This film reminded me a lot of Little Miss Sunshine, a "dysfunctional family" comedy I also hated. Things that are actually way creepy and/or disturbing are played for laughs, for example:
old-fashioned clichés forced upon the viewer include having an indiscriminate playboy (Chin Shih-Wu) fall for a near-virginal Japanese girl (Tatsumi Chie), whose purity of heart and earnest innocence no doubt compel him to abandon his reckless, emotionally stunted, promiscuous ways. To add insult to injury, the near-virginal girl initially fawns over a douchebag in a suit (i.e. the financially secure but boring guy), and is heartbroken when he doesn't propose (girls just always want a ring on their finger, don't ya know).
Amidst these pathetic story lines (compounded by some really pathetic dialogue), the only saving grace were a few well-timed and refreshingly funny jokes, plus Chin Shih-Wu's barely- concealed smirk for having carte blanche to do absolutely no real acting whatsoever. He merely prances around in flashy suits and flaunts his pecs.
For a film about sexual conquests and awakenings, where was the chemistry between any of the characters, the steamy innuendos, the sensual vibes, or the actual sex? I would've killed for random scenes between Chin Shih-Wu and any of the two dozen women he picks up throughout the drama-- or between him and Tatsumi's quirky friend (also the token ethnic minority, who conveniently disappears the minute Tatsumi and Chin sink into a trite state of happily-ever-after-ness).
In this sense, it really reminded me of that most disingenuous of romcoms that also has "love" in the title but completely denigrates the concept-- yes, the perplexingly much-loved turd, Love Actually. Well, Crazy, Stupid, Amateur has joined the ranks, congrats!
My rating is 1 out of 10.
