Fridae

Is there anything that Jay Chou can't do? He sings, composes, plays a number of musical instrument, and, most importantly, turn us on with his brooding eyes, floppy hair and flawless skin. Now he wants to add another feather in his cap by writing and directing his first feature film Secret. Naturally, he also wrote and sang the theme song.

Secret tells a fairly conventional romantic story of a new student (Jay) at a secondary school who hears the alluring sound of piano music. He follows the sound, which leads him to a pretty girl (Kwai Lun Mei) tinkling the ivories. They get to know each other � he plays the piano too! � and eventually fall in love, paving the way for all manner of romantic cliches. However, there is a dark cloud hanging over the relationship, a secret that threatens to unravel their happiness...

It's probably no secret that this is a film for Jay Chou's huge female fanbase. The many saccharine and sentimental romantic scenes would make his fans go "aaawwww" while the rest of us go "eeewww". However the plot does throw up an unexpected twist at the end, which somewhat makes up for the preceding hour of blandness.

Jay Chou's acting performance may be his best so far, while actress Guey Lun-Mei delivers a surprisingly strong and convincing performance. Anthony Wong, who plays Jay's father (again), is always a welcome presence. Still, Secret is strictly for Jay's fans.