Stephen Chow is a man, also named Stephen Chow, who, for the first twenty minutes or so, is the renowned “God of Cookery”. He is an arrogant, manipulative, and selfish man who, because of his title, runs a chain of restaurants and judges other chefs at the most important national competition, dismissing their food even for any flaw, even if it is not related to the food. In spite of this recognition and title, Chow is an incompetent cook. When he is betrayed and challenged by his business manager (Man Tat Ng) and Bull Tong (Vincent Kok), this fact comes to light and Bull Tong proclaims himself (unofficially) the new “God of Cookery”. Chow runs away, retaining only his arrogant attitude. He loudly complains about the assorted noodle served to him by Turkey (Karen Mok), and as a result he is repeatedly beaten by men in her cooking mob. Turkey, however, takes pity on him. She stops the beatings and gives him food that, though simple, is delicious. After Turkey and Chow endure a bout with her competition, Chow develops “pissing beef balls”. This snack, a mix of beef and shrimp, becomes recognized as the most delicious food ever made. His unpredictability leads to success as he sells his food in supermarkets throughout China. He decides to compete with Bull Tong to become the new “God of Cookery” and, because of tragic events, is trained for cooking and life in a Buddhist monastery.

This was Stephen Chow’s second foray into directing, and he does a good job of it. Compared to Shaolin Soccer, shots are not as inventive but sometimes more artistic and balanced. During the film’s many scenes of inhuman cooking, Chow handles the action well. It carries those moments, but the shots are never dull or distracting. During the comedy portions, the directing follows the lead of the acting in treating the matter seriously. This serves only to make the moments of comedy that much more humorous. Stephen Chow is certainly one of the best Actor-Directors working, falling short of only more serious veterans like Beat Takeshi.

As is expected, Chow’s performance is the best in the film. His character is believable and you can easily identify with him throughout the film. Chow has a way of making you root for him when the tables turn even when, as in the beginning of this film, the character is utterly unlikable. Man Tat Ng’s character is shallow as usual, but it’s interesting to see him as one of Chow’s villains. Karen Mok does a decent over-done, hideous female character, but there is nothing remarkable in her performance either. Her “uglification” didn’t bother me much, as I don’t find her nearly as attractive as many people seem to. She’s much better here than in Black Mask, but not as good as Vicki Zhao in Chow’s Shaolin Soccer. Vincent Kok is convincing in his villain, who is more of a self-conscious child than a stereotypical baddie. His role allows for some range, and he fills it nicely. Most of the areas where the acting does not shine is not the fault of the actors but of the script. But Chow’s character grows and has depth, and the film’s story and humor more than make up for any faults in the acting.

God of Cookery is often overlooked and left in the shadow of Shaolin Soccer. However, God of Cookery is funnier, more charming, and even more engaging than its more famous sibling. There is no jaw-dropping action, but it isn’t needed when the story, humor, and chemistry of characters draws you completely into the world. If you liked Shaolin Soccer, you’ll love this. If you didn’t like Shaolin Soccer, The God of Cookery’s humor is far more universal, so give it a try. This beats just about any other HK comedy I can think of.

Even with the cult success of TV food programs such as Iron Chef here in the States, food seems to be more of a chore than anything else. Companies advertise that their oven will let you get on with your life faster, pizza shops boast about the speed with which they can deliver (not the taste of the pizza itself), and so on. However, in Hong Kong (as with many other Asian countries), food -- and the rituals of both preparing and eating the dishes -- is held in high regard. The "rice scene" from A Better Tomorrow 2 (where Chow Yun-Fat force feeds a gangster fried rice after he "insults" it by throwing it to the ground) might seems silly to us Yanks, but it's not too far from the truth. Food, in this culture, is something to be enjoyed and savored -- not just devoured. To put this into perspective, the small island of Hong Kong has over 20,000 restaurants. So it makes sense then that Stephen Chow (who had already used folk heroes, movie stars and gambling legends as his inspiration) would turn to a chef for a hero character.

But of course, this being Stephen Chow, he throws all sense out the window. Hong Kong films are known for genre mixing, but Chow's collaborations with Wong Jing must have gone to his head (not necessarily a bad thing in my book). This movie contains elements of old-school kung fu, action, comedy, romance, drama, musicals (Karen Mok breaks into an impromtu number about the glories of Triad life), Eastern mysticism and philosophy, and even Soviet montage ala Eisenstein. All that's missing is some John Woo-style gunplay, which I think Chow would have done if he could have afforded it, and some annoying little kid who can kick a lot of ass (not a big loss).

What holds God of Cookery together is Stephen Chow's performance. Many comedic actors don't get their props, but Chow (who had a background in dramatic work before moving to comedies) literally runs the gamut through the film, from joker to lover to loser and everything in between. Each scene in God of Cookery has a different feel to it, and it is Stephen Chow who forms the glue that holds the movie together as he adpats his character, keeping the core the same but morphing it enough to fit the scene. Not only is he extremely funny (even if his Cantonese is too fast for you to get the verbal jokes, his facial expressions are goofy enough to warrant a laugh), he generates a good deal of pathos as well. In particular, the scene where he eats a bowl of Turkey's "Sorrowful Rice" -- which turns out to be the turning point in the film as he realizes that food, not money, must be his passion -- demonstrates what a talented actor Chow really is, and why I feel this movie deserves at least one viewing from any Hong Kong movie fan.

The God of Cookery represents at once something both uniquely native to the Hong Kong film world with Chow's "moy len tau" style, and something that is quite universal to film goers with a tried and true story about loss and the redemption of love, along with great physical comedy and visuals. The final Iron Chef-style cookoff between Chow and Kok, which mixes cooking with kung fu, is one of the most elaborate and impressive action pieces I've seen in a Hong Kong movie -- quite impressive when you think that normally cooking is not equated with action. Stephen Chow recently made a deal with the US studio Miramax (the same company that brought out many of Jackie Chan's recent movies) to release some of his films to US audiences, and I'm eager to see how American audiences will respond to this film, which is slated to be one of the first releases.

The film riffs off of "The Iron Chef," an Asian television cooking program which has recently made it's way to the United States. The program features chefs pitted against one another in cook-off competitions. It's handled almost like a Olympic sport with judges and competitors as well as a host and reigning champions.

Here, in the film, the main character is the titular "God of Cookery," a chef who has become wealthy and famous due to his supposed taste and skill. When a subordinate exposes him as a fraud, he is quickly and ceremoniously defeated and finds himself penniless and back on the streets. Once there, he meets up with a female street vendor who creates a dish called (I kid you not) Pissing Exploding Beef Balls. These trifles become a surprise cultural and culinary hit catapulting the "God" back into the limelight.

But there is much more going on. Feuds between street vendors, a love interest, a brief stint in a monastery, and a showdown with the new "God of Cookery" all fit into the climax of the film. This thing goes all over the place to tell it's absurd story. It gets crazy. A hilarious female judge steals the show in the finale with her remarkable "do anything for a laugh" performance. There's also jokes about a gay monk, and the "God" getting his ass kicked by 18 men of brass. The film flip-flops back and forth in time to tell the story of the "God's" return to the limelight by using flashbacks. It's best to simply say: This film is way whacked out.