Diary of a Big Man (1988)


	Diary of a Big Man		Return to Review Archive - D
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	Year:	1988	Joey Wong, Chow Yun-Fat and Sally Yeh
	Director:	Chor Yuen
	Producer:	Tsui Hark
	Cast:	Chow Yun-Fat, Joey Wong Cho-Yin, Sally Yeh (Yip Sin-Man), Waise Lee Chi-Hung, Kent Cheng Juk-Si, Carrie Ng Ka-Lai, Elaine Kam Yin-Ling, Shing Fui-On, David Wu Dai-Wai, Tai Bo
	The Skinny:	Fluffy fun, with the emphasis on fun. Chow Yun-Fat is a riot.
	Review by Kozo:	Abominably silly comedy from Tsui Hark’s Film Workshop casts Chow Yun-Fat in one of his most challenging roles: a bigamist who must somehow earn the audience’s sympathy. Amazingly he does it. The problem for Chow Ting-Fat (Chow) is that he loves both women equally and cannot say no to either as both bring the proposal of marriage to him. Wife number one is Joey Wong, a boutique owner who loses Ah Fat when he goes to take care of the European stock market. Wife number two is Sally Yeh, a stewardess who loses Ah Fat when he goes to see to the American stock market. Ah Fat juggles his sweethearts with the help of pal Chi-Hung (Waise Lee). How anyone could find hilarity in bigamy is beyond me, but eighties HK Cinema found a way. The comedy in this film is an absolute cringe-fest (think Three's Company on speed), but it is frequently funny despite tacky musical numbers and overdone acting. Strangely, one can see what made audiences flock to the theaters for these eighties screwball comedies. The situations and jokes fly fast and furious, Chow gives a game comedic performance, and the female leads are charming. This sort of movie would never fly now, which begs the question: why not? Changing audience taste is the culprit here, as the modern filmgoer brings the attitude that this cheap silliness is beneath them. Liken it to the death of the musical in American cinema and you can see where we’re going. Eighties HK Cinema was reminiscent of Hollywood in the thirties and forties. These cheap and dumb flicks were good fun, and the performers and filmmakers seemed to have a ball doing them. Nowadays audiences want better packages and slicker movies. Armageddon and The Storm Riders rule the box office and fluffy fun falls by the wayside. Diary of a Big Man reminds us that cinema can still entertain without special effects or surround sound mixes. (Kozo 1998)
	Theme song:	"Diary Of A Big Man" by Chow Yun Fat Request this song on HKVP Radio \| Vote for Chow Yun Fat
	Awards:	The 8th Annual Hong Kong Film Awards • Nomination - Best Song ("Diary of a Big Man", performed by Chow Yun-Fat)
	Availability:	DVD (Hong Kong) Region 0 NTSC Joy Sales 16x9 Anamorphic Widescreen Cantonese and Mandarin Language Tracks Dolby Digital 5.1 / 2.0 Removable English and Chinese Subtitles

		image courtesy of Universe Laser and Video Co., Ltd.
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