| Overview: | Two of Hong Kong's most prolific actors are provided with somewhat offbeat roles in Clean My Name, Mr. Coroner!, which despite its humorous title is not a comedy. Comedian Nick Cheung displays more depth than typical, while Francis Ng is cast totally against his usual roles.
As a coroner, Keith Ko (Francis Ng) hasn't got the most glamorous role in the Hong Kong medical system. All that talk about hacking up bodies certainly isn't helping his love life. But after a quick string of events as a fugitive, Keith has plenty more to talk about.
Undercover cop Fred (Nick Cheung) is on the run after what looks like a setup. A headless and handless body is found in his car's trunk and it looks like the remains of his partner. $200 million in cash has vanished, and soon Fred is out of sight too. Keith's called in for a quick poke around the crime scene, gives his advice, and offers to carry out the full post-mortem the next morning.
The next day Ko's beaten to the autopsy room. The police asked his partner to carry out a quick early morning exam on the body and they've wrapped up the case. Something's fishy, and soon Fred runs in demanding to see the body in the morgue. There's a rat in the ranks back at the copshop, it seems. And Fred asks the coroner to help clear his name.
The plot itself, with undercover cop Fai (Nick Cheung) framed for both murder and the theft of a huge sum of cash, is routine Hong Kong film fare. The true culprit's identity isn't much of a surprise, and the final escapade in which all the loose ends are too neatly tied up is a bit too convenient. However, the depth of the characters and the quality of the acting makes this a very enjoyable film.
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