Writer: Elaine Ewe

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Watch this if you liked: "The Wedding Diary"

Adrian Teh's "The Wedding Diary 2" almost has it all. It is a comedy, a sweet albeit cliche, realistic story of a couple trying their best to cope with their family's newest member and their careers. Lead actors Aniu and Elanne Kwong pass muster as Wei Jie and Zhi Xin, respectively, whom we last saw happily wedded to each other in "The Wedding Diary". Teh gives the movie a sweet, soft, and loving tone that makes the best of actors Jack Choo and Kara Hui, and even cameo roles such as Chapman To, that unfortunately falls flat from its immaturity, slipshod cinematography and editing.

Wei Jie (Aniu) and his wife Zhi Xin (Elanne Kwong) are happily married, as well as blessed with an adorable baby boy after much hassling from their respective in-laws. The couple then discover that raising a child is easier said than done, and to make matters worse, Zhi Xin's wealthy father, Colin (Jack Choo), suffers a stroke that renders him in a vegetative state. As a result, Zhi Xin is forced to take over her father's business empire, while Wei Jie has to quit his job to be a stay-at-home dad since he makes less money than his wife. Bad things come in threes, the third being the sudden appearance of girl (Cynthia Wang) who claims to be Colin's illegitimate daughter.

Once again, Wei Jie and Elanne Kwong show us that the chemistry they have is not a fluke. Wei Jie and Zhi Xin are perfectly matched as the newly wedded couple that progresses from honeymoon bliss to strained. Watching them play off each other is an absolute joy. Wei Jie draws us into the story with his grounded outlook as the audience's voice, and Zhi Xin liven it up with her playful and upbeat personality. Although Aniu continues to play the same average Joe he has many times before, and so have many actors before him, few make us as comfortable as we are in watching him in "The Wedding Diary 2". As for Elanne, she starts off with a captivating blend of toughness, naïvete and vulnerability that dissolves by the time the last act rolls around into a sobbing, green-eyed monster.

Therein lays the flaw of "The Wedding Diary 2". Teh never follows up on the issues that he addresses, such as Wei Jie's increasing embarrassment of being a stay-at-home dad or Zhi Xin's issue with her 'sister'. Instead, more and more conflict are introduced until it feels like the characters are being flattened into one-dimensionality and the story swept up in overwrought sentimentality. The last scene involving Cynthia Wang's character is a good example of a drama cliche that the story simply does not need. Another is Chapman To's appearance. While memorable, it veers the film into sitcom, and Teh almost takes it too far by poking fun at women in labour and 'actresses sleeping with directors for a role' trope. That said the superb performances from Jack Choo and Kara Hui stop the film from becoming sappy. Their expressions of love for each other define their relationship beyond simple marriage or forced compromise.

On a technical level, Teh's "The Wedding Diary 2" fails to impress despite its strong start (the misleading opening scene was superb). The camerawork feels amateurish and editing jarring, as seen by the sudden inconsistencies in framing and scene shifts respectively. However, these faults are superficial, in light of the fact that no one involved decided to stir things up by inserting any emotional ballads by its stars as most Chinese films do during key scenes or worse, computer-generated special effects that they are not equipped to produce.

The inconsistent quality of the story, weak cinematography and editing are regrettable side effects of Teh's overall commendable sequel. There are much worse films out there, and "The Wedding Diary 2" is actually entertaining, especially when the story focuses on the main characters dealing their issues as opposed to solving them. The maturity of the actors and the space they have to give excellent performances make the film more than a rehashed rom-com or a sitcom with romance.

Cinema Online, 30 January 2013