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Reviewed by hkopinions
Rating 5 stars
Cast:
Michelle Yip as Meng Lai Kuan (Manh Le Quan)
Raymond Lam as Wong Po Siu Wah (Hoang Phu Thieu Hoa)
Joe Ma as Tit Muk Ee/Temur Khan (Thiet Moc Nhi)
Tavia Yeung as Ying Suet (To Anh Thuyet)
Rain Lau as Weng Lan (Dinh Lan)
Eternal Happiness is TVB's latest step in trying to promote two new stars: Michelle Yip and Raymond Lam. Although Michelle Yip is not a new comer onscreen, since she appeared in Gods of Honor and Reaching Out, but her acting skills seem down played and her roles just didnt seem to match with her. Raymond Lam, on the other hand, is quite a new comer. Raymond appeared in Taste of Love and A Step Into the Past. With his splendid portrayal of Emperor Cheng in A Step Into the Past, no wonder TVB is trying to promote him by casting him in Eternal Happiness. Other people appearing in this series are Tavia Yeung, Joe Ma, Rain Lau, Myolie Wu, and Mok Kar Kiu. The story of Eternal Happiness takes place in the Yuan dynasty, near the end of Kubilai Khan's reign. This series stars Michelle Yip as Meng Lai Kuan (Manh Le Quan in Vietnamese), Raymond Lam as Wong Po Siu Wah (Hoang Phu Thieu Hoa), and Joe Ma as Tit Muk Ee or historical English name Temur Khan. The series is very entertaining and personally, is the best ancient series released in 2002.
Michelle plays Meng Lai Kuan, a clever tomboyish girl, who is the daughter of a famous Chinese doctor who had worked for the Emperor before China fell to the Mongolians. Michelle loves to dress up as a man, and by chance meets Wong Po Siu Wah, Marco Polo, and Tit Muk Ee and they become sworn brothers (andap). Raymond plays the dumb but righteous Wong Po Siu Wah. Raymond is engaged to Michelle through an arranged marriage. Michelles character is playful and very opinionated and so hated the fact that she has to marry she has never met before, causing Michelle to leave home and journey to the capital. Michelle falls in love with Tit Muk Ee, mistaking him as the flute player she heard at night, but at the same time becomes engaged with Raymond. Michelle doesn't know her fiancée is Raymond yet and sets out to the capital to find her true love. Joe Ma, in the beginning plays Tit Muk Ee, the son of China's crowned prince, successor to Kubilai Khan. As the story progresses, Joe becomes crowned prince and emperor of the Yuan dyansty. On the way, Michelle meets many people like the Queen of the bandits, who falls heads over heels for Michelle's manly disguise. Michelle's adventure continues from city to city and finally to the capital. The series continues, as Michelle fall in love with both Raymond and Joe but in the end she finds out that her true love is Raymond all along. This series is a comedy and part love story turned wrong. Dont worry this series has a happy ending since no one dies except Kubilai Khan.
Michelle Yip:
Here comes the criticismSure Michelles prior roles in Gods of Honor and Reaching Out were very poorly portrayed, Michelles role as Meng Lai Kuan is definitely winning her more lead roles in the future. Michelle does a superb job in portraying the likeable and funny Meng Lai Kuan. TVB should stop casting Michelle in serious roles but funnier characters since Michelle really stands out. One negative thing about Michelle is that she doesnt look pretty as a girl. It could be just me, but whoever did her makeup and hair when she is a woman should get fired. Come on, Raymond and Joe fell in love with the manly Michelle.
Raymond Lam:
One word comes to mind when I noticed that Raymond played Wong Po Siu Wahhuh? Okay, okay truthfully Raymond is a good actor as seen in A Step Into the Past. Although it was hard to see Raymond make a transition as an evil emperor to a dumb character in Eternal Happiness, as the series progress Raymond becomes a character you would love to hate. Raymond did a great job and definitely will be seen starring in his own series in the future. Just a side note, does Raymond really look like Louis Koo?
Joe Ma:
Miscast. Definitely miscast. Although, Joe fit the character of Tit Muk Ee, there was no chemistry between Joe and Michelle. First, Joe seems a little too old for Michelle. Secondly, his character is quite dull. Joe received too much on screen time in the series making the story boring. No wonder, he doesnt get the girl at the end. Not that Joe did a horrible job as Tit Muk Ee; the script just didnt fit him.
Mok Kar Kiu:
Just love him. Mok Kar Kiu did a wonderful and very funny portrayal of Meng Lai Kuans brother. His relationship with the Queen of the bandits was even funnier. Personally I hated the Queen of the Bandit. Wow what a total miscast. Hopefully this uneventful chemistry doesnt ruin Mok Kar Kius future, because I would love to see him take lead in future roles.
Rain Lau:
Very funny. Great job TVB for casting Rain. Her role as Weng Lan was great. Scenes with Michelle and Rain are some of the best. Rain portrays a girl desperately searching for a husband but just doesnt have any luck with men. It was sad that Rain didnt hook up with Joes bodyguard at the end. Tssk. Tssk. This just makes her character more likeable.
Tavia Yeung:
Tavia had the more serious role out of all the other characters. There were rarely any scenes where Tavia was funny. Although, Tavia should have had some scenes that were funny (except the scene with Michelle when they get married), because Tavia has great potential to take a lead role in future series.
Other characters:
I dont want to name them all. Of course there were good portrayals and bad. Some good portrayals were Fut Gor Chek and Kubilai Khan. They definitely look the part, especially Fut Gor Chek played by Liu Kai Chi as the villain. The most pitiful character was Myolie Wus role as Lau Yin Yuk. Myolies performance did not improve from prior roles. I couldnt even feel sorry for her character. Another miscast was the part of Myolies brother. I dont know if it is the actor of the character but the series would have fared better without him.
Best supporting actor:
Mok Kar Kiu as Meng Lai Kuans brother
Best supporting actress:
Rain Lau as Weng Lan
Worst character portrayal:
Myolie Wu as Lau Yin Yuk
A little history:
The character of Meng Lai Kuan fits well into the historical background of China during the Yuan dynasty. In the beginning, Kubilai Khan is ruler of China and later succeeded by his grandson Temur Khan/Tit Muk Ee played by Joe. Marco Polo also makes an appearance in the beginning of the series making Eternal Happiness stay closer to the historical background. However, Joes character was given more emphasis than the true Temur Khan in history was given. In fact, Joe never reintroduced civil service examinations to China. It was reintroduced by his successors. The only notable work Tit Muk Ee did was the construction of a palace/temple in honor of Confucius and his praise of Chinese culture. Tit Muk Ee reigned for 12 years, but his reign were plagued by rebellions and opposition to the crown. Tit Muk Ee dies in 1307, at the age of 42. Another historical alteration was the character of the general who rescued the last surviving heir to the Chinese throne. Hey, TVB had to change history to have their lead star in there just like A Step into the Past.
So what about the story?
TVB wrote a wonderful script. Although the storys emphasis on Michelle died down towards the middle, where Myolie's and Joe's characters had greater screen time, overall the story was great.
Watch it or forget it?Well lets see. I gave it a 5 stars. Oh yeah, go watch it. Eternal Happiness is hilarious and worth watching despite several miscasts.
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