Lady Flower Fist
From DramaWiki
Details
- Title 苗翠花
- Cantonese/Mandarin title: Miu Chui Fa / Miao Cui Hua
- English title: Lady Flower Fist
- Genre: Ancient
- Broadcast network: TVB
- Broadcast year: 1997
Synopsis
The main character is a bouncy, lively young woman named Cui Hua. Originally in the 'old' home in the village, she travels with her milk mother (aka nanny) into town to join her father, who runs a fish shop. Here she runs into all sorts of trouble with her carefree attitude and tendency towards snap-judgments and getting into brawls. The major issue in the story revolves around Miao Cui Hua getting on the wrong side of a powerful and mean Imperial official. Cui Hua is saved by the local rich guy, a man named Fang De, who on the fly makes up a relationship with her that neither she nor he had planned on. Once blurted out, a lie had to become reality...and the fun begins!
Cast
- Esther Kwan as Miu Chui Fa / Miao Cui Hua
- Kwong Wa as Fang De
- Rain Lau
- Cherie Chan
- Betsy Cheung
Review by Calcifer10000
Pros: Humor that's cute and sometimes quite hilarious. The Qing Dynasty in itself is an interesting time period (minus guy's hairstyles) because it's when the West begins infiltrating Eastern culture. Thus Western horses, cake, sunglasses and more are incorporated into the plot in neat ways, along with foreign relations. A lot of typical Chinese culture's also thrown in alongside this 'new' Western stuff: traditional clan or gang 'duels;' wedding rules; family issues, etc. Of course, another more serious issue is more lightly addressed here than in, say, "Raise the Red Lantern": the role of women and the concubine issue. Rebels against the current Qing government also crop up in unexpected places.
Cons: Surprisingly not many. The overall light-hearted attitude may not sit too well with people used to more serious series, though I myself prefer those and I love [苗翠花]. As a very minor complaint, the costumes/hair were a bit plain, but no big deal. There's also a part of the plot when cross-dressing is taken maybe a bit too far, though it's definitely nothing new in Chinese series...though here, it's a bit of a stretch. Maybe it's possible...if everyone has really, really bad eyesight... 8)
Comments: I would definitely say if you're looking for some laughs, try this out. The humor's of the wholesome breed, not cheesy or melodramatic. Acting is good, relaxed when it's funny, and balanced with some nice emotional parts. The male hairstyle is the HK Qing style of slicking back instead of actually shaving half off, which I liked; I found Fang De to be a pretty good-looking guy myself. :P Get yourself ready for bickering, tears, some nice, old-fashioned (aka realistic) fighting sequences and a (nowadays seemingly rarely found) good ending.