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Review
by Kozo: |
Somewhat
forgotten sequel to the blockbuster All for the Winner continues the story of "Gambling Saint" Sing, except
there's very little Sing in Top Bet. Shortly after
trumping evil bastard Hung (Paul Chun) in the previous film,
Sing (Stephen Chow, in a bookended cameo) decides to take
time off to travel the world. However, Chun isn't about to
go quietly into gambling obscurity; he reups with a Super
King of Gambling Competition, and wacky triad Chun (director
Jeff Lau), who backed Sing in the last film, wants Sing to
participate. However, as mentioned in the opening sentence,
there's no Sing, meaning Uncle Tat (Ng Man-Tat, doing the
patented Ng Man-Tat thing) finds his balls in a vise grip.
Making matters worse is the fact that Tat can't even contact
Sing, meaning possible death via triad regulars. What's a
wacky mustachioed uncle to do?
Luckily Tat has not one, but
two options for Sing's gambling replacement. First up is May
(Anita Mui), who just so happens to be Sing's sister. May
has been sent by the Mainland to clean up Sing's "disgrace"
(using psychic powers for money = bad), and is leery of helping
out Tat, but finds her own reasons for sticking around Hong
Kong. Meanwhile, Tat looks to recruit the "Queen of Gambling",
fishmonger Fanny (Carol Cheng). She purports to be a master
of gambling, but is really nothing more than a cheap grifter
(or a "sharper", in gambling parlance). The two
girls go head-to-head with their powers; Fanny pretends to
have them, and May tries to make Fanny look bad. Still, it's
all good for the motley bunch of Hong Kong pals; circumstances
do arise which make banding together a virtual lock. Aside
from the evil machinations of Hung (who hires his own Mainland
psychic played by Lau Shun), there are heart-tugging personal
issues. Fanny wants to win dough to help out her wheelchair-bound
brother, and May is hot for a two-but thief (Kenny Bee in
an overacting dopey performance). As you'd expect, they'll
join forces to do the evil guy in, AND make time for the settlement
of their personal conflicts. It's practically how all movies
should end.
The Top Bet is pretty
standard early nineties Hong Kong fare, meaning slapstick
comedy, obscure cultural references, and a lot of uneven mugging.
The results are equally standard: sometimes funny, sometimes
not-so-funny, sometimes annoying and sometimes pretty entertaining.
Still, The Top Bet can't really hold a candle to either
Stephen Chow or Chow Yun-Fat's gambling epics, because neither
Anita Mui or Carol Cheng are given characters which own the
film. Cheng is the sassy Hong Kong diva, while Mui is the
lovable Mainlander with surprising kung-fu skills. Both are
likable, engaging leads, but neither are as charismatic as
Chow Yun-Fat's Ko Chun, or as lovably off-the-wall as Stephen
Chow's Sing. It would have been nice to see a stronger or
better defined female gambling hero.
However, that disparity isn't an
indictment of either actress, who both turn in fun comic performances.
Instead, it's a criticism aimed directly at the filmmakers,
who didn't give the girls more to do. Once you factor in the
packed supporting cast—including Sandra Ng, Corey Yuen
(who co-directed), Yuen Wah, Wu Fung and Lowell Lo—The
Top Bet is long on nonsensical minutiae, and short on
a cohesive gambling narrative. The final gambling duel does
contain some fun reversals and moments of humorous tension,
but there really isn't enough of that. Ultimately, this is
fun stuff, but not as good as the stuff it was aping. Fans
of the actresses, and of Ng Man-Tat (who should be inducted
into the Wacky Sidekick Hall of Fame), will likely find much
to enjoy here, but for those seeking the best recommendations
of the gambling genre, The Top Bet isn't more than
a minor footnote. (Kozo 2003) |
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