| As with his Lunar New Year movie of 1995 The Chinese Feast, Tsui Hark enlists the leading duo of Leslie Cheung and Anita Yuen again for some silly shenanigans that barely qualifies as a movie. But it's due to a willingness to please an audience in need of to be pleased at this very time of the year that makes Tri-Star work. Leslie Cheung is Zhong, a popular priest (he even signs autographs for screaming girls after services) getting more and more involved in the life of prostitute Bai Ban (Yuen). With a triad debt over her head, Zhong decides to follow God's words and help out fellow woman (and her prostitute friends). Securing loans at a bank, employment at a photo processing lab and getting the girls into a band, Zhong is very resourceful if not a little out of touch. As he moves to live close to Bai Ban, he's convinced by a fellow priest to dress as Elvis. Snicker ensues. Lau Ching-Wan and Sunny Chan are two mostly incompetent police officers trying to sniff out the crimes surrounding all these characters. Random zaniness, cartoon humour, misunderstandings and romance follows. Tsui Hark makes his mark more when going cartoony to a surreal point but otherwise he's just there to steer the fun in a somewhat acceptable direction. It's a recipe he knows and while the Leslie Cheung/Anita Yuen romance barely holds together (the stars do run on autopilot in this one), the show undoubtedly IS held together by Lau Ching-Wan as a mostly barefoot, bearded cop. Timing is an issue and a willingness to be properly silly during this time of the year. Lau has and does that in spades. Also with Moses Chan, Hung Yan-Yan, Shing Fui-On and Raymond Wong. |
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