King of Comedy

It's a breakthrough for Stephen Chow; finally a Stephen's movie with substance. Unexpectedly creative, it's like another version of Forrest Gump; you never know what you gonna get. You want action? You want romance? You want comedy? You want drama? The movie has it all.

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

I don't know if the dvd I was watching was screwed up or something, or got mixed with some other film... but this movie starts out great and then takes a huge turn at the end in the wrong direction.

I don't know if its just these New Years films that have to get finished on time, so they hack up the story to finish it on time or what, but after starting so well, the end of this film is a big let down.

Cecilia is the best thing about this movie by far, this is one of her first big rolls and she handles it well, its a big departure from every other roll I've seen her in, which is what makes it so interesting, rather then just being the sweet good girl as in Help and Everyday is Valentines Day, etc, she plays a bitchy prostitute who learns to fall in love w/ Chow.

I recommend it to die hard Stephen Chow fans (like me) and die hard Cecilia fans (like I'm becoming).

This movie was great. Stephen Chow plays Wan Tin Sau, a comedy about a man who has a passion for acting but isn't even qualified to play as an extra in a movie. He shows his dedication to drama and acting in the most hilarious ways and teaches others how to use acting skills in real life. A very funny but touching movie that all would enjoy. i give it 8 out of 10.

A nobody actor tries to make it in the movie industry. Meanwhile, on the sides he teaches acting: A call girl learns to act like a virgin, and small time bullies learn to act tough.

If you like asian humor, you'll love this one. Me and my friends had a good laugh watching the situation comic in this movie. If you have a 12 year old sense of humor like us you'll be rolling on the floor. Much better than the tepid, often uninspired US comedies.

FYI: $7 hong-kong = $1 US, that will help you see how cheap the characters are.