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Review by
Calvin
McMillin: |
Starsky
and Hutch, Riggs and Murtaugh, Tango and Cash - the
American "buddy cop" subgenre is rife with iconic partnerships.
In 1990, action choreographer-turned-director Blackie
Ko added two more names to that list with the comic
duo of Curry and Pepper, the lead detectives in the
Hong Kong movie of the same name. Already well-established
"Sky King" Jacky Cheung and a pre-superstardom Stephen
Chow headline this amusing action-comedy, starring as
two mismatched partners who take the familiar concept
of "male bonding" to a whole new level. While by no
means a comedy classic in the same league as Chow's
later works, Curry and Pepper boasts some engaging
performances from Cheung and Chow, not to mention some
surprisingly effective action sequences, which significantly
enlivens the film's otherwise clichéd, fairly predictable
storyline.
Cheung stars as Curry, the
more level-headed of the two, while Chow portrays Pepper,
the requisite fast-talking hothead who has quite the
knack for getting himself into trouble. Whatever their
differences, Curry and Pepper have been friends since
childhood and are more or less inseparable "best buds"
who are not only partners on the police force, but roommates,
too! Can you say 'homoerotic undercurrent'? I knew you
could.
Although Curry and Pepper spend
most of their time joking their way through their jobs,
they also seem to get results. Their daily routine is
soon thrown for a loop, however, when Joey Law (Ann
Bridgewater), a beautiful news reporter, gets permission
to follow them while they make their daily rounds in
Tsimshatsui. Unsurprisingly, the not-so-dynamic duo's
efforts to look like supercops in front of the beguiling
journalist backfire in almost every conceivable way,
providing ample laughs. Of course, friction soon emerges
between the two pals, and they end up competing for
Joey's affections, although it's pretty much "no contest."
Pepper is infatuated with Joey, but she's got a serious
hankering for Curry (sorry, bad joke). Needless to say,
the outcome of this love triangle puts the Curry and
Pepper partnership in serious jeopardy.
From here on in, you can pretty
much guess what'll happen, as the breakup of the friendship
plays out in the most conventional way possible. The
two heroes part ways, but end up missing each other
dearly to much comic effect. Of course, they eventually
put their differences aside and reunite as partners
for a greater cause - in their case, Curry and Pepper
realize they're the only men capable of putting a vicious
baddie named Abalone (Blackie Ko) behind bars for good,
although not without cracking a few jokes along the
way.
Curry and Pepper varies
the buddy cop formula in that its lead protagonists
aren't at odds with one another as the film begins.
That's usually the source of conflict in buddy movies,
as the two opposites are forcibly paired together and
must learn to work with one another and appreciate each
other's strengths as the film develops - for examples,
just see Lethal Weapon, Tango and Cash, Rush Hour,
Shanghai Noon, etc. Funnily enough, even when conflict
does finally rear its ugly head, it turns out that the
reason Pepper becomes jealous has less to do with losing
a woman to Curry and more to do with the fear that he's
lost his best friend in the process.
That's not to say Curry
and Pepper is completely innovative. Plot-wise,
it's actually quite predictable, and the director's
by-the-numbers approach to the script is made worse
by the fact that a lot of the comedy falls flat in the
early-goings of the picture. But patient viewers will
be rewarded, as the film eventually begins to pick up
steam, in particular thanks to the developing and quite
palpable chemistry between Cheung and Chow. Slowly,
the funny bits start to add up, and after a while, you
find yourself actually caring about the characters,
despite the rather predictable narrative frame and requisite
wacky antics.
While the humor on display
is not exactly classic Stephen Chow, there's certainly
a lot to laugh at in this film, especially in the characters'
rather, shall we say, "creative" use of the English
language throughout the movie. Of course, this is an
early 1990s Hong Kong film, so there are tonal shifts
aplenty from broad comedy to bloody run-and-gun action,
and director Blackie Ko handles the transition well.
Whether they're acting courageous, cowering in fear,
or just cracking jokes, Jacky Cheung and Stephen Chow
are pitch perfect when the bullets start flying in Ko's
impressive action sequences. When all is said and done,
Curry and Pepper is, true to its name, not in
the least a bland experience at the movies. Despite
its problems, I found it to be a winning action-comedy
thanks in large part to the crackerjack chemistry between
its two leads. To tell the truth, even all these many
years later, I'd happily welcome the announcement of
a Curry and Pepper 2. Stephen Chow and Jacky
Cheung together again? Make it so. (Calvin McMillin 2007) |
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Jacky Cheung and Stephen Chow