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KUNG HEI FAT CHOI: THE FILM(S)
Feb. 22nd, 2013 11:10 amThe local Hong Kong film industry has a tradition, in which once a year they make a couple of films especially for Chinese New Year. They’re usually comedies, and the general formula is this: tons of stars, lots of Carry On-style silliness, and a plot that serves to stress the importance of family and community/city spirit, and comes with a happy ending for everyone, after which all the stars break character to wish the audience a happy new year.
I don’t go out of my way to watch them, but the Bride and I needed to take the mother-in-law somewhere to entertain her during the CNY holiday last week. So I ended up seeing both major CNY movies. Which are (were):
I Love Hong Kong 2013: the third film in the I Love Hong Kong series, which parodies the old Hui Brothers comedies and steals the It’s A Wonderful Life guardian angel gimmick to tell the story of a good-hearted restaurant owner who alienates his family to keep the restaurant from being sold to his former friend-now enemy. Screwball comedy ensues.
Hotel Deluxe: Vincent Kok-directed film about the lazy manager of a four-star hotel with weird but loyal staff who must make it a five-star hotel to please his ball-breaking lady boss, while his best friend needs him to stage a fake marriage for her so that her uncle can’t swindle her out of her inheritance. Screwball comedy ensues.
Neither of them is especially good. That said, like most CNY films, they’re not intended to be good films – just entertaining on a superficial level. By that criteria, Hotel Deluxe is the better of the two in that it’s more consistent, and also performed mostly by actors with a decent track record of doing comedy.
However, it’s hard to recommend either of them to anyone who doesn’t live here, as a lot of the humor depends on having a working knowledge of Hong Kong pop culture and current events.
So in a way I’ve just wasted a lot of time writing this down. But, you know, I got a blog to run here.
Support yr local movie industry,
This is dF
I don’t go out of my way to watch them, but the Bride and I needed to take the mother-in-law somewhere to entertain her during the CNY holiday last week. So I ended up seeing both major CNY movies. Which are (were):
I Love Hong Kong 2013: the third film in the I Love Hong Kong series, which parodies the old Hui Brothers comedies and steals the It’s A Wonderful Life guardian angel gimmick to tell the story of a good-hearted restaurant owner who alienates his family to keep the restaurant from being sold to his former friend-now enemy. Screwball comedy ensues.
Hotel Deluxe: Vincent Kok-directed film about the lazy manager of a four-star hotel with weird but loyal staff who must make it a five-star hotel to please his ball-breaking lady boss, while his best friend needs him to stage a fake marriage for her so that her uncle can’t swindle her out of her inheritance. Screwball comedy ensues.
Neither of them is especially good. That said, like most CNY films, they’re not intended to be good films – just entertaining on a superficial level. By that criteria, Hotel Deluxe is the better of the two in that it’s more consistent, and also performed mostly by actors with a decent track record of doing comedy.
However, it’s hard to recommend either of them to anyone who doesn’t live here, as a lot of the humor depends on having a working knowledge of Hong Kong pop culture and current events.
So in a way I’ve just wasted a lot of time writing this down. But, you know, I got a blog to run here.
Support yr local movie industry,
This is dF
