annoying and Bowie's character in The Green Hope almost made me throw my coffee mug at the tv.  :) There is an underlying strength in Ah Yuen's character, a willingness to take responsibility for his actions, the strength to do what is right even if it hurts etc which none of the characters I just mentioned had.

I didn't think Yu Wing Sze was that bad either.  It is the woman's first acting gig and if I'm not wrong, she's actually a professional jockey.  While I agree she wasn't incredibly good, there are times when she argues with Bondy's character that you see a spark in her eyes, something that even some professional actors don't have.

I think that Zhu Mimi is hilarious as the escapist mother who doesn't want to take any responsibility but is finally forced to face the facts.  I think it's significant that she laughs (and at the most frowns) at most of her family problems and doesn't shed a tear till Ah Tong (Bondy Chiu) completely changes.  And Rain Lau is extremely amusing too.

I think that Ada Choi is good here too.  I think she did rather well in the beginning as she and Steven Ma's characters shyly try and figure out if the other is interested in a relationship.  And I think she did well later in the series too as she goes from a naive, trusting person to someone with some strenght and backbone.  At first I thought her character was going to be the typical "good" girl.  All self-sacrificial and silly.  But I liked it that by the end of the series, we see that her character (Ah Yi) has more backbone than some.  It's a fairly logical character.  She is the middle sister, stuck between two very stubborn sisters and a mother who rather not deal with problems.  In cases like these, it is quite reasonable and realistic that the middle sister is the peace-maker.  Her extremely close relationship with Ah Tong is also reasonable because the family's only authority figure is Ah Tong.  And in many ways, I think Ah Yi views her sister as the anchor in the family.

I like it too that the series places emphasis on the family and the invisible ties that bind us all.

SOME SPOILER INFORMATION...


I like it too that most of the characters mature and develope.  I like it that when Ah Yi "gives" Ah Yuen (Steven Ma) to Ah Tong it wasn't so much a sacrifice but more because she doesn't have confidence in herself and the relationship.  Ah Yi and Ah Yuen never really began.  This being Ah Yi's first real try at a b-g relationship, I think she doesn't know how to deal with the news that her sister & Ah Yuen had a "night of passion" so to speak (actually, even people with lots of experience will have trouble dealing with that.)  But I like it that Ah Yi's character has the strength to let it go and not mope about the failure of starting a relationship with Ah Yuen.  While she is hurt by it she recognises the fact that she was the one who gave it up.

I like it that she finally does stand up to her sister near the end of the series.  And I like it that right at the end she tells Ah Tong that "in the past you would have influence my decision but not anymore because now I know what I want." (paraphrased)  I like it that she recognises the fact that the request to prevent the horse from racing at the end was an unfair and wrong request.  I like it that she doesn't blame Ah Yuen for it.  And I love it that she doesn't go running off to Shanxi (I think.)  I'm tired of the running away and coming back years later story-arc and I'm happy that it didn't happen.

I like it that Ah Yi's refusal of Ah Yuen at the end is not totally because of her sister.  A lot of it has to do with the fact that Ah Yuen does not make her feel secure while Wyman does.  While Ah Yuen tries to convince her he's matured, Ah Yi can't see it because so far it's merely Ah Yuen saying he's matured.  In fact, we don't really know if he has either.  Although he's does put a lot of effort into trainning the horse, it's really no different from Ah Yuen's determination in the beginning. 

Also, I think it's reasonable that Ah Yi has difficulty accepting Ah Yuen at the end because he is Ah Tong's ex-boyfriend.  I know lots of girls who'll think extremely hard before even dating their best/good friend's ex-boyfriends.

I liked it that Ah Yi says to Ah Yuen that she finally sees his maturity.  When Ah Yuen does not "poison" the horse and is willing to give up what he wants badly to do what is right.  I like it too that Ah Yi never really held Ah Yuen responsible for Ah Tong's initial condition.  And I like it that Ah Yuen finally learns to give Ah Yi space and not push her like he'd been doing before.

Well, that's it for now... I would like to write more but I really have to get going.  Also, I promised to write a review for someone else so I can't put everything I think into this post. :)

Looking forward to other comments.

enjoy