Tie ban shao

Michael Hui can almost guarantee an audience. At the time, he was easily the best comic writer-actor in colonial Hong Kong. Teppanyaki, where he plays a chef, builds on his reputation, although compared to hits such as Security Unlimited (1981), Hui's writing seems a little lacklustre. It's still a delightful comedy and most moviegoers will enjoy it - and then again, Security Unlimited was a hard act to follow.

The ingredients (pun not intended) are there: the chef, subject to abuse by his spoilt wife and her (usually armed) father (who owns the restaurant he works at), his best friend and his 103-year-old grandfather, and their relationship. The chef (Hui) has fallen for a calendar girl (Sally Yeh), which puts additional strain on his work and home life.

It still illustrates how naturally writing and acting come to Michael Hui. There are some fantastic moments - such as the eyebrow shaving and the tennis game using a frying pan - but they come less often than in some of Hui's earlier efforts. There's a feeling that there could be something extra. Good, but not great.

This is one of Michael Hui's directed comedies, which are dubbed "Mr. Boo" in Japan. Here, Michael Hui plays Johnny, who works as a teppanyaki chef at a restaurant own by his trigger-happy father-in-law (Hoi-Pang Lo). He and his grandfather are also mistreated by his wife, Ying. As a result, Johnny dreams of a fantasy island where he can go over with a calendar girl named Sisi (Sally Yeh).

The film has a solid plot and some laugh-out-loud slapstick humor. The movie does drag at times as it lacks some action and suspense. But, Michael Hui is definitely the highlight of the film as his unique brand of humor and comedy keeps us entertained. From his frustrated family life scenes to the disastrous Philippines vacation scenes, it's not a bad movie from start to finish. It has a good message about not letting people walk all over you - a good lesson to learn.

Overall, this movie was better than I remembered it when I first watched it many years before this year (2015).

Grade B-