Gui ma zhi duo xing

A hundred and eighty degrees from Tsui Hark's film of the previous year, the grimly realistic and uncompromisingly violent Don't Play with Fire, 1981's All the Wrong Clues is a cartoonish comedy-mystery-thriller set in the 1930s.

Starring Hong Kong singing stars George Lam and Teddy Robin Kwan as childhood buddies and rivals who have become, respectively, a police inspector and a private eye, the story follows their alternately bumbling and ingenious adventures in relation to a convoluted con game involving a big time gangster played by Karl Maka. Along the way there are slapstick shootouts, romantic foolishness, and twists to maintain interest. (Also, watch for the ubiquitous Hong Kong heavy Bolo Yeung as a thug in a barroom brawl.)

Ultimately frivolous, but fun and stylish enough to be worthwhile.

Tsui Hark's first big success at the box office, All the Wrong Clues marks a drastic change in style from his first films. Rather than tackle any serious or depressing subject matter, Hark consciously tried to create something lusciously daft and laughable. You can't deny that the man succeeded because All the Wrong Clues is just genuine insanity combined with outright hilarity. Despite being a parody of Hollywood detective and noir fiction, the film isn't any more absurd than most actual stories of that genre, there are some brilliantly staged slapstick routines and a likeable cast delivering great jokes where it counts. Although I found myself heavily distracted for most of the film by the gorgeous Yiu Wai and her choice of wardrobe 😳. I was looking respectfully 😳. Honest.

"All the wrong clues" is Tsui Harks departure from his gritty new wave roots into a more mainstream body of work. I never really got why genre comedies in Hong Kong are usually marketed with pretty kitschy posters and overly long and quirky trailers for this is basically a pretty straight noir gangster spoof featuring George Lam as private detective and Teddy Robin Kwan as chief inspector. The story revolves about triad super bosses trying to outsmart each other with Lam and Kwan constantly sabotaging their schemes and themselves being played by mastermind Ah Capone. As you might have guessed, the story isn't all that important in a slapstick inferno like this. Tsui Hark delivers a million punches, some of them miss gloriously but you're never left hanging, the next joking is already homing in on you. If you do despise slapstick, please avoid this movie at all costs. Although the script and ideas are pretty strong in the first and last quarter of the movie, it really indulges in seemingly improvised mass brawls and chase scenes that try the viewers patience quite a bit, especially if you're not in the mood.

I have to say, I really really like the lead actors, especially Teddy Robin Kwan. That man is a comedy genius! I have a soft spot for his larger than life antics (I mean, the guy is 1.47 m).

The film is shot in wonderful Panavision (it must be, it's written pretty big in the opening credits) and pushes even this slapstick gangster romp into Hollywood standards. That's what Tsui Hark does best! It's nicely shot and he really knows how to make movies that people all over the world can enjoy although I don't think it was ever released anywhere outside HK or Japan.

PROS: - Great Slapstick in the vein of "Lupin the 3rd" (it really feels like old school cartoon comedy) - Great actors - Solid music - Mo lei tau 101: I guess Stephen Chow really liked this movie.

CONS: - Wow, so much slapstick. - Could have been a bit shorter. - It's a gangster spoof. It's supposed to have cons in it!

This film stars George Lam and Teddy Robin Kwan as a private investigator and a police detective, assigned to prevent a notorious gangster from taking money and stocks from an old millionaire. Along the way, they meet some off-the-wall characters like femme fatales and slapstick gangsters. Made in the style of film noir, the story is set in Hong Kong, circa 1930s-40s. Although the cinematography is good and gives you an old-Chicago-mobster like atmosphere, the story is pretty boring and acting is sub-par. Slapstick and childish humor from the supporting and extra characters try to help to make this into an enjoyable comedy, but, unfortunately, they didn't deliver an exciting movie. Therefore, I prefer to watch this film's sequel, the more funny and intriguing All The Wrong Spies, over this one.

Grade D-