Four Chefs and a Feast		Return to Review Archive - F
	Year:	1999
	Director:	Daniel Lee Kwok-Lap
	Cast:	King Shih-Chieh, Lung Si-Hung, Jordan Chan Siu-Chun, Wu Chien-Lien, Chan Kwok-Bong, Lai Yiu-Cheung, Moses Chan Ho, Cheng Pei-Pei
	The Skinny:	Mildly entertaining cooking comedy features an interesting cast and agreeable, though minor laughs. Disliking the film would probably take too much energy, so the final analysis is a passive recommendation.
	Review by Kozo:	This wacky Lunar New Year-type comedy features a Chinese Pacific Rim cast instead of a largely Hong Kong one. The next generation of a trio of famous chefs (including Kam Sze-Fun, Jordan Chan and Wu Chien-Lien) is reunited to recreate a legendary banquet: the Victory Feast. Together with the progeny of master chef Lee, they attempt to discover the secret of the Four Happy Families dish, which is the key dish to the entire feast. Also, they save their restaurant. Isn't that always the case with movies about Chinese food?      Four Chefs and a Feast doesn't have the human drama of Eat Drink Man Woman or the sheer pop entertainment of The Chinese Feast, but it's a diverting ninety minutes. For HK Cinema fans, Jordan Chan and Wu Chien-Lien are the two most recognizable cast members, and they perform well. Kam Sze-Fun turns in a likable performance, as does Lung Si-Hung (the patriarch from most Ang Lee films), though Lung's character is strangely annoying at times. His character could to be a symptom of the film, which lacks a sense of cohesiveness. Sometimes it wanders aimlessly, relying on the cast and Lee Kwok-Lap's direction to steer its course. It works, for the most part; the awkward moments are obvious but they slip by easily. This is far from must-see, but you could do worse. (Kozo 1999)
back to top