Kung Fu Mahjong

Directors: Wong Jing/Billy Chung
Screenplay: Wong Jing

Cast: Yuen Wah, Yuen Qiu, Roger Kwok Chun On, Wong Jing, Theresa Fu, Iris Wong
Special Appearances: Jade Leung, Tin Kai Man, Lam Tze Chung, Jerry Lamb

It is a scary thought, but Wong Jing is beginning to lose his touch. In a "shameless" attempt to capitalize on the success of Stephen Chow's "Kung Fu Hustle", Wong Jing has recruited "The Landlords" Yuen Wah and Yuen Qiu to star in this "parody of parodies." Adding Roger Kwok Chun On of "Ah Wong" fame and combine it with the good old Chinese past time of mahjong, it could have been an interesting and successful comedy. Unfortunately, Wong Jing has decided to copycat to the point that it proves "fast food style" movies can never work as they did in the late 1980s to early 1990s.

The plot is fairly simple. West (aka Robert; played by Yuen Wah) is a compulsive gambler who one day, after having lost everything but his "lucky red underwear", escapes from his debtors into a local cafe. Here, West encounters a young waiter Ah Wong (Roger Kwok) who has the ability to memorize the most complicated of things. The scheming West then trains Ah Wong in mahjong to help with his gambling endeavors, much to the objection of Ah Wong's boss Auntie Fei (aka Dorlina) played by Yuen Qiu. With the help of Auntie Fei's daughter Jane (Iris Wong with a major overbite), Ah Wong sneaks away to gamble with West and is eventually thrown out by Auntie Fei. As Ah Wong becomes the rising star of the Mahjong World and is seen as a blackhorse in the upcoming "Saint of Mahjong Tournament", he becomes involved in the courtship of a mysterious girl called Cheryl (Theresa Fu). Unfortunately, Cheryl is the mistress of "Mahjong King" Tin Gau (Wong Jing) and Ah Wong gets beaten to retardation by Tin Gau and his gang. Auntie Fei, who is one mad woman when she finds out what had happened, goes to beat up West, but at the same time finds out that he is her long-lost first love Robert. It also turns out that Auntie Fei was a former Mahjong Queen, and of course, she comes out of retirement to help Ah Wong regain his former self using "Mahjong Shock Therapy" and teaching him the "Mahjong Bible". Using his newly learned skills, Ah Wong seeks sweet revenge against Tin Gau in the tournament.

Having grown up watching Wong Jing's illogical comedies, I had very high expectations prior to seeing this film, but I was a bit disappointed afterwards. Compared to his earlier works, "Kung Fu Mahjong" was a bit subpar and according to some who have seen this, a Wong Jing's version of "Scary Movie". For the first half of the movie, especially those scenes involving the Yuens, was shameless copying of "Kung Fu Hustle". In the latter half, copied movies range from "Kill Bill" to Wong Jing's older works. Even the "lost stance of Fat Mantis" is used. I can't help but give a wry smile. Wong Jing is really losing his once incomparable creativity. One can't help but think where was all the good stuff that once and still made the "God of Gamblers" series, "The Romancing Star" series, "Tricky Master", etc., classics? Sure, there was copying in those films, but somehow they had worked perfectly whereas in "Kung Fu Mahjong," it was just too out of place in some instances. The English title of the film is rather tacky, as the literal translation of Chinese title "Jeuk Sing" is "Saint of Mahjong." I thought that literal translation would have worked just fine. Also, editing was pretty bad in this film, some scenes just do not match up. Perhaps it was due to the short production schedule. Yet, by no means was the movie a total disaster as it had its moments and its decent cast.

I have to admit it, Yuen Wah and Yuen Qiu still continue to make middle age cool. This "atypical couple-brand" continues to exhibit their superb chemistry together though their characters are just a cheap, modernized version of the "Hustle" Landlords (complete with her chain smoking and his pervertedness). Heck, they are the only reason why I wanted to watch the film in the first place. I just cannot keep back giggles when they are on screen together as they are so much fun to watch. Kudos to Yuen Wah in this film, as his lines are the most amusing of the entire film. And yes, they continue to beat each other up on screen with comical action sequences. *Minor spoiler* One of the best moments was their hilarious school days flashback sequence, in which they give a new meaning to the term "fixed deposit" that now makes me laugh uncontrollably every time I step into a bank. Without these two, this would have turned into another "Wong Jing+Nick Cheung Ka Fai" style film (in other words, a total bomb). It'll get tiring, but I still look foward to this duo working together again in future projects.

Roger Kwok's character is a duplicate of his role in the TVB series "Square Pegs" (even his character is called Ah Wong). In the beginning of the film, his relationship with Yuen Wah is just like that of Ng Man Tat and Stephen Chow in "All for the Winner." In the latter half, his transformation into a retard is just like Chow Yun Fat in "God of Gamblers." But, his performance is in no way comparable to his counterparts in those classics and there was no way to sympathize with his character as Ah Wong is rather arrogant about his abilities. It also appears that Roger Kwok was not even motivated enough to give at least 75% in his role and is probably one of the biggest disappointments of the film. Let's just stick with TV series for the meantime, ok Roger? He does has his moments though, like in the scene when he listens to the advice of the current "Mahjong Queen" (played by the lovely Jade Leung) to develop a relationship with mahjong tiles.

On the mahjong sequences of the film, I was surprised to find that one can actually pick up some of the skills displayed. Yet, they are not as exciting as previous gambling films. Had Wong Jing developed more exciting mahjong hands, this would compensate for a lot of the faults of this film. Yet, on a 15-day film schedule (see tidbit #2), it is somewhat impressive (and perhaps a little bit sad) that he had managed to pull this film off. Personally, "Kung Fu Mahjong" is one of those films that one is not suppose to enjoy, but somehow one cannot help but find it amusing in the end. I guess Wong Jing still works in mysterious ways.

Tidbits
1) Ironically, "Mahjong Queen" Yuen Qiu was arrested at an underground mahjong parlor during the filming of this movie. Had she not admitted it, it would have been one bizarre piece of news generated for the promotion of this movie. Actually, it's still very bizarre...
2) According to Ming Pao Weekly #1906, the original filming schedule was 12 days. Whoa...But because of the action scenes between Yuen Wah and Yuen Qiu, they extended the production time by 1/4...to 15 days.
3) This film beat "Sin City" and "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" at the box office for its opening weekend in Hong Kong.