''All U Need Is Love'' () is a 2021 Hong Kong

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

film directed by

Vincent Kok Vincent Kok Tak-chiu (; born 15 August 1965) is a Hong Kong actor, scriptwriter and film director. Vincent's ancestral hometown is Shandong province. Kok is best known for his frequent collaborations with Stephen Chow, acting and co-writing w ...

and starring an all-star ensemble cast. The film is a benefit effort for Hong Kong film industry workers affected by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

launched by the

Hong Kong Performing Artistes Guild The Hong Kong Performing Artistes Guild (HKPAG; zh, 香港演藝人協會) is a non-profit labour association that represents Hong Kong artistes, canto-pop singers and stage performers. As a member of ''International Society for the Performing ...

and the Federation of Hong Kong Filmmakers, and produced by ten major local film companies. ''All U Need Is Love'' was theatrically released on 22 April 2021.

Plot

During a calm and peaceful afternoon in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

, the Grande Hotel (格尼酒店) was suddenly suspected to be the source of the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

outbreak and the

Centre for Health Protection The Centre for Health Protection is an agency under the Department of Health in Hong Kong responsible for disease prevention and control. CHP plays the same role and function as the Centers for Disease Control in the United States, and the ...

has ordered the hotel to be on lockdown while all hotel guests are forced to be quarantined for 14 days to be tested. While the guests are being quarantined in the hotel, it also brings them connections closer as human beings. As they faced through this difficult time together, they also learn to cherish what might be their final moments of spending time with one another.

Cast

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, receiving recognition for his roles in ''The C ...

plays the captain of the Epidemic Prevention Operation Unit. *

Tony Leung Ka-fai Tony Leung Ka-fai (; born 1 February 1958) is a Hong Kong actor who is a four-time winner of the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor. As he is often confused with actor Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Tony Leung Ka-fai is known as "Big Tony", while Tony L ...

plays Yam Yan-kau (任因九) (reprising his role from the 2003 film '' Men Suddenly in Black''), a guest at Grande Hotel who is looking for an extraordinary affair. *

Eric Tsang Eric Tsang Chi-wai ( zh, t=曾志偉; born 14 April 1953) is a Hong Kong actor, film director, producer, and television host, best known for hosting the variety show ''Super Trio series'' on the Hong Kong television network Television Broadcasts ...

plays Kwok Tin-yau (郭天佑), reprising his role from ''Men Suddenly in Black'', a guest at Grande Hotel who is looking for extraordinary affairs. *

Francis Ng Francis Ng Chun-yu (; born 21 December 1961) is a Hong Kong actor and director. He is known for his roles in the TVB series '' Old Time Buddy'' (1997) and '' Triumph in the Skies'' (2003), as well as in films such as '' Bullets Over Summer'' ...

Gordon Lam Gordon Lam Ka-tung (林家棟; born 21 September 1967) is a Hong Kong actor, film producer and screenwriter. Initially known for his supporting roles in films directed by Andrew Lau and Johnnie To, Lam eventually became a lead actor in the Hong ...

and Alex Fong play a trio of

diagnosed carriers. *

Michael Hui Michael Hui Koon-man (born ; 3 September 1942; also known as Mr Boo!) is a Hong Kong people, Hong Kong actor, comedian, screenwriter, scriptwriter and Film director, director. He is the eldest of the four Hui brothers (together with Ricky Hui, ...

plays the president of Grande Hotel. *

Kent Cheng Kent Cheng Jak-si is a Hong Kong film and television actor. He is a two time recipient of the best actor award at the Hong Kong Film Awards. Biography Cheng was born in a poor family in Hong Kong.Interview of Be my Guest, TVB, 21 June 2008 He int ...

and

Mary Hon Mary Hon is an actress from TVB Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB; zh, t=電視廣播有限公司) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong. The company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Ko ...

play a married couple. *

Candice Yu Candice Yu (Yu On On; born Yu De Ying; 22 October 1959) is a Hong Kong film actress and occasional singer best known for her films with Shaw Brothers Studio of the 1970s and 1980s. She was the first wife of Hong Kong actor Chow Yun-fat. Film c ...

plays Kwok Tin-yau's wife. *

Fiona Sit Fiona Sit (; born 11 August 1981) is a Hong Kong singer and actress. Early life In an interview with Hong Kong newspaper '' Apple Daily'' in 2006, Fiona Sit revealed that she has always been interested in singing in front of an audience since ...

plays a service staff of Grande Hotel who is a single mother. *

Law Lan Law Lan () MHAwarded in her original name Lo Yin-ying JP (born Lo Yin-ying (); 13 November 1934), is a veteran Hong Kong actress in both the film and TV industry. Career She started in the film industry in 1939, cast in antagonistic roles durin ...

and Alex Lam play service staffs of Grande Hotel. *

Philip Keung Philip Keung Ho-man (; born 26 October 1966) is a Hong Kong actor and film producer. Keung began his acting career as a television actor in 1985 for Asia Television (ATV), and also began appearing in films from 1988. He eventually left ATV in 201 ...

Annie Liu Annie Liu Sum-yau ( zh, 劉心悠; born 1 April 1981) is a Hong Kong–based Taiwanese actress. Background Liu was born in Taiwan but was sent to Vancouver, Canada to study at a young age by her parents. In 2004, Liu was selected to feature ...

and

Ken Lo Kenneth Lo Wai-Kwong (born 17 March 1959), professionally known as Ken Lo, is a Cambodian-Hong Kong actor, martial artist, and stuntman. He is known for his martial arts and stunt work as a former member of the Jackie Chan Stunt Team, most nota ...

play guests at Grande Hotel. *

Yuen Qiu 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_coordinates ...

plays a guest at Grande Hotel, parodying her role from the 2004 film ''

Kung Fu Hustle ''Kung Fu Hustle'' ( zh, c=功夫, l=Kung Fu) is a 2004 Martial arts film, martial arts action comedy film directed, produced and co-written by Stephen Chow, who also stars in the leading role, alongside Eva Huang, Huang Shengyi, Yuen Wah, Yue ...

''. *

Michael Ning Michael Ning (, born 5 November 1979) known professionally as is a Hong Kong born Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity * ...

plays a guest at Grande Hotel, parodying his role from the 2015 film '' Port of Call''. *

Chrissie Chau Chrissie Chau Sau-na (; born 22 May 1985) is a Hong Kong actress and model. Chau achieved widespread fame after the release of her gravure photo albums in 2009 and 2010. Her film career began after she starred in the horror film '' Womb Ghosts'' ( ...

plays a guest at Grande Hotel who is a bodybuilder who has a phobia of men. *

Julian Cheung Julian Cheung Chi-lam (born 27 August 1971), better known by his stage name Chilam, is a Hong Kong singer and actor. Cheung is known for his role as Guo Jing in the 1994 TV series adaptation of the ''Wuxia'' novel, '' The Legend of the Condo ...

plays Chai-yau (柴油), a guest at Grande Hotel who is a

triad Triad or triade may refer to: * a group of three Humanities * Trichotomy (philosophy), often called triads * Triad (sociology), a group of three people as a unit of study * Triad (relationship), or ''ménage à trois'' Music * Triad (music ...

leader. *

Louis Cheung Louis Cheung (; born 11 January 1980) is a Hong Kong singer, songwriter, and actor. He is an alumnus of The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, majoring in acting. His first play was in 1997, and he has performed in a total of more than 20 ...

plays Lui Kung (雷公), a guest at Grande Hotel who is a triad leader and Chai-yau's rival. *

Larine Tang Larine Tang Yue-ping (; born 4 December 1997) is a Hong Kong actress best known for her debut role in the comedy film '' The Yuppie Fantasia 3'' (2017), which earned her a nomination of Best New Performer in the 37th Hong Kong Film Awards. Biog ...

play a Japanese actress who is a guest at Grande Hotel *

Cecilia So Cecilia So Lai-shan (; born 6 August 1992) is a Hong Kong actress. She made her acting debut as Gigi in the romance film ''She Remembers, He Forgets'' (2015), for which she received nominations for Best New Performer in the 52nd Golden Horse Award ...

plays Chu-chu (豬豬), a bride-to-be who is planning to hold her wedding at Grande Hotel. *

Luk Wing Billy Luk Wing Kuen (; born 27 June 1982), better known as Luk Wing (often stylized as 6 Wing), is a Hong Kong rapper, actor, television presenter, and comedian. Luk Wing and C Kwan are members of the hip hop duo FAMA. Career Luk Wing attended ...

plays Chu-chu's fiance. * Carlos Chan plays the manager of Grande Hotel. *

Chin Ka-lok Chin Ka-lok, sometimes credited as Chin Kar-lok ( Chinese: 錢嘉樂, Pinyin: Qián Jiālè, born 6 August 1965), is a Hong Kong actor, action choreographer, and television presenter. Chin was born in Hong Kong, the younger brother of actor an ...

plays the head of security of Grande Hotel who is also the president's assistant. *

Ben Yuen Ben Yuen (; born 12 February 1964) is a Hong Kong actor. Yuen began his film career in 1995. He won the Golden Horse Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2018. He was nominated in the Golden Horse Award for Best Leading Actor the following year. ...

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 daugh ...

as Chu-chu's father. * Sam Lee plays the security manager of Grande Hotel. *Jenn Lau *Ken Wong *Jacky Cai plays a guest at Grande Hotel who is an

office lady An office lady (), often abbreviated OL (, ), is a female office worker in Japan who performs generally pink-collar tasks such as secretarial or clerical work. Office ladies are usually full-time permanent staff, although the jobs they perform ...

. *Max Cheung *

Gregory Charles Rivers Gregory Charles Rivers (April 19652 February 2024), also known by his Chinese name Ho Kwok-wing (), was an Australian–Hong Kong actor. He was known for his roles in various TVB series, and was dubbed "TVB's token ''gweilo''" (white person) fo ...

Stephanie Che Stephanie Che Yuen Yuen (Chinese:車婉婉, born 28 December 1973) is a Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million resid ...

*Pinky Cheung *Dough-Boy *

Ng Siu Hin Ng Siu Hin (; born 9 July 1993) is a Hong Kong actor best known for his debut role as So Pok-man in the romance film ''She Remembers, He Forgets'' (2015), for which he was nominated for Best Actor in the Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards, 22nd ...

*Gladys Li plays a chef at Grande Hotel. *Ng Wing-sze *Fung Min-hang plays the assistant of Grande Hotel's president. *Samuel Pang *June Lam *

Jackie Chan Fang Shilong (born Chan Kong-sang; 7 April 1954), known professionally as Jackie Chan,; is a Hong Kong actor and filmmaker, known for his slapstick, acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, and innovative stunts, which he typically perf ...

plays the supervisor of the Pandemic Task Force.

Theme song

The film's theme song, ''If Love Is in Your Heart'' (如果心裡是愛), is composed by

Lowell Lo Lowell Lo Kwun Ting (, born 12 October 1950) is a Hong Kong singer-songwriter, actor and film composer. He wrote the film scores to many Hong Kong films, and in particular, the theme music of the Hong Kong Film Awards. He is now also an en ...

with lyrics written by Susan Tong and is collaboratively sung by

Andy Lau Andy Lau Tak-wah ( zh, order=t,j, t=劉德華, j=Lau4 Dak1 Waa4; born Lau Fook-wing; 27 September 1961), is a Hong Kong actor, singer-songwriter and film producer. He was named the "Fourth Tiger" among the Five Tiger Generals of TVB in the 1 ...

Jacky Cheung Jacky Cheung Hok-yau (born 10 July 1961) is a Hong Kong singer and actor. One of the most influential artists in the Greater China region, Cheung is widely regarded as a Heavenly King of Cantopop music and an icon of Hong Kong popular culture. He ...

Hacken Lee Hacken Lee (), is a Hong Kong singer, television host and actor, active since the 1980s. In 2013, Lee's song "House of Cards" swept multiple awards in many Hong Kong award ceremonies, including "World's Best Song" and "Broadcasting Index" in Metr ...

Joey Yung Joey Yung Tso-Yi (, ; born 16 June 1980) is a Hong Kong singer signed to Emperor Entertainment Group. Since her debut in 1996, Yung has won numerous awards, including the JSG Most Popular Female Singer and Ultimate Best Female Singer – Gol ...

Grasshopper Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are amongst what are possibly the most ancient living groups of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grassh ...

William So William So Wing Hong (; born 24 September 1967) is a Hong Kong actor and a Cantopop singer. He began his musical career by participating the New Talent Singing Awards in 1985 and won the competition as the first runner up to Alex To. His perf ...

Edmond Leung Edmond Leung Hon-man (; born 5 November 1971) is a Hong Kong singer-songwriter, record producer, actor and television host. Background Born in British Hong Kong on 5 November 1971, he was a youth development footballer and coach until 17. At a ...

Pakho Chau Pakho Chau Pak-ho (; born 12 November 1984), is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer, songwriter, and actor. He signed with Warner Music Group and officially entered the Hong Kong music industry in 2007. He left Warner Music in July 2017 and subsequentl ...

Joyce Cheng Joyce Cheng Yan-yee (born 30 May 1987) is a Hong Kong Canadian singer and actress based in Hong Kong. She is the daughter of late Hong Kong comedian Lydia Shum and singer/actor Adam Cheng. Career Cheng is of Siyi, Sze Yup and Panyu Cantonese anc ...

Stephy Tang Stephanie Tang Lai-yan (; born 15 October 1983) is a Hong Kong singer and actress. She was formerly the leader of the Cantopop group Cookies. She won the Hong Kong Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress in 2017 for her performance in ''The E ...

Stephanie Cheng Stephanie Cheng (born 10 October 1984) is a Hong Kong cantopop singer. She debuted under Go East Entertainment with the song "Grown Up" in 2003 and has since released more than six albums and EPs. She is best known for her song "Traffic Light" ...

Shiga Lin Shiga Taguchi, better known as Shiga Lin Sze-nga (born 29 June 1988), is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer and actress. As a singer, she is known for songs including "I'm Still Loving You" (2011) and "The End" (2012, 到此為止). As an actress, s ...

and

Deep Ng Deep Ng is a Hong Kong singer-songwriter and actor. He is the winner of the 21st annual New Talent Singing Awards Hong Kong Regional Finals. Deep was well received by the viewers since the New Talent Singing Awards in 2002. His first EP ''Deep' ...

Production

The film was launched by the

and the Federation of Hong Kong Filmmakers as a benefit project for local film industry workers, with president of both associate bodies

along with

contacting 10 of Hong Kong's major film companies, which include Koo's One Cool Film Production,

China Star Entertainment Group China Star Entertainment Limited () is a Hong Kong film production company and film distributor. It was established in 1992 by film producer Charles Heung, and is a distributor and film producer of films made mostly in Cantonese. Company China ...

, Edko Films,

Emperor Motion Pictures Emperor Group is a Hong Kong conglomerate founded by Albert Yeung. Albert Yeung's father, Mr Yeung Shing, opened a watch shop named "Shing On Kee Watch Shop" in 1942, setting the business foundation.Mandarin Motion Pictures,

Media Asia Films Media may refer to: Communication * Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Interactive media, media that is inte ...

, Mei Ah Film Productions, Shaw Brothers Pictures International, Sun Entertainment Culture and Universe Films Distribution, to produce the film, with each company providing a fund of HK$3 million, while also applying for a fund of HK$9 million from the Hong Kong Film Development Council, for a total budget of HK$39 million for the film. However, the HK Film Development Council only approved 70% of HK$9 million, so Koo and Raymond Wong gave up the application and hoped to ask each film company for an extra HK$900,000 of funding, but was unsuccessful in doing so, with the final budget of the film being HK$30 million, and caused the film's post-production process being at stalemate at one point.

Filming

Principal photography for ''All U Need Is Love'' took place from May to June 2020, mainly taking place at Ocean Park's

Marriott Hotel Marriott Hotels & Resorts is Marriott International's brand of full-service hotels and resorts based in Bethesda, Maryland. As of June 30, 2020, there were 582 hotels and resorts with 205,053 rooms operating under the brand, in addition to 160 h ...

, which was used as the film's fictional central setting, Grande Hotel, with three units filming simultaneously. Due to certain actors wearing protective clothing during filming, media outlets were misled to believe that a real outbreak occurred at the amusement park.

Release

''All U Need Is Love'' was originally planned for a summer release at around July to August 2020, but was postponed due to post-production difficulties. The film was theatrically released in

on 22 April 2021.

Reception

Box office

, the film debuted at No. 9 on its opening weekend, grossed HK$494,409 during its first four days of release.

Critical reception

Lim Lian-yu of ''

Yahoo! Yahoo (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web portal that provides the search engine Yahoo Search and related services including My Yahoo, Yahoo Mail, Yahoo News, Yahoo Finance, Yahoo Sports, y!entertainment, yahoo!life, and its a ...

Singapore'' gave the film a score of 3/5 stars and describes its star-studded cast as its most interesting element but also notes the abundance of actors cannot be fully utilised. Edmund Lee of the ''

South China Morning Post The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remaine ...

'' gave the film a score of 2.5/5 stars and describes it as an "uninspiring movie" but "there is still some mindless fun to be had". Jeanmarie Tan of ''

The New Paper ''The New Paper'' is a Singaporean newspaper. It was originally published in tabloid format as a "noon paper", then from 2016 as a freesheet in the morning from 7 a.m. onwards. In December 2021 the paper went to digital only. History Firs ...

'' gave the film a score of 1.5/5 and criticizes its dated slapstick, sexual humor and overacting.

References

External links

* *
總有愛在隔離 ''All U Need Is Love''
on

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

{{Vincent Kok 2021 films 2021 comedy-drama films Hong Kong comedy-drama films 2020s Hong Kong films 2020s Cantonese-language films China Star Entertainment Group films Emperor Motion Pictures films Media Asia films Shaw Brothers Studio films Films directed by Vincent Kok Films about the COVID-19 pandemic Films set in Hong Kong Films shot in Hong Kong