The Yuppie Fantasia
Director: Gordon Chan
Year: 1989
Rating: 6.5
There are films
that have fine pedigrees that for various reasons over time fade from memory
so that now few have heard of and fewer have ever seen it. I would bury Yuppie
Fantasia deeply into that ignominious category of bargain bin DVD’s even
though at the time it was released it was a box office hit. In particular,
this is the sort of film that Western fans of Hong Kong films generally avoid
like a contagious disease. This romantic comedy deserves better with a terrific
cast and an amusing script. First you have Gordon Chan making his directorial
debut. After beginning in the comedy genre, including a number of Stephen
Chow films - Fight Back to School I and II, King of Beggars, he began making
his reputation in action films with some terrific ones – Jet Li’s Fist of
Legend and Beast Cops being two of his best. His first two films though starred
Lawrence Cheng, whose popularity as such as it was has always been a minor
mystery to me. An actor nearly devoid of charisma or looks, he was I suppose
something of a Hong Kong Everyman. Bespectacled, slightly nerdy, always on
the other side of a sharp stick or a sharper rebuke, he in his mild way represented
the emasculated Hong Kong male much more than a finger twitching star like
Chow Yun Fat or a romantic brooder like Leslie Cheung. This screen persona
has done him well as he has appeared in nearly seventy films since 1980 up
to the present day. He only directed four films but two are favorites of
mine, the Chingmy Yau vehicle She Starts Fires and the noirish Murder. He
also produced The Yuppie Fantasia so obviously gives himself the starring
role in this solid effort.
Some other talent on the screen is Hong
Kong’s first lady of comedy back then, Do Do Cheng. The two Chengs appeared
in a number of films together. Do Do was a master (or mistress) of the reaction
shot and could in the blink of an eye turn into pure perfect shrew with a
slew of insults that could make you curl up in a fetus position and pretend
to disappear. Throw in a few nubile female stars like Cherie Chung in a surprisingly
back-seat role, Elizabeth Lee still fresh off the farm looking innocent and
vulnerable and Sibelle Hu playing very much against type as a wallflower
wife. Manfred Wong, one of Hong Kong films major producers back then (the
Young and Dangerous series) as well as a bit actor in innumerable films,
shows up as one of Lawrence Cheng’s cheating friends. Kirk Wong, Alfred Cheung
(also a scriptwriter for this effort), Paul Chun Pui and Vivian Chow pop
in for cameos. All in all this is a quality effort with talent on both sides
of the camera.
It’s that seven year itch time in the marriage
between Leung (Lawrence Cheng) and his wife Ann (Do Do) but though often
irritated with one another Leung is not straying from the reservation as
both his friends Q Tai (Manfred) and Pierre (Peter Lai) are doing with younger
paramours. Marriage for Leung and Ann has entered that contractual stage
where sex is a commodity and the major bargaining chip in the relationship.
Leung says to himself and the audience “My wife would be the best woman in
the world provided all other women dropped dead”. He nearly begs his FX trader
wife to take her eyes off the green computer screen and have a little “see-saw”
with him. Ok she grudgingly agrees but no more than 10 minutes. When he moans
a little she hits him with the “you never need ten minutes anyway so why
are you complaining” zinger. An arrow straight to a man’s heart and other
regions even when true.
Frustrations and mistaken intentions drive
them into a legal separation with divorce scheduled three years away.
The pain of separation is made oh so much easier when Leung literally bumps
into Cherie Chung back at the advertising agency where he works. She turns
out to be his new demanding boss and they soon occupy a closet together for
an uncomfortable night of doing their best to stay out of each other’s way.
Another woman comes Leung’s way as well – his old girlfriend Jenny (Elizabeth
Lee) when he was fifteen years old who is on the rebound from her married
boyfriend. She moves in and they share the same bed. But little else as this
is your typical innocent harmless family fare where you can be pretty sure
marriage will win the day. Leung says of Jenny with total honesty “her strong
suit was 36-24-36”. I could add to that, but others might disagree. A few
funny parodies take place, Leung with matchstick in mouth doing The Killer
by placing hidden condoms around his apartment to be handy from any place
and a Mr. Boo moment that you see coming from miles away but is still satisfying
primarily because you get it.
