Hei kek ji wong

Any Chinese who's now 30-40 yrs old would've watched this over a dozen times throughout the years, everytime you'll grasp something new, something you thought it was just a laugh bit but turned out to be another meaning hidden inside.

This of one of the two most favorite movies of Stephen Chow himself, the other one is God of Cookery. After seeing almost all of his films, I know why. This isn't just some comedy celebrating the millenium, it's the tragedy of his life, written in a humorous way that intended to inspire people. I don't know what the English version is like, but with the Mandarin version there are catchphrases that are still being used today, it's clever and dumb at the same time, but the ironic part is it's all true even now it's 19yrs later.

Too bad there's no HD version, really looking forward to them releasing a blu-ray.

This is the film Stephen Chow directed before Shaolin Soccer. There is no kung fu in it, but it is hilarious nonetheless. Chow plays a down and out actor who can't get a job even as an extra. He works at a Neighborhood Welfare House and, in his spare time, gives "acting" lessons. These lessons turn out to be for people like a young wannabe Triad member who wants to learn to act tough so he can collect money, or for an expensive call girl to act virginal so she can make more money. All this and more - the subtitles were a bit tough to understand at times, but all in all I laughed quite a bit and it made me think of Stephen Chow as a Peter Sellers type of guy here. This film also hilariously spoofs John Woo films and has a cameo by Jackie Chan!

This is a really funny, laugh-out-loud comedy. It is full of brilliant little bits, and I loved it from an early sequence in which an actor is asked to express a series of emotional states resulting from an improbably sequence of events. There are also a couple of clever, funny take-offs of martial art scenes.

On the other hand, this is the most insanely ridiculously script I think I have ever come across. It really makes no sense from one minute to the next. I mean, for the first hour or so it's improbably but within the realm of slapstick comedy, but then it seems as though all pretext of writing a story goes out the window in favor of doing a bunch of unrelated scenes strung together by impossible events.

But I still liked it. The characters manage to seem real and affecting in spite of the absurdity of their situations (especially Cecelia Chung as a loud-mouthed hooker with a soft, sweet center). And it is wonderfully funny.

Stephen Chow paradoxically portrays the life of an "extra" actor, who is quite committed to acting, yet never manages to land anything better than one-line scripts. Cecilia Cheung leads an equally gloomy life, in which her dreams have been shattered after her boyfriend ordered her to work in a night club to make a living. Cecilia's inability to lure customers results in her attending Stephen's bizarre neighborhood acting classrooms; from then on the movie will follow their fortunes and misfortunes.

The good: as usual, Stephen Chow's movies have hilarious moments and, at the same time, explore everything that can be squeezed out from the main role. While God of Cookery was about "cooking with a heart", here the director deals with the topic of "working hard, to act better" and shows that, somehow, we all are actors in the movie that is our life. Indeed, the movie does not need extravagant settings such as Shaolin monasteries or soccer stadiums, but we get to witness many problems of ordinary Chinese suburbs, including kids becoming triad members and people leading a poor life.

The bad: Considering King of Comedy's social involvement, I would have expected a more linear story. Instead, the narration flow is a roller-coaster of moods, in which every one, not just Stephen Chow, seems a bit loony and overdramatizes every aspect of his/her life. Imagine what A Beautiful Mind would be, if also Jennifer Connelly and the other actors were like John Nash! Extravagant, to say the least! 7/10

Stephen chow once again proves himselfto be the most prolific comedian around Asia.When you think he has nothing left to joke or make fun of...Stephen once again come up with a brillant cast and some how proves to the audience that he's certainly The One. Endless ideas seem to come out fom his mind.But this time i think he out did himself by actually putting some serious overtones to the movie.Somehow he made it work,he was somewhat in a relationship with Cecilia Cheung.If you haven't seen any of Stephen past work you'd think he's kinda lame in this.I really liked him in this actually its nice to see him in tears for once.He being the one all others look down upon,no designer wear,no expensive cars....just the basic Stephen Chow at his best yet