''Dry Wood Fierce Fire'' is a 2002 Hong Kong

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

film written and directed by

Wilson Yip Wilson Yip Wai-Shun (; born 1964) is a Hong Kong actor, filmmaker and screenwriter. His films include '' Bio Zombie'', '' The White Dragon'', '' SPL: Sha Po Lang'', '' Dragon Tiger Gate'', ''Flash Point'' and the ''Ip Man'' series. Early caree ...

, and starring

Louis Koo Louis Koo Tin-lok ( zh, t=古天樂; born 21 October 1970) is a Hong Kong people, Hong Kong actor, singer and film producer. He began his professional career as an actor in local television series, winning TVB's Best Actor award in 1999 and 2001 ...

and

Miriam Yeung Miriam Yeung (born 3 February 1974) is a Hong Kong actress and Cantopop diva. As of 2020, she has released more than 35 albums and has starred in more than 40 films. In 2012, Yeung won the Award for Best Actress at the 32nd Hong Kong Film Awards ...

. The film was released on 19 April 2002.

Plot

Women's magazine, "Ladies", and Men's magazine, "Gents" were acquired by renowned writer Michelle Chan (

Flora Chan Flora Chan Wai-shan (Traditional Chinese:陳慧珊, born May 30, 1970 in Hong Kong), is an American actress active primarily in Hong Kong television and film. Along with Maggie Cheung Ho-yee, Kenix Kwok, Jessica Hsuan, and Ada Choi, she is kno ...

), who merges them into a new magazine, "Boku". Alice (

) is a journalist for "Ladies" while Ryan Li (

) is the vice chief editor for "Gents". Alice falls in love with Ryan at first sight, but Ryan has a crush on Michelle. One time during an assignment where she travels up a mountain to interview an extraordinary person, Alice loses her glasses and calls the "Boku" office for help, where Ryan answers her call and proceeds to help her but he gets hurt from a fall. From that day on, Alice makes double-stewed soup for Ryan to heal his wound and later also helps him set up his new home. When Ryan finds out Alice's feelings for him, he purposely avoids her and Alice sadly resigns her position. However, one day while looking at the designs in his new home, Ryan misses Alice.

Cast

as Ryan Li, the vice chief editor of "Gents" magazine known for his good looks which attracts his female subordinates. *

as Alice Tsui (徐愛嬅), a journalist for "Gents" magazine's health column who comes from family of Chinese herbalists and martial artists. **Tang Suet-wah plays Alice as a teenager. *

as Michelle Chan (陳狄珊), a renowned writer who acquires "Ladies" and "Gents" magazine, merging them into "Boku" magazine and becomes Ryan and Alice's new boss. *

Wyman Wong Wyman Wong (born 21 May 1969) is a Cantopop lyricist from Hong Kong.The Style Issue
''Tim ...

as an eight-time sanda champion from

Shenzhen Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern province ...

. *

Sharon Chan Sharon Chan Man-chi (born 17 January 1979) is a Hong Kong actress and model. She is currently under contract with TVB in Hong Kong. Filmography Television dramas Film Books * 陳敏之《戀愛敏感》 TVB Songs *Song Name : Love Ste ...

as Phoebe *

Monica Lo Monica may refer to: People *Monica (actress) (born 1987), Indian film actress *Monica (given name), a given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Monica (singer) (born 1980), American R&B singer, songwriter, producer, ...

as Ryan's ex-girlfriend. *

Lo Mang Lo Mang is a Hong Kong martial artist and actor who was born as Lo Kwan Lam in Hong Kong on 23 July 1952. Primarily known for starring in ''Shaw Brothers'' kung fu movies during the latter part of the 1970s and into the 1980s. He is a member of ...

as Tsui Ying-biu (徐英彪), Alice's father who is a Chinese herbalist. *

Kingdom Yuen Kingdom Yuen King-dan (苑瓊丹; born 11 September 1963) is a Hong Kong actress with a long history working with TVB. Life and career Kingdom was born in Hong Kong, her father was an ivory carver. She started her acting career with HK ATV during ...

as Alice's mother. *

Cheung Tat-ming Cheung Tat-ming () (born 2 July 1964) is a Hong Kong actor, comedian, director and writer. Personal life Cheung married Ho Nim-chi, a psychiatrist, in September 2001, subsequently announcing their divorce in 2016. They had one son and one daught ...

as Fly Chan (陳飛揚), Alice's martial uncle. *

Chapman To use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , body_discovered = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinate ...

as Autumn Sze-to (司徒秋生) *

Matt Chow Matthew "Matt" Chow Hoi-Kwong (, born 4 August 1968) is a Hong Kong screenwriter, director, actor and producer. He is best known for his romantic comedy films, and has served as a screenwriter for filmmakers Peter Chan, Johnnie To, Wai Ka-Fai, ...

as Autumn Au-yeung (歐陽秋生) *Nelson Cheung as Nel Nel *Johnny Lee *Joe Lee as Joe Li *

Wong Yat-fei Wong Yat-fei (born August 19, 1946) is a Hong Kong cinema actor who has acted in numerous Cantonese films. Wong is best known for his role as Iron Head in ''Shaolin Soccer'' for which he won popular awards. He has appeared in more than 139 film ...

as Mr. Bau (包生) *Lee Fung as Dr. Yan *Keith Ho as Pal Pal *Wong So-pik as Yuko *Chim Wai-leung as a doorman.

Music

Reception

Box office

The film grossed HK$13,111,873 at the Hong Kong box office during its theatrical run from 19 April to 24 May 2002.

Critical reception

Derek Elley of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' praises the performances of

and

and calls the film "an unexpected delight among this year's Hong Kong romantic comedies." Andrew Saroch of ''Far East Films'' have the film a score of 3.5/5 stars, praising Koo and Yeung's chemistry and notes how the film used familiar approaches that does not stand out in the romantic comedy genre. Kenneth Brorsson of ''So Good Reviews'' praised

's direction and the performances and chemistry of Koo and Yeung, as well as Poon Hang-sang's photography and the film's natural lighting.

References

External links

* *
Dry Wood Fierce Fire
' at Hong Kong Cinemagic * {{Wilson Yip 2002 films 2002 romantic comedy films Hong Kong romantic comedy films Hong Kong slapstick comedy films 2000s Cantonese-language films Films directed by Wilson Yip Films about journalists Films set in Hong Kong Films shot in Hong Kong 2000s Hong Kong films