| Released in Hong Kong as Flirtong Scholar (I'll go out on a limb and say it's a typo), Lee Lik-Chi lets the curtain rise and we're into led very typical Hong Kong nonsense comedy, with the verbal dexterity of lead Stephen Chow at center. Now, Flirtong Scholar is really a perfect example of why Chow's film can't or shouldn't travel. A Western viewer such as myself remains constantly on guard, trying to figure out why over the top behaviour of characters and muddled subtitles are direct references locals would catch onto and hail as comedic scenarios of masterpiece status. Yep, there seems to be a lot of that and Chow never makes a secret that his jokes are going to be Cantonese in nature. Still, I think, and I repeat that... I THINK credit still must go out to the filmmakers for making an ounce of the comedic behaviour and in-joke structure travel to the extent that a Western viewer may think of it as off-beat in an entertaining way. It's problematic if you want it to be.
But there's silliness in the expected UN-expected rapid pace jokes, something Chow rarely has a problem nailing. Add onto that some new wave kung fu action and special effects of the Zu-kind and you've got yourself a local comedy with luggage that does arrive in torn but workable condition when reaching the West. I recommend trying it on. The film also possesses the welcome cast of Gong Li, Cheng Pei-Pei, Gordon Lau, James Wong, Kingdom Yuen, Francis Ng and Leung Kar Yan. |
Quick Takes:
