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Fractured Follies
Year: 1988
Director: Wong Chung
Producer: Dean Shek
Cast: Chow Yun-Fat, Joey Wong Cho-Yin, Nina Li Chi, James Wong Jim, Wong Ching, Bonnie Law Ming-Chu, Wong Yat-Fei
The Skinny: Chow Yun-Fat dresses up like a pineapple and romances Joey Wong. You can guess the rest.
Review
by Kozo:
     Amiable comedy from Hong Kong’s eighties heyday. Chow Yun-Fat is Joe, an aimless taxi driver who hits May (Joey Wong), a sweet girl who’s afflicted with a rare problem. It seems one of her legs is one inch longer than the other. If that weren’t enough indignity, Joe’s Douglas Hazelwood impression leaves her in crutches for a good portion of the film. In sympathy, Joe decides to help May's family and their new grocery store, which is a run-down work-in-progress. Love blooms along the way, a plot development that’s helped by the always good chemistry between Chow Yun-Fat and Joey Wong.
     Sadly, they’re not the entire movie. Unfortunate supporting characters wreck the movie in unseen ways. James Wong Jim plays Joey’s dad, and he’s a semi-insane drip who acts like he’s racing a car to pass the time. What I mean is he sits at home and pantomimes that he's driving a race car. Why? Hell if I know. No reason is given, and none is needed. It’s just stupid shtick and it really does nothing to make me laugh or even chuckle. James Wong's wacky and annoying performance is matched by Nina Li as May’s equally wacky cousin.
     If that isn’t enough, there are wacky musical numbers that only increase the effect. Watching Chow Yun-Fat dance and sing in a pineapple getup must have made some audiences piss in their pants, but I wasn't among them. As a performer, Chow’s charisma is peerless, but he can’t save every movie he’s in. There are better Chow comedies, i.e. Diary of a Big Man or Eighth Happiness. This movie is occasionally watchable, but probably for less than half the time. (Kozo 1999)
Availability: DVD (Hong Kong)
Region 0 NTSC
Universe Laser
Widescreen
Cantonese and Mandarin Language Tracks
Removable English and Chinese Subtitles
image courtesy of AznFilms.com
   
 
 
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