Sik san

I wish an American distributor had picked up this over-the-top Hong Kong comedy, because it may have helped to break down the unfortunate fact that Americans for the most part are still pretty closed to foreign films. Granted, it's far from a conventional comedy, and not easy for advertising to sum up, but I think this could have been at the very least a sleeper hit on these shores had a distributor patiently opened this across the country.

But you should be able to find this in any good Asian movie rental place in your city. You don't have to worry about any cultural differences - much of the humor is of the international slapstick variety, and even some of the cultural references (like Shaolin kung fu) will be understandable. Now there are some kinds of humor that even had me (who's seen much more of Asian cinema than the average humor) mystified, but there was still a wacky edge to them that made them amusing, even if I didn't know exactly what they were referring to.

The movie is a non-stop barrage of laughs. It does get exhausting at times, and the movie starts to get really sloppy towards the end (the final scene felt very unfinished), but you'll still find much more to enjoy here than in your average American comedy. Even if you end up hating it, you won't be able to deny that you've seen NOTHING like this before!

Another terrific film from director/star/co-writer Stephan Chow, the highlight of which are scenes involving The Eighteen Brassmen of Shaolin Monastery, whom provide for particularly inspired comic moments in a movie full of them. Like his breakthrough film in the west, Shaolin Soccer, this film incorporates martial arts into an area not associated explicitly with them.

However, The God of Cookery is not as much focused upon cooking as it is upon an ever-expanding group of oddball characters. The most wonderful thing about Chow as a director is that he doesn't simply use them as vehicles for gags but really allow them screen time to do their thing, even if it is just a throwaway role in the film (the 'ugly chef' who is in the very first scene is a good example). This includes ugly duckling/love interest Turkey, whose absurdly brutal personality and violent behaviour is so incredibly funny because Karen Mok, the actress playing Turkey, portrays her so honestly and without guile. There is none of the incredibly unfunny, strained-'trying to be funny' or ironic acting often found in recent American comedies. Chow is apparently a huge fan of Bruce Lee, but his work seems to take as much from Charlie Chaplin, a guy who knew how to be serious-ly funny.

Anyway, if you enjoyed Stephan Chow's other comedies or are up for some joyfully absurd silliness, look around for this one, it's worth the effort.

Shi Shen is a hilarious parody to Chow Yun Fat's God Of Gamblers movies. It is all about Stephen Chow playing a role of a famous Chef with a natural born talent for cooking. He makes it big and shows his unmatched strength in the Chinese Cuisine Underworld. He encounters a counterpart who frames him and takes his position as the God Of Cookery and fights his way back to try and regain his position. I enjoyed this movie quite a bit since I enjoyed the God of Gamblers and am amused by Stephen Chow's witty sendups. I give it an 8 out of 10.

God of Cookery is a hilarious parody of a number of other great HK films (the gambler series, early Jackie Chan, and "Chinese Feast" style cuisine dramas), though I didn't know that when I first saw it... it's how I got into the genre. Because it's satire is so over the top though, you also start to get a feel for the huge differences in film tabus between western and eastern cinema. Production values are amazingly high, and although they "fixed" a couple of hilarious subtitles in the DVD version, at least you can read them in most scenes. The self referential jokes about english translation and subtitles are still there.

The best of Kung Food!

Even though there is some region specific humor in this movie that the subtitles completely glaze over, it is still a fantastic watch because there is plenty of other great humor to enjoy. Any food lover with a good sense of humor or a Honk Kong cinema fan would really enjoy this movie. There is a bit of 'toilet humor' in this movie, so if that offends you, you may want to consider one of Stephen's other movies.

I've watched it at least 6 times myself while showing it to various friends and family members and it's always a good for laugh. This movie contains most of Stephen's standard crew. However, if you are looking for an all-out kung-fu explosion, you might be disappointed with this movie. It definitely has some great moves and some fighting, but the story is fun, engaging and very unique. And you just can't beat the 12 brass monks! No really, you can't beat them... just watch the movie and enjoy. and enjoy. ;)