A must see just for the John Woo spoofs, this is a great Stephen Chow (Shaolin Soccer, God of Cookery) vehicle with some unexpected darker turns…
Few Hong Kong stars could even dare to lay claim to the title King of Comedy like writer, director and star of Shaolin Soccer and God of Cookery Stephen Chow can – but here his off-the-wall comedy often takes a darker turn.
Stephen plays Wan Tin Sau, a hapless would-be actor who spends his days looking after a community centre. At the local studio Wan makes himself a general menace in his attempts to get work as an extra on the new film by action queen Kwen-tee. Wan doesn’t even get a free lunch for his efforts.
To try and make some money, Wan starts giving acting classes. His first customers – some working girls from a local ‘school girl’ themed brothel. Of their number, Lau Piu Piu is particularly dismissive, but when she uses his techniques on a client and finds them successful she decides to see him again. There friendship soon blossoms into much more.
Eventually Wan’s tenacity gets him a chance at the big time, as Kwen-tee picks him for his leading man. Unfortunately her producers don’t feel the same, as the script is ripped out of his hands and his role reduced to three lines.
But then when Wan discovers the set caterer (Ng Mang Tat) is really an undercover cop, he gets the chance for the part of a lifetime.
Since the early nineties Chow has reigned supreme over Hong Kong comedy. A master of ‘mo lei tau’ – which roughly translates as ‘no-brainer’ or ‘non-sequitur’, Chinese humour that can often be wacky if not way beyond earthly logic. For Western audiences it can be a leap, particularly as so much relies on references to Cantonese language as well as culture. But it’s a leap worth making, especially with Chow.
Relishing the opportunity to lampoon his own industry, the character of Kwan-tee allows a wonderful spoof on action movies. As she faces off against her opponent they first both point a hand gun at each other, when that is kicked away they each grab a machine gun, then each a bazooka, as a flock of doves are released behind them – which will strike a chord with all John Woo fans. (‘What’s with doves?’ ‘They’re arty,’ explains an assistant director.) But perhaps Chow’s biggest joke is that Woo has never allowed a leading lady to take on such a macho role.
Elsewhere, whether you know the subject of Chow’s ridicule or not, you can tell it’s not far off the mark. There’s a wonderfully gross scene with some dripping snot, Wan produces his local theatre’s remake of Bruce Lee’s Fist of Fury, and even the near obligatory cameo from Jackie Chan. But the humour of King of Comedy is deceptively broad, behind it lies a great amount of depth, a meditation on the lines between film, fame and reality.
When Lau Piu Piu decides she is far too in love to continue with her clients, things take a bleak twist as he ruthlessly beats her. And when Wan gets involved in an undercover sting, the gangsters are startlingly gruesome. Thong he barely survives this experience all Wan can think to ask is who good he was. The reality of this violence has had no impact on him at all. After all, aren’t we all actors, whatever we do?
And then to top it all off? We get a bizarre product placement for Pringles, so brash as to entirely make a mockery of the whole purpose of the exercise. And yes, I do think this was meant to be a serious sponsorship!
This won’t be for everyone, but if you liked Shaolin Soccer and have seen a few John Woo movies, you’ll find this enjoyable and often hilarious.
DVD details
Distributor: Universe (Hong Kong)
An great transfer and good sound quality bring this way above the standard of most original Hong Kong DVDs - but then it was a new film on release. There's a stack of extras on here too.
