the modern "war of in-laws"

You heard it here first! Last year, I successfully predicted that War of In-Laws would be the next series to get the "modern version" treatment. Surely enough, the costume fitting for War of In-Laws 2007 was today.

When news of the modern version first leaked back in October 2006, the Chinese title for the slated production was 我的野蠻新抱 ("Ngoh Dik Yeah Man Sun Po" - translated as My Barbaric Daughter-in-Law). Going from this title, the roles of Myolie Wu and Liza Wang were going to be reversed. Myolie was going to be the "barbaric" one that Liza was going to have to put up with because she's her daughter-in-law. The reversal of roles also fits more appropriately with modern times. Daughter-in-laws are no longer worried about pleasing their mother-in-laws as much as before and in some cases, the mother-in-law has to follow the wishes of her daughter-in-law! It would be very refreshing to see Myolie be outrageous and mean and Liza be the one who is suffering.

Disappointingly, the storyline obviously changed. The current title for the modern In-Laws is 我的野蠻奶奶2007 ("Ngoh Dik Yeah Man Lai Lai 2007" - directly translated as My Barbaric Mother-in-Law 2007 or War of In-Laws 2007). From this title, it's clear that Liza will remain "barbaric" in this modern version. I guess TVB deemed it too risky to change the "formula" of In-Laws too much.

The Devil Wears Prada Rip-Off?
The media is dubbing the modern In-Laws as a copy of the 2006 American movie The Devil Wears Prada starring the legendary Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway. Hathaway's character ("Andrea" or as she prefers to be called - "Andy") goes to work as the assistant of "Miranda Priestly" (Streep) in the prominent fashion magazine, Runway. "Andy" is clueless about fashion and she's only working at the magazine in hopes of a good recommendation letter so that she can write for a big newspaper. "Miranda" is the most fearsome boss ever - demanding, intimidating, etc. Devil follows "Andy" and the great strives she goes through as her assistant.

From information that leaked so far about the modern In-Laws, I can definitely say that TVB did indeed base the series around Devil. For starters, In-Laws 2007 also revolves heavily around clothes and the fashion industry (as Devil did). Liza's character is an executive at a fashion company and she will be "training" Myolie's character to become a "sophisticated" woman with some "fashion" sense. Originally, Myolie's character is a cop (and thus we can assume her character is somewhat of a tomboy or at least lacks a taste for "fashion"). This sounds just like Devil. "Miranda" makes "Andy" transform from a tomboy into someone who wears the latest fashion. The big difference between In-Laws 2007 and Devil is that Myolie and Liza will become in-laws as Myolie becomes a couple with Liza's son, Bosco Wong.

Besides Liza, Myolie, and Bosco, cast members of the modern In-Laws include Vivien Yeo, Suki Chui, and Stephen Huynh.

My thoughts: I absolutely hated the original/ancient In-Laws. I resent In-Laws for being so overrated. Its win as "Best Series" at the 2005 Anniversary was undeserved. I quite liked it at first, but the series instantly loses all merits of entertainment and charm and becomes a tiring, dragging, ridiculous, and desperate series. To me, it's not funny or charming, but irritating and nonsensical. I love In-Laws's premise/idea of a "barbaric" mother-in-law and with a much better script, this series could have succeeded. Unfortunately, the script was beyond lacking. This series was just lucky (as I believe Square Pegs - another series I am not fond of - was as well). I regret wasting 20-episodes time and watching it.

I like Liza. Her acting is superb and I do believe she is TVB's equivalent of Meryl Streep. Devil's success in the box office was primarily due to Streep and her wonderful portrayal and character. I actually watched Devil recently, so I think it's kind of funny that the modern In-Laws turned out to be TVB's version of The Devil Wears Prada. The movie was pretty much fluff and only somewhat entertaining at times - it wasn't my cup of tea. The only good scenes were those involving Streep's "Miranda" - who was incredibly snappy and convincing as the "boss from hell". I think Liza will do justice to a "Miranda"-like role.

Hmm... we'll see how War of In-Laws 2007 fares. I don't have any hopes for this production and will probably skip it as it doesn't interest me. I'm not interested in fashion and I'm not a fan of anyone in the cast aside from Liza. As I stated in a previous post, I am black-listing productions by Producer Kwan Wing Chung. I haven't liked a single series he has produced. His series lack charm and end up being really ridiculous and a waste of time. Producer Kwan also has a track record of ruining good American movies and producing terrible series. Hasn't he learned his lesson yet from his attempt at producing TVB's "version" of Bridget Jones's Diary/Korea's My Name is Kim Sam Soon with 2006's To Grow With Love?

Update: It turns out that TVB has replaced the original producer of In-Laws (Producer Kwan) and given "his" series to Producer Cheung Kin Man (another newcomer producer to TVB). That's funny. Producer Kwan was boasting about how he was going to create a "great" role for Myolie in the modern In-Laws so she could win "Best Actress." Hmm... wonder why he was replaced.

I'm neutral about Producer Cheung. His series include To Love With No Regrets, Dicey Business, Lethal Weapons of Love and Passion, and Lost In The Chamber of Love. The only series that I quite liked from him was Love. It was touching, meaningful, and quite funny. Dicey was okay (at least far better than anything Producer Kwan has produced). It seems like Producer Cheung loves to use Bosco.

I still do not look forward to this production despite a "better" producer being at the helm of it.