Reality Check Review

Producer: Lee Yim Fong

Genre: Modern, family

Cast: Louise Lee, Ruco Chan, Priscilla Wong, Evergreen Mak, Rebecca Chan, Stanley Cheung

Plot: A filial foster son takes care of his gambling-addict foster mother. (Full overview)

Review:

The take-home messages of Reality Check are: (1) don’t gamble; and (2) communicate with others to avoid misunderstandings. There, I just saved you the trouble of watching 15 episodes. You’re welcome.

Which 5 episodes should you watch? That would be the first 5 episodes, which were filmed in a rural village. It was fun to watch how a spoiled HK youth (Hero Yuen) adjusts to village life. Seeing the simple rural lifestyle makes urban dwellers appreciate all the luxuries of city life. It also gives perspective on the differences in values between urban and rural people, such as on family and education. This segment was as refreshing as a breath of fresh air in those open fields.

Once the characters returned to the familiar city setting, TVB also returned to its familiar family genre. The rest of the series is a slew of family problems… and more family problems. It is irritating to watch simple problems being complicated, and much of it is due to lack of communication. The characters witnessed how Hero learned to communicate with his father, yet none of them picked up that skill for themselves. The rural village segment is almost irrelevant to the rest of the story because no one, with the exception of Hero, changed their attitude because of it.

The “novel” aspect of this series was Louise Lee as a gambling addict. It was an interesting angle to work from, but suffered from lacklustre presentation. For the most part, the audience is told that she has a gambling problem, rather than being shown. The only gambling scenes are the shots of her playing mahjong. They could have shown her first trip to Macau – the mesmerizing lights and sounds of the casino, the excitement from winning, etc. – to emphasize how gambling helps her forget about her troubles, which is why she fell victim to addiction. By conveying these things through dialogue only, it is harder to understand her plight and sympathize with her.

The ending makes complete sense in TVB world. Of course Louise can get rid of her gambling addiction. Of course her children realize their mistakes and are forgiven. Of course everyone’s wishes come true. Every single problem is easily resolved in the last episode for a perfect happy ending. So much for being a Reality Check.

The Chinese title “Heart Road GPS” seems to encourage people to follow their inner GPS. But actually, all the problems were caused because the characters acted on emotions from their heart. Louise let her emotional well-being overwhelm her rationality (she felt better when gambling). Ruco rejected his biological mother because he was hurt by his childhood experience. Evergreen’s instinctive assumptions made him unreceptive to his wife’s words. Obviously, their navigation systems need a little tweaking.

There’s no need to elaborate on the excellent acting skills of Louise, Ruco and Rebecca, especially on the emotional scenes. It was a nice change to see Louise deviate from her usual perfect mother roles. Evergreen Mak gave a pretty standard performance. Priscilla Wong was natural and genuine in a role that seems well-suited for her. No comment on Stanley Cheung. Hero Yuen was quite believable acting as a spoiled youngster. There were complaints about Jenny Lau (the girlfriend of Louise’s son), but I guess annoying and bitchy was she was aiming for. Overall, great acting wasted on a forgettable drama.

Rating: An easy skip. 2/5

"Reality Check" Theme Song

The theme song for Reality Check is called "Tiny Grass" (小草), sung by Ruco Chan.

Ruco was once a singer, releasing one EP in 1998.

Full Version (with monologue by Louise Lee):


Full Version (no monologue):

Official Poster for Reality Check

Comment: Neat concept for the poster showing the actors in a grass maze, which links with the whole theme of the series. 

I seriously hope this series will be at least somewhat interesting, because the dramas have been lackluster so far this year. This is Ruco's first series of the year, with more to follow (see 2013 Forecast). 

Related Posts:
Overview - Reality Check
Heart Road GPS Location Filming

Overview - Reality Check

Ruco Chan is a senior director at a television station and is preparing to film a new reality show which follows a Hong Kong youth, Hero Yuen, as he makes a move from the city to the farm. Due to staffing shortages, Ruco hires rookie Priscilla Wong as his assistant and good friend Evergreen Mak as cameraman. Throughout the filming process, they witness how Hero handles cultural clash and characteristic change. Meanwhile, their own blind spots are also unravelled. The normally subjective and stubborn Ruco re-evaluates the relationship between his adoptive (Louise Lee) and birth (Rebecca Chan) mothers. The hard-working and sincere Priscilla is actually trying to regain her dignity and lost paternal love. As for Evergreen, his male chauvinist attitude causes his family to break apart… How can their spiritual guide lead them through these challenges?

Comment: I'll watch this just to see this scene, which I watched being filmed. Hope it made the final cut. I'm also interested to see the inner workings of a TV station. Reminds me of The Beauty of the Game.

Character Map:

Heart Road GPS Location Filming

I randomly stumbled onto a location filming for the series Heart Road GPS while in Hong Kong. Such a simple scene, but it took them many takes and a long time to film. It was very exciting for me because I’ve never seen something being filmed before!

The scene is about Rachel Kan arguing with her boyfriend (an actor that I don’t recognize). He flings her to the ground and drives off. Ruco Chan and Louise Lee run across the street to her (almost getting hit by a truck, which Ruco stops). They help Rachel up and Louise comforts Rachel at the curb.