Mismatched Couples is probably best remembered today as the film where Donnie Yen spends the majority of his time breakdancing to synth-pop tunes, I say this because it's not got much else going for it. An obvious throwaway product that possesses little in terms of actual filmmaking craft, with shoddy acting, an overly repetitive synth score, tired slapstick, toilet humour and name-calling in place of actual dialogue. It's lame and silly, but also energetic and entertaining, albeit in a largely unintentional manner and not one to take seriously. The baby-faced Yen showcases a goofy, agreeable charm weighed down by none of the badass preenings that would typify his later performances. Yuen Woo-Ping's dance choreography comes with the same amount of energy you'd find in his fight scenes but his acting leaves a lot to be desired here, thank goodness he spent the majority of his career behind the camera rather than in front of it. The comedy and mugging are annoying, but the stuntwork, casual athleticism and cheesy energy compensate. As oddly charming as it is cringe-worthy, Mismatched Couples is the type of crazy, entertaining B-level stuff that once made up a good portion of Hong Kong Cinema, and is especially fun today because of its odd mixture of genres plus the glimpse of a gloriously goofy Donnie Yen.
