|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Justice,
My Foot! |
|
|
| |
|
review | awards | availability | |
Anita Mui and Stephen Chow |
|
|
Year: |
1993 |
|
|
Director: |
Johnnie
To Kei-Fung |
|
|
Producer: |
Mona
Fong Yat-Wah |
|
|
Action: |
Ching
Siu-Tung |
|
|
Cast: |
Stephen
Chow Sing-Chi, Anita
Mui Yim-Fong, Ng
Man-Tat, Carrie
Ng Ka-Lai, Wong
Yat-Fei, Leung
Ka-Yan, Eddy Ko
Hung, Paul Chun
Pui, Yuen
King-Tan |
|
|
The
Skinny: |
With
multiple HKFA nominations, the highest Hong Kong box
office gross of 1992, and the always-welcome presence
of Stephen Chow, one would think Justice, My Foot!
would be an instant comedy classic. But despite a hilarious
opening act, the fun level starts to wane. The culprit?
The most unlikely of things: plot. |
|
|
Review
by Sanjuro: |
Hong
Kong funnyman Stephen Chow stars as lawyer Sung Shih-Chieh,
a veritable Chinese Johnnie Cochran—smooth, efficient,
and not entirely ethical—in this Qing Dynasty comedy
from Johnnie To. Though Sung seems to be a "man
of the people" by representing the downtrodden
and underprivileged, he is in fact just another shyster
lawyer who uses his verbal acrobatics purely for financial
gain. Despite his obvious talents, Sung's faithful wife
(Anita Mui) asks him to forego his lucrative job since
the karmic price of his success has taken too high a
toll on their family. To date, all twelve of their infant
sons have died prematurely. Wanting to please his wife
and appease the gods, Sung complies with her wishes,
but his retirement becomes short-lived when he is pulled
into a murder case involving the widowed Madame Chou
(Carrie Ng). Courtroom antics and various fart jokes
ensue.
The initial act of Justice
My Foot! is pretty darn funny as Stephen Chow clowns
around with the always-amusing Wong Yat-Fei (as Chow's
servant) and the scene-stealing Anita Mui in a series
of comic setups. But after the plot kicks in, the electricity
of these earlier scenes practically disappears. To its
credit, the movie remains entertaining, but really,
it's the ingratiating nature of the first act that buys
the film some dramatic leeway with the audience.
With its stable of actors
(most Stephen Chow regulars), an award-winning director
in Johnnie To, a world-renowned stunt coordinator in
Ching Siu-Tung, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
cinematographer Peter Pau, you'd expect this to be an
amazing film. Still, the whole of Justice, My Foot!
seems considerably less than the sum of its parts. One
explanation could be the fact that the film's humor
seems heavily reliant on Cantonese wordplay. Then again,
as a barely-there speaker of Mandarin, I honestly couldn't
tell you for sure. Still, I did get the Silence of
the Lambs parody. And the gay jokes. And I don't
care who you are, it's hard not to chuckle, even just
a little, at Ng Man-Tat's flatulence. While Justice,
My Foot! is by no means the audience-uniting crowdpleaser
that Shaolin Soccer is, it does have its moments,
amounting to an overall pleasant diversion from the
doldrums of everyday existence. In other words, I thought
it was okay. (Sanjuro 2003) |
|
|
Awards: |
12th
Annual Hong Kong Film Awards
• Nomination - Best Actor (Stephen Chow Sing-Chi)
• Nomination - Best Actress (Anita Mui Yim-Fong)
• Nomination - Best Screenplay (Sandy Shaw)
• Nomination - Best Costume Design (Yu Ka-On) |
|
|
Availability: |
DVD
(Hong Kong)
Region 3 NTSC
Intercontinental Video, Ltd.
16x9 Anamorphic Widescreen
Cantonese and Mandarin Language Tracks
Dolby Digital Mono
Removable English and Chinese Subtitles |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
image
courtesy of Universe Laser & Video Co., Ltd.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| LoveHKFilm.com
Copyright ©2002-2008 Ross Chen |
|
|
