Chocolate Inspector: Viewer Comments

Hong Kong's Michael Hui, a major hometown star since the mid-70s, is a mesmerizing reactive comedian, almost in the Jack Benny class. With wizard timing and an agile eyebrow, he keeps you glued to the ups and downs of his responses---which is pretty close to the essence of superstar charisma. In this 1986 effort, Michael and his rubber-faced brother Ricky play sad-sack gumshoes who can't do anything right. They are ordered to keep an eye on their bosses dizzy but resourceful beauty-queen daughter (Anita Mui), a pouty distraction as they struggle to solve the kidnapping of a TV actor's small son. The conventional structure is an annoyance at times, but it also creates a comfortable generic nest in which Hui can fulfill his real function: playing utterly ordinary orban Chinese schlubs, and transfiguring them with his star magnetism. A long scene in which Ricky and Michael flounce and wiggle as they coach Anita for her appearance at the Miss Hong Kong pageant is a classic free-standing set-piece.