The Days of Being Dumb (1992)



	The Days of Being Dumb		Return to Review Archive - D
	\| review \| awards \| availability \|		Jacky Cheung and Tony Leung Chiu-Wai
	Year:	1992
	Director:	Blacky Ko Sau-Leung
	Producer:	Peter Chan Ho-Sun
	Cast:	Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Jacky Cheung Hok-Yau, Anita Yuen Wing-Yee, Eric Tsang Chi-Wai, Ken Tong Chun-Yip, Jamie Luk Kin-Ming
	The Skinny:	Disjointed but eminently enjoyable triad spoof with a trio of winning performances from Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Jacky Cheung, and Anita Yuen.
	Review by Kozo:	Early UFO comedy about two loveable never-do-well triads who can’t get a break. Ah Fei (Tony Leung Chiu-Wai) and Ah Kei (Jacky Cheung) have been friends since childhood, when they dreamt of being triad members. As adults they’ve achieved that dream, but true success has eluded them. First of all, all their bosses die. Then they get branded as jinxes and nobody who’s anybody wants anything to do with them. Determined to make it on their own, they import a hooker (Anita Yuen in her debut) from Singapore in an effort to “do some business.” However, she thought she was supposed to be a model and the two lack the guts to put her to work. Even more, she turns out to be a lesbian. Luckily, Fei and Kei hit the big time thanks to their poor luck. Kwan (Ken Tong), a major triad kingpin wants to make Fei and Kei his followers to prove that he's invulnerable to their jinx. The two do, and become triad heroes, following Kwan around to deify his standing as the top triad guy. However, plot devices occur which turn Kwan against them and the two must strike back. The plot (what little there is of it) sounds disjointed and uninteresting, but the whole thing works somehow. This is mainly due to Jacky Cheung and Tony Leung, who make a winning comedy duo. The triad-spoof jokes are dead-on and the lead actors are extremely sympathetic. This is a strangely charming and likable little movie, with only the Hong Kong-required (but truly unnecessary) action ending marring the proceedings. (Kozo 1998)
	Awards:	12th Annual Hong Kong Film Awards • Winner - Best New Artist (Anita Yuen Wing-Yee)
	Availability:	DVD (Hong Kong) Region 0 NTSC Mei Ah Laser Widescreen Cantonese and Mandarin Language Tracks English and Chinese Subtitles

		image courtesy of Mei Ah Laser Disc Co., Ltd.
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