The Good, the Bad and
the Beauty
Director: Frankie Chan
Year: 1988
Rating: 7.0
This is a wacky little
film that I enjoyed more than I really should have. Watching it is like being
on a genre seesaw as it switches constantly back and forth between screwball
comedy and violent action. One second you are laughing at some silly bit
and the next moment someone’s blood is splattered against the walls. Somehow
though it barely manages to hang together and be entertaining – due primarily
to the charming interaction between Cherie Chung and Kent Cheng – while Frankie
Chan (who also directed and produced) rides along as the straight man and
performs much of the action.
The very opening scene is an example of this genre seesaw. Kent is walking
along with a few bags of groceries when he spots a sweet little girl crying.
When he asks her why – she points up to her kitty trapped in a tree and so
Kent shimmies up the tree to save the cat. When he looks back down the little
girl is scooting off as fast as she can with his groceries – and then an
old crone spots him in the tree and starts shouting to the neighbors that
he is a peeping tom. Finally she shoots him out of the tree with a slingshot
– he falls onto a wagon that immediately starts flying down the hill. Just
as Kent is about to crash into a taxi, his cop partner Frankie opens the
door and Kent goes flying softly into the cab. Then before a breath can be
taken a group of bad guys come running out of a store that they just robbed
and both Frankie and Kent have a wild shootout and chase though the streets
of HK ending with blood splattered all over an elevator wall. If ever you
want to paint your walls red – ask Frankie to shoot a movie in your apartment.
There were at least three other scenes that left large stains on the walls!
The main plot revolves around Cherie who as an airline stewardess has smuggled
some valuable diamonds into HK – but now wants to keep them herself. The
triad boss clearly isn’t happy with this and tries to kill her – while Frankie
and Kent try their best to protect her. This leads to a number of action
scenes and some goofy comedy between Kent – who is understandably infatuated
with Cherie – and Cherie who just wants to get rich but is only to happy
to lead him on when it suits her.
Cherie seems to have the time of her life with this role as she goes from
giddy to crazy to conniving at the drop of a hat or two. It is really a funny
performance and if she is a favorite of yours I would recommend this film
to you. It is amazing when you think of the different roles she played during
her shortish career – the chic cat burglar in Once a Thief, the earthy country
girl in Wild Search, the nutty sex maniac in Eight Happiness, the sweet and
larcenous musician in Peking Opera Blues and the newly arrived immigrant
in the wonderfully romantic An Autumns Tale.
There was one scene that cracked me up of Cherie running through the streets
of HK with forty Filipinas in close pursuit. If you have ever been to HK
you probably noticed that on Sundays the parks are filled with Filipino maids
on their day off. I have no doubt that someone came up to them and asked
them if they wanted to be in a movie and they all said yes! And the next
moment they are running after Cherie with smiles not quite being able to
be contained.