The Human Goddess: Viewer Comments

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The Human Goddess
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    by JZ85




'The Human Goddess' is a guilty pleasure for fans of Li Ching: she's almost like an HK-Doris Day or something! Li Ching is the Seventh Sister, an angel who comes down from heaven and she stays in Hong Kong for a vacation. While in Hong Kong, she bumps into Zili (baby-faced Chin Feng), a reincarnated version of her dead lover, Dan Yong. Zili and Da Niu/Uncle Bull (Peng Peng, a fat man with a fat heart) do their best to run an orphanage, even with a shortage of funding. A heartless tycoon, Xu Caifa, wants the property where the orphanage is located and he's willing to go to extremes! Seventh Sister, with aid from her "celestial sisters", help Zili, Uncle Bull, and the orphans against tycoon Xu Caifa, his wealth, and his clout in the area.

Some female nudity and occasionally ribald humor make 'The Human Goddess' a questionable choice for young viewers and fundamentalists, but Li Ching fanboys and viewers who aren't too critical may enjoy this hunk of junk food cinema. 'The Human Goddess' is like an epic-scale episode of 'Bewitched' or 'I Dream of Jeannie', except that Seventh Sister is angel as opposed to a witch or a genie and the content is worthy of a PG-13 rating, at the least. Li Ching even dances and sings around Hong Kong in a variety of clothing a la Mary Tyler Moore; Li Ching also lip-synchs to pre-recorded music sung by good-ol' Jing Ting. At times, 'The Human Goddess' is in danger of going into overkill and spinning out of control like a broken ferris wheel! There's a Middle Eastern magician stereotype in a nightclub and a caucasian gweilo napping in a car, but, on the contrary, there are other HK films that do a more heinous job of dehumanizing non-Chinese. Li Ching, being the "legitimate actress" she is, doesn't appear nude, but there's a sensual bit where she walks around with only Chin Feng's red pajama top to keep her clothed (a la Sylvia Trench in 'Dr. No'). Director Ho Meng Hua ('The Flying Guillotine') adds a sick sense of humor to the film's light-hearted tone and he usually manages to hold it all together. This film does have its detractors: they claim that 'Goddess' suffers from a dated look, stale gags, tuneless songs, etc. I suppose that's true, but the fun, spirit, and Li Ching's exuberant performance made 'The Human Goddess' a guilty, yet enjoyable pleasure.

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