RIDING on the success of Hong Kong's box office Number 1 comedy, 'Table For Six' is back with a sequel which opens in cinemas today (Feb 9) ahead of the Chinese New Year festivities.
'Table For Six 2', helmed by director Sunny Chan, brings back original cast members Stephy Tang, Louis Cheung Kai Chung, Ivana Wong, Lin Min Chen and Peter Chan Charm Man, and also welcomes Tse Kwan Ho, Jeffery Ngai, Ho Kai Wa and Tseung Chi Kwong to the star-studded and hilarious ensemble cast.
As the introduction goes, here is one family, three couples and three weddings. After they decide to move on, further challenges await them because marriage is not just about two individuals but involves a whole family of aunts, uncles and cousins.
Chan, with his unique brand of humour, once again dives into the dynamics of modern society's families and romance.
His movie promises to unravel a delightful web of relationships and make Chinese New Year 2024 a memorable cinematic experience.
In a recent interview, Chan said that the scale of the movie was much bigger, and he had to balance the demands of a larger cast with focusing on the main characters' experiences.
"Stephy's character Monica is stepping into marital bliss while Ivana's Josephine is preparing for a grand marriage even though she is not so sure if this is what she wants.
"The costumes are a lot more lavish now, we've got a crazy mix of styles to match the characters," said Chan.
Chan admitted that making the movie was stressful but pressure helped maintain a quality product.
"Every cast member has a new challenge as the bar is set higher. We have done our best and the rest we will leave it up to the audience."
Louis said that he was honoured to perform the late Cantopop king Leslie Cheung's best known pop song Monica in a zany way in one scene, but it was "as tricky as it gets".
"I was intimidated by this song at first as it is such an iconic song. However, Sunny told me that it was my character Bernard's song and not mine, so fans won't start comparing me with Leslie.
"Having Bernard sing it is much more fun as it is a humorous twist to the song by a fictional person. Sunny has studied many performances of the original song to give it a nostalgic feel complete with dance moves popular in the 1980s."
Malaysian actress Min said that she had brushed up her Hong Kong Cantonese to prepare for the movie and was happy that Chan told her that it "showed".
"But my character Meow is still supposed to speak choppy Cantonese and has yet to master many Hong Kong Cantonese phrases.
"That is the same with me off stage and I still have to guess the meanings of these terms," she said.
Peter said that he treasured the chance for the ensemble cast to work together again.
"My character Lung has a closer relationship with Josephine. It gets a lot more interesting here."
Ivana who plays Josephine said: "It feels like hardly any time has passed between the first movie and this one.
"When I read the script all my thoughts and emotions from the first movie came back quickly. That is because we all established a deep connection with our characters and each other."
Stephy who plays Monica said: "It is great to be back with a character I love playing. She has grown quite a bit but still possesses the goofiness she displayed in the first movie."
Min said: "As for my character Meow, I like the chemistry which she shares with the new character Mark played by Jeffery — Mark is the perfect foil for Min, they are opposites who attract!"
Jeffery said: "I am serious by nature and Mark brings out the funny side of me especially when he sings. It is good to play a funny man once in a while as it is doing something beyond my comfort zone."
Chan said that there might be a Part 3 and it all depends on the box office.
"Anything is possible. When I finished the first movie, I never thought of this sequel where there will be three weddings," he said.
'Table for Six 2' is distributed by Lotus Five Star.
