Eighth Happiness
If you want to explore some of the non-action
facets of Chow Yun Fat’s acting career, this might be a place to start.
He certainly can’t be accused here of always playing the same character
on the screen. Then on the other hand, I have no idea why this movie was
made. It is quite a mess with a plot that has little if any purpose or
focus. Nevertheless, at times it is quite hilarious.
Chow Yun Fat is one of three brothers – all
bachelors – living in the same house and looking for love. Jackie Cheung
and Raymond Wong play their characters straight, but CFY decides for mysterious
reasons to play his character as fey and outrageous as imaginable. Why?
I have no idea. His character is certainly interested in women, but he
just decided to have some fun with his role I guess. Perhaps, he felt it
was the only way to save this film and it does in fact create some good
laughs. He is going out with Do Do Cheng, but doing his best to seduce
the wacky Cherie Chung.
There are some humorous routines to make up for
the invisible plot. And a recipe. It is a recipe for “Apology Soup”. Try
this sometime. 7 red chilies, 5 green peppers, 2 hot Thai chilies, 3 bags
of pepper powder, spicy herbs, 2 gingers and top it off with some curry
powder. Then call 911.
The film ends with everyone – yes everyone
– performing in a Peking Opera.
A strange little film for CYF to be making at
this point in his career. Somehow I don’t think he will be getting many
roles such as this in Hollywood !
My rating for this film: 6.0
