Reviewed by: ewaffle Date: 07/11/2007 “The Fruit is Swelling” shows a universe in which all sex is casual. For Mr Chiu Siu Fun (Peach's Father)—which was more like Elvis Tsiu playing by Elvis Tsui—he didn’t have to leave the house. When representatives of the Hong Kong government arrived to inquire about his missing daughter—in one case a police officer in another her teacher—he simply had sex with them there in the living room while his wife was otherwise occupied. “Baby”, Danny Wong’s old flame, is willing to dope Danny’s wine with an aphrodisiac then drink it herself by mistake and end up having very vigorous sex with one his friends. Lychee Chiu’s boyfriend comes to their apartment. Finding Peaches asleep his only thought is to get undressed and hop into bed with her. The only person not committed to such a debauched life is Danny who has to overcome the disadvantages of good looks, wealth and charm. He breaks up with Baby because she drinks too much (which she does) and puts it about too much (the same). He falls head over heels in love with Peaches but is such a gentleman that he holds off on everything when she objects to his very reserved advances. Peaches, of course, has a problem and is a problem. She is eight years old and wants to grow up immediately. Her gorgeous sister is very popular with men and she would like to have them knocking on her door although Peaches has no idea how to accomplish that or what to do if it were to happen. It does happen because the enchanted wishing tree in the neighborhood is willing to grant her a wish and she ages ten years overnight. Having gone to bed as a cute but gawky and sheltered little girl, she awakens as an arrestingly beautiful young adult but who still thinks and acts like and eight year old. This is the basis for most the conflict in the movie and the impetus for the plot to limp along. More importantly it provides the reason for the striking Jane Chung Chun to appear in various states of undress, including completely. Her cloying virginal cuteness was only sporadically interesting but she always looked great other than the last scene. She had managed to return to her original age, shocking Danny and pleasing her parents since she had been missing for two weeks. Danny was so appalled that he apparently renounced women for the next ten years (although it didn’t seem to age him a day) pining away and making bagfuls of money, with the idyllic two weeks with the eighteen year old Peaches just a haunting memory. When she shows up—as if anything else could happen—they wind up finally having sex in a swimming pool. This is the last scene and Jane Chung Chun looked more like a woman trying to drown herself than one caught in the throes of passion. “The Fruit is Swelling” isn’t funny nor is it very titillating and isn’t recommended. Reviewer Score: 3

Reviewed by: degeneration Date: 08/10/2002 Summary: Better than most Cat III films... For a Cat III film this is certainly among the better ones... There are lots of sex scenes, more than I remember there being in any other sex Cat III film I've seen, and on the Mei Ah dvd one of them is filmed in 4 different angles! 1 is the film cut, 2 is from the side, 3 is from behind the female, focusing on the guys expressions and the grinding of their hips (!), and 4 is from behind the guy focusing on the females expressions and her breasts... 2 - 4 all run continuously, no cuts, showing that it was a one take scene! Anyway, there is also a resemblence to a plot in this film, which is somewhat of a surprise... but the plot has been summed up in the other reviews. Elvis Tsui is in this one again, getting his hands and mouth where I'm sure a lot of other guys wish they could get their's just as easily. The scenes which he is involved in are more the comic relief in the film, as they cannot be taken seriously - just sex and humour. Basically you get more than you'd expect with this film, about 9 sex scenes, some humour, a bit of a plot, and plenty of naked female flesh... I just wish Hung Hiu Wan (the big sis) and Stephanie Fong Shuan were in more films... like this one would be best though! Hung Hiu Wan has a very small role in Sex & Zen III where her purpose is to get naked (not complaining), and Stephanie Fong is in Flowers of Shanghai, but given the rest of the cast I very much doubt her role is remotely close to this one. This Fruit is definitely worht watching!

Reviewed by: MrBooth Date: 09/29/2001 Summary: Funny and rude FRUIT IS SWELLING (1997) - Well, what a strange film. I really can't tell whether it wanted to be a total exploitation film, or to tell a nice story. It had more sex in it than I've seen in any other HK film I think, and held little back in the presentation... but quite a bit of attention seemed to have been paid to the story anyway. The basic premise is that an 8 year old girl is curious about sex, and wants to be older so that she can go out with boys like her sister. After making this wish to a wishing tree, she is quite surprised that it comes true, waking up the next day to find that the fruit has indeed swelled somewhat. She and her friend "fatty girl" then voyage into the world as children in young adults bodies, learning more about what adults do with each other when they're alone. Actually I lied a little about "quite a bit of" attention having been paid to the story - there's plenty of gaping holes in the plot, and most of the sex scenes have little reason for their occurence in narrative terms. Shu Qi has a cameo in the film, appearing for a minute at the start and end, frolicking on a beach in a swimming costume to introduce the movie, then to deliver the message. "This film teaches us... err, what does it teach us? Oh yes, before 18 you shouldn't have sex with others easily, but after 18 sex can be enjoyed". This was quite a surprise to me, as the message appeared to be "The ideal girlfriend with have the body of an 18 year old and the mind of an 8 year old". I'm not quite convinced of the ethics of this :-) Overall verdict - the nice cinematography, the extremely attractive cast (female members only - the men are mostly rather rough, Elvis Tsui excepted as always) and the large amount of sex they get involved in make it a film that's worth a viewing IMO. There's some quite charming and funny moments in it too. Reviewer Score: 7

Reviewed by: STSH Date: 01/30/2000 Charming and innocent (!) fairytale (liberally laced with sex and nudity) about growing up ........ quickly ! A little weak and contrived in places, but most of the time it's either totally charming or very sexy. The actress who plays Peach as an 8 year old is a total delight, while Jane Chung is wonderfully kooky as the adult Peach. God knows why Shu Kei is chosen to chat and frolic over the opening and closing credits, bu I'm not complaining ! About the only disappointment is that the great Yuen King Tan doesn't get much of a look in. Reviewer Score: 7

Reviewed by: hkcinema Date: 12/08/1999 A little girl who is curious about sex meets a magic tree withlimitless powers, as she grows 10 years older in one night. She even meets the first men in her life and learns an important lesson of life. [Reviewed by Next Magazine]

Reviewed by: hkcinema Date: 12/08/1999 i saw this also, and it was pretty good. just imagine a cross between "lolita" and " big"!! it was a very funny and interesting treatment of the problems of growing up. and the bald guy with the mustache (whos in every cat 3 movie) as her father was hilarious, as usual. [Reviewed by Anonymous]

Reviewed by: hkcinema Date: 12/08/1999 A totally cute and wonderful Cat. III movie that we happened to catch by chance in Chinatown a month or two ago. It's about this little girl whose wish to be a grown-up comes true, and everything about it is incredibly well-done. There's a good mix of sexy stuff and funny stuff. [Reviewed by Kat]