King of Comedy (1999)

Pringles!

Stephen Chow plays a struggling actor who will do whatever he has to to get a role in a movie. After getting 2 chances at acting and failing both times he decides to teach acting for free. A prostitute played by Cecilia Cheung comes for acting lessons so she can be more convincing as a college girl for her customers. I didn't really get why Stephen Chow teaches acting for free, but he does help Triads act tougher and learns from the experiences they have doing Triad things. Karen Mok plays an actress and decides out of the blue that she wants Stephen Chow as her new screen partner, even though he screwed up the last 2 times he shot a scene with her. After falling in love with Cecilia Cheung, Chow forgets about her and focuses on Karen Mok. But it only seems like he forgot about Cheung. Even though Chow is about to become a big star, he still loves her. The relationship between these 2 is magical and I wish they had more time on screen together.

One thing I didn't like about this movie is that the story shifts so abruptly. The last sudden change in the story has Stephen Chow becoming an undercover cop. Ng Man Tat shows him that the best actors are actually undercovers. It is a very odd ending.

The comedy is good for the most part, but the story is not done very well. This is not one of Stephen Chow's worst movies, but definitely not one of his best.

2.5/5 August 27, 2007

Great comedy giving by Stephen Chow!

Chow is the true soul of the film. This is a touching, mature comedy that will have you rolling in laughter while making you fall in love with the characters. In here Wan Tin-Sau (Stephen Chow) is a dedicated and aspiring actor but he has the habit of screwing up even small parts he gets. In between that he also teaches the art of acting and tries to put on plays in his local town. It's through his teachings that he meets club hostess Lau Piu-Piu (the lovely Cecilia Cheung from "Legend Of Zu") who wants to learn some acting tricks in order to make more money from her male customers. She gets the desired effect and the two also fall in love along the way. If that wasn't good enough Wan Tin-Sau gets the opportunity to play a leading role in a film against megastar Sister Cuckoo (Karen Mok from "God Of Cookery"). Jackie Chan does appear on this film but only as a cameo.

Stephen Chow and Lee Lik-Chi work very well together as directors. Over the years with him by his side, Stephen has really fine-tuned his comedy and directing skills, which resulted in him handling the latter duties all by himself on "Shaolin Soccer." I can't swear that this is the truth but the ideal way of working between the two should be that Lee Lik-Chi focuses more on the style of filmmaking while Stephen does his own brand of crazy comedy.

After a strange opening shot by the sea the movie kicks into high gear almost immediately. Stephen's knowledge and great vision of comedy is quickly apparent in the scene where his character, as an extra, manages to screw up a long and demanding John Woo-esque shot (where Karen Mok also makes her first appearance). Big credit has to go to action choreographer Bruce Law though who fires on all cylinders in this scene. I first saw his work on Kirk Wong's Gunmen and it's clear that his contribution to a project can mean a lot.

Throughout "King Of Comedy" I found that, by this point in his career, Stephen had the ability to make any comedy work, no matter how absurd it was. That's not at all easy to do and not something Wong Jing could do in his movies for instance. The visual humor dominates "King Of Comedy" and there's only a few moments where the humor is more dialogue based. The 92 minutes fly by quite fast and the script manages to develop the things it should. Neither director seems to want to distinguish themselves stylistically, which of course is a good thing in a comedy. We do see some effective uses of dissolves to indicate time passing but even within those the directors can't resist to insert more silly humor. I can honestly say that "King Of Comedy" is very good. Stephen Chow breaks new ground for himself and he definitely is Hong Kong's King Of Comedy.
January 9, 2007

biography of Stephen Chow

This is one of Stephen Chow's best movies. Only second to his "Chinese Odyssey" series, in my opinion.

The whole movie seems like his biography as an actor who started small and because of his "professional spirit" or non-stopping pursue achieved his goal of becoming a "real" actor (actually king of comedy) in the end.

A bit of Cinderella kind of flavor. But the plot is great and the pace of story-telling is compelling. Though the ending is a little bit too hasty, it is very moving. September 16, 2005

A fun, ridiculous romantic comedy

This is the film Stephen Chow directed before Shaolin Soccer. Do not get it if you want "kung fu" hilarity. That being said, this movie made me laugh out loud a number of times. Stephen Chow plays a desperate extra/actor who can't get a scene to save his life. He works at a Neighborhood Welfare House, and in his spare time, gives free acting lessons. Of course, these lessons are hilarious, as he attempts to teach a young wannabe Triad gang member how to act tough when collecting money, and also an expensive call girl how to act virginal and like she's still in college. There are alot of funny scenes, including a hilarious spoof of John Woo films and a cameo by Jackie Chan. I recommend it if you like Stephen Chow's comedy bits in Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle! The subtitles are a bit tough at times, though. April 30, 2005

not as usual for Stephen Chow movie....

Not as funny as movies like 'Royal tramp', 'The God of cookery' or 'Shaolin Soccer', but in the end a good comedy. Stephen Chow is funny and sexy as always (and he is NOT getting old!) and Ng Man Tat does a great job too. They are one of the best 'couple' in the cinema industry (watch 'All for the winner' and '60 million dollar man'). I don't like the character acted by Karen Mok (too nasty for her, I think) but she is one of the best HK actress. A thumbs up for Ceclia Cheung. You can also enjoy a few seconds Jackie Chan's cameo.

As for a technic comment there's no doubt this is a well made movie, the picture is clear (no special effects). June 4, 2003

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