July 28th, 2010
The Good, The Lazy, N’ The Crazy
I was gonna make a new feature called “LoveHKFilm.com Time Machine,” but seeing as how pretty much every Hong Kong film I talk about in this blog is going to be something that’s already on DVD, I decided to scrap the idea altogether. Besides, I’ve got enough new features every week on this now almost-daily updated blog, so why bother adding a category that isn’t necessary?
The inaugural Time Machine post was going to focus on Crazy N’ the City, so here it is sans categorization.
Crazy N’ the City did not make my top list of Hong Kong Films of the 2000s, but with good reason — I hadn’t seen it. I know I’m a movie reviewer by trade, but some films simply slip through the cracks, especially stuff that comes out in another country altogether. The year Crazy N’ the City came out, I’m pretty sure I was regularly watching Korean romantic comedies and horror films (don’t ask) instead of my beloved Hong Kong cinema. Well, I finally saw the film awhile back, and I can now say that I totally understand why Kozo and the Readers ranked it so high. I don’t know where I’d rate it, but I really liked it, all the same.
My Wife is 18 director James Yuen’s Crazy N’ the City isn’t a perfect movie, but its imperfections are part of the charm, I think. It leaves you wanting more, but perhaps in the right way. There’s a real part of me that wishes the film was entirely about the characters played by Eason Chan and Joey Yung, instead of splitting time with Francis Ng’s character, too. Basically, I wanted more screentime for them to not only delve into their relationship as partners, but also their personal lives separate from each other — whether it’s Joey’s character trying to romance a handsome motorcycle cop or Eason’s friendship with the underage girls who have crushes on him.
It’s not that Francis Ng doesn’t deliver yet another great performance (he does), but his role as a man driven simple/crazy by his past sins requires a great deal of suspension of disbelief, particularly in light of a romantic entanglement that happens late in the film. Still, I have a feeling that he’s an essential ingredient in the film. Remove him and perhaps all the things I wanted to see more of in the film don’t work so well.
I know this isn’t much of a review. Check out Kozo’s for that, but it is definitely a strong recommendation.
If you have a chance, blind buy Crazy N’ The City or rent it on Netflix. You won’t be sorry.
August 29th, 2010 at 2:35 pm
I’ve watched all of Eason Chan’s films, and Crazy N’the City is my favorite film from him.
October 14th, 2010 at 2:20 am
I completely agree. A great tribute film to the 80s HK comedies. The energy and style is all there, but with updated actors (mostly updated anyways) I loved the movie when it came out and was surprised that it was so good.