Starring: Yuen Wah, Yuen Qiu, Roger Kwok Chun-on
Director: Wong Jing, Billy Ching Siu-hing
Category: IIB (Cantonese)
Although Hong Kong film production figures are reaching all-time lows, producer-director-writer Wong Jing seems as busy as ever. Kung Fu Mahjong, his second release this month, is more obviously geared to current trends than last week's Set Up, with Wong (who shares the directing credit with Billy Chung Siu-hung) displaying his usual skill at mixing and matching elements from past and current box office hits.
The title's 'kung fu' and 'mahjong' reflect the two inspirations at the heart of this lowbrow farce. It's a gambling comedy of the type that was popular more than a decade ago, when movies such as God of Gamblers (1989) helped maintain Wong's position as one of Hong Kong's top money-making producers.
It also marks the first re-teaming of Yuen Wah and Yuen Qiu since their scene-stealing turns opposite Stephen Chow Sing-chi in last winter's hit Kung Fu Hustle. Bereft of Chow and his originality, Kung Fu Mahjong serves as a raucous reminder of bygone celluloid glories.
The film's chief asset is its elevation of the two Yuens from sidekick status to centre stage. Although not a married couple, as in Kung Fu Hustle, they again display considerable chemistry as mismatched lovers. Sai (Yuen Wah) is a conman intent on turning waiter Ah Wong (Roger Kwok Chun-on) into the Mahjong Saint (the film's Chinese title). Fei (Yuen Qiu) is Ah Wong's boss, a loudmouthed restaurant owner who has secret kung fu and mahjong skills. Although Ah Wong has a prodigious memory, Fei is opposed to her innocent employee entering the sordid world of gambling.