Hei wong ji wong

Using a clever plot of a police undercover polishing his "acting skills" in the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts, Jim CHIM showcases his rich and diversified background in performing arts. In the process, the audience is entertained with some of the funniest moments they encounter on screen. But it is not easy to sustain 120 minutes of comedy. During the rather long middle segment of our hero's "student's life" at the HKAPA, things slow down somewhat, due partly to the lack of driving drama and conflict. However, this segment closes in a high note, with a mysterious, Phantom-like (in spirit only, not in appearance) Anthony WONG Chiu-seng teaching Chim's character how to look for drama in real life, right on the streets.

This is an exceptionally fine comedy from a master comedian who knows what he is doing. Charlene CHOI (the extrovert half of the "Twins"), who in real life did get apprenticed to Chim and became his protégé in acting, passes her first test here. The huge cameo cast, drawn from both the cinema and theatre circles, contributes to making this movie the prime choice in summer festivities.

When I found "Simply Actors" (aka "Hei wong ji wong") on Netflix I needed no persuasion in order to sit down and watch it. It is an Asian movie, and from the Hong Kong cinema to sweeten the deal, which was more than enough to make me sit down and watch it.

I hadn't heard about the movie prior to watching it, nor did I know who was starring in it.

I must admit that I had a little bit of problem understanding the concept of the movie as it made so very little sense. Why would the police have actors working within their ranks? And the who lack of seriousness to it from the lead character didn't exactly help to make it passable as a realistic movie in any sense.

That being said, don't get me wrong. "Simply Actors" was not a bad movie, nor was it a particularly good movie. It was fairly generic and average, in fact, in terms of Asian cinema go.

What impressed me the most about the movie was the sheer amount of famous Hong Kong actors and actresses that they had managed to get together here for even the smallest of roles. That was just fantastic, and a nice treat for a life-long fan of the Hong Kong cinema such as myself.

"Simply Actors" didn't impress me, but it was watchable, no doubt about it. However, I doubt that this is the type of movie that you will ever watch a second time,