Slow Boat Home Review

Producer: Leung Choi-yuen

Genre: Romance, comedy

Cast: Ruco Chan, Selena Li, Raymond Wong, Aimee Chan

Plot: A bunch of events happening on the island of Cheung Chau. (Overview - Slow Boat Home)

Review:

Slow Boat Home is a light-hearted drama that is nothing like Beauty at War or Bullet Brain. That’s enough to make this series appealing for some people. But upon closer examination, it is yet another drama with a sub-par plot and rushed ending. Had it been aired in another time slot, I suspect it would not get so much attention.

The storyline is neither unique nor interesting. For a romantic comedy, the love stories lack substance. Ruco and Selena were perpetually stuck in a cycle of reconciliation and break up. Elaine's appearance as the love "rival" was redundant. As much as I despise of love triangles, maybe a real showdown between Selena and Elaine would have added some spice. Aimee and Raymond's story saw more development, but I must have missed the part where she started liking him back because it came up out of the blue. Matt and Cilla's relationship was merely narrated in the finale. On the business side of things, the purported "grand" scheme to take over Cheung Chau amounted to nothing. And apparently it doesn't take much to build a successful business in Cheung Chau, whether it be a resort house or a restaurant chain. 

The characters don't generate much excitement either. Ruco is a filial son and all-around good guy with enduring love for his high school sweetheart. Ditto for Matt. Raymond, the typical lazy character who always accomplishes the most in the end. Cilla is the go-to spoiled HK girl. Aimee's search for her dad was a big yawn. Selena wasn't manipulative enough for my liking. Simply put, boring characters whom I never really cared about. 

Credit where credit's due, there are a few things that are commendable. You can admire the Cheung Chau scenery and shots from the Bun Festival. There was some decent acting from the leads (yes, even Mrs. Moses Chan). Aimee seems much more at ease in a modern, casual role where she is allowed to mix English and Chinese. Ruco and Selena have such amazing chemistry together that it's hard to believe this is only their first collaboration. The bromance between Ruco, Raymond and Matt is adorable, especially how they keep touching each other.

The not-so-praiseworthy: Ram Chiang's odd style was uncalled for. I always feel that Elliot Ngok's acting is OTT. Too much emphasis when he speaks and too much movement. Maybe Patrick Tang feels awkward filming with Selena, because he was terribly unnatural in those scenes.

Conclusion: A mindless series.

Rating: 2/5


Related Posts:
Historical Context: Cheung Po Tsai
Cheung Chau Bun Festival
Selena Beauty Tips

Historical Context - Cheung Po Tsai

In Slow Boat Home, Raymond Wong’s character is nicknamed “Cheung Po Tsai”. Cheung Po Tsai (張保仔) was actually a famous pirate during the Qing Dynasty.

As a 15 year old, Cheung Po Tsai accompanied his fisherman father out to sea and was captured by a pirate named Cheng I (鄭一). Thus began his pirate career as a member of the Red Flag Fleet. Allegedly, Cheng I was a homosexual and fell in love with the handsome teen. His wife, known as “Cheng I So” (鄭一嫂), also became involved with Cheung Po Tsai.

When Cheng I died in a typhoon, Cheng I So remarried to Cheung Po Tsai and together, they secured power as the new leaders of the Red Flag Fleet. Their fleet, consisting of 30,000-40,000 men and 600 ships, dominated the South China Sea. As a pirate, Cheung Po Tsai had a code of honour: he robbed government and merchant ships, but never victimized fishermen. He also strictly prohibited his men from disturbing the citizens and stealing from the poor.

The Qing government waged many wars against the pirates. The most large-scale battle was at Chek Lap Kok (赤鱲角海戰), in which the Qing and Portuguese navies jointly fought against Cheung Po Tsai. Each side had 300 ships staffed by 30,000 men and heavy artillery. Cheung Po Tsai split his fleet into six squadrons. His plan was for each squadron to surround a single Portuguese ship, then board and overpower the enemy in a physical fight. But the Portuguese were able to fend off the approaching pirates with concentrated fire. The turning point came when the Portuguese bought down a pirate ship carrying a deity statute. Seeing the “protector” statute fall into the ocean destroyed the morale of the pirates and many of them decided to flee.

The strength of the Red Flag Fleet was severely diminished after that battle. Eventually, Cheung Po Tsai surrendered to the Qing government. In return, he was given the post of colonel and tasked with helping the government fight against other pirates, which he spent the rest of his life doing.

Cheung Po Tsai is rumoured to have hid his treasures in many locations. The most famous location is the “Cheung Po Tsai Cave” (張保仔洞) on Cheung Chau. However, the cave is extremely small and narrow, causing some people to be suspicious of the claim that he buried treasures there. As of yet, no treasures have been found. Some believe the cave only served as his hiding place to escape from the Qing or as a storage place for explosives. Nonetheless, the cave is a popular tourist attraction.

Read about the Cheung Chau Bun Festival!

Selena Li Beauty Tips

Found some videos of Selena Li showing how she achieved her schoolgirl look in Slow Boat Home. Looks like she didn't to hire a make-up artist!

Step 1 - Applying Make-up



Step 2 - Ponytail Extension



The Result:



Selena founded her own beauty school, called Technique. She has more beauty tips on her YouTube channel: SelenaBeautyTips

Cheung Chau Bun Festival

The Cheung Chau Bun Festival is an annual event held in Cheung Chau each May. It has received designation as one of four important cultural events of Hong Kong.

The centuries-old tradition originated as a Taoist ceremony in which the people prayed to the gods, in hopes of preserving peace and fortune in the area. According to legend, Cheung Chau was once hit hard by a plague. Some residents paraded the statue of Pak Tai (北帝), the northern god, around the island. Sure enough, the plague disappeared soon after. As a tribute to Pak Tai, a celebration is held in his honour each year. Despite the religious origins, the Bun Festival has now evolved into a grand celebration of Chinese culture that attracts tourists and non-Taoists alike. The festival lasts for 7 days with carnival games, parades and performances. 

The official start of the Bun Festival is marked with a ceremony to “invite” the deities to join in the celebrations. A procession led by a Buddhist priest visits each temple in Cheung Chau to bring the deities to the Pak Tai Temple, where the main celebrations will occur. For the next three days, the entire island goes vegetarian. Even the local McDonalds observes this tradition by offering mushrooms in place of meat burgers. The two highlights of the festival are the Floating Colours Parade and the Bun Snatching Competition.

The Floating Colours Parade involves children dressed as historical figures and modern politicians. They ride atop a pole, which gives the appearance that they are floating in the air.  The parade also includes a variety of other floats, musicians and lion dancers. Red sedan chairs will carry the deities in the parade to scare off evil spirits.



The Bun Snatching Competition takes place at midnight on the 8^th day of the fourth lunar month (typically the last day of the festival). Traditionally, people would scramble up the bun towers, made from bamboo, to grab buns stamped with the words “平安” (peace). The higher the bun, the greater the blessings it brings. The competition was cancelled starting in 1979, after one of the towers collapsed, injuring many people.  

In 2005, the event was brought back with safety modifications. Only a handful of participants are allowed to climb the tower, now made of steel and covered with plastic buns. There are 9000 buns on the tower and participants try to collect as many as they could within three minutes.

The real buns are handed out to people after the race. An estimated 25,000 buns are handed out each year. In the afternoon, another ceremony is performed to accompany the gods back to their temples. After this, the Bun Festival is officially concluded.  

 

Read about notable Cheung Chau personality - Cheung Po Tsai

"Slow Boat Home" Theme Song

The theme song for Slow Boat Home is "Still Want" (還想), sung by Kay Tse.




The sub--theme song is by "Both Sides Now" by Cilla Kung.





Historical Context posts for Slow Boat Home:
Cheung Po Tsai
Cheung Chau Bun Festival 

Other Related:
Slow Boat Home - Overview
Official Poster for Slow Boat Home
Slow Boat Home Promo Clips

Slow Boat Home Promo Clips

Overview, Official Poster, Trailer @ FILMART

Promo #1


Promo #2


Promo #3


Promo #4

Official Poster for Slow Boat Home

Comment: The structure they are climbing is the "Bun Tower" that is a traditional part of the Cheung Chau Bun Festival. The crew did filming at the actual event to have the most realistic footage.

The series doesn't release until May 13. Efficient work by the staff to have the poster done so early. 

Read Overview - Slow Boat Home.

Overview - Slow Boat Home

A native Cheung Chau boy, Raymond Wong, has high ambitions, but little talent. He is disheartened when he loses his father’s (Elliot Ngok) seafood restaurant, but television director Aimee Chan is willing to endure the challenges with him. She stays by his side even after he crashes his boat and is confined to a wheelchair. Meanwhile, Selena Li suddenly quits her job and returns to Cheung Chau to help out with her mother’s (Susan Tse) vacation home business. It turns out that Selena is secretly working with outsiders to build a hotel empire on the island. Not only that, she also wants to have relations with Raymond, and tries ways to drive Aimee away. Ruco Chan, Selena’s boyfriend, finds her actions to be unbearable, putting him on the same boat as Aimee. Just as Aimee is about to give up on discovering about her past and return to USA, there is a sudden change in the vacation home acquisition project…

Comment: The plot doesn't sound appealing, but guaranteed sunshine and smiles all throughout. This is second of five dramas for Ruco and second of four for Aimee, so plenty more chances to see them if you decide to skip this one, which I probably will.

Character Map:

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This is Casual TVB's 100th post! WOOT!

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View dramas from Day 2
(including Triumph in the Skies 2, The Hippocratic Crush 2 and Beauty at War)


All clips from HKChannel and kuangaiTVB. Pictures from respective Weibo accounts.