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Cast:
Nixau
Carina
Lau
Lau
Ching Wan
Cecilia
Yip
Producer:
Leung
Po Chi
Edwin
Kong
Hoi
Wong
Peter
Shepherd
Director:
Wellson
Chin
Score:
  
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CRAZY
HONG KONG
AKA:
The Gods Must Be Crazy IV
Year:
1993 Reviewer: Andrew
Saroch
Cult
African actor Nixau - star of sleeper hit 'The Gods Must Be
Crazy' - has enjoyed a certain degree of minor fame in the
East. Starring in the wonderfully absurd 'Crazy Safari' with
the late, great Lam Ching Ying, Nixau then went on to star in
two more Hong Kong films which, while not exactly setting the
box-office alight, at least arouse a certain curiosity among
viewers seeking a change from the norm.
After
accidentally stepping into the luggage of a high profile
advertising executive (Carina Lau), Nixau finds himself bound
for the bustling streets of central Hong Kong. Initially he is
forced to understand his new surroundings on his own but,
after a run-in with the law, he is re-united with executive
who now acts as his adoptive chaperone. While Nixau's
bewilderment over Hong Kong is at first mocked by her and the
colleagues she works with, the simple approach he brings to
life begins to charm everyone he comes into contact with.
The
usual 'fish-out-of-water' narrative is the driving force of
'Crazy Hong Kong', but it rarely delivers what it promises.
Indeed, despite the presence of Nixau and an impressive local
cast, 'Crazy Hong Kong' limps along its 100 minute running
time with all the slickness and style of a school play.
Director Wellson Chin takes its one-joke premise - which at
least could've been expanded upon - and stretches it
mercilessly to fill the overlong duration. Chin's direction
lacks any kind of cohesion or purpose, while comedy routines
featured flounder due to his slack-handed control. The film
therefore becomes a series of episodes with Nixau interacting
with the Hong Kong natives and the occasional intrusion of two
hapless 'villains' who are strictly from the 'Bodger And
Badger' school of characterisation.
While
the film is average to say the least, it does at times verge
on being unpleasantly patronising. The storyline is the common
'stranger in a strange land' idea that films like 'Coming To
America' pulled off much more successfully years ago; 'Crazy
Hong Kong', though, is cursed with the 'witticisms' of a
condescending narrator who has the tone of 'poor little
African man is too stupid to understand his surroundings'.
This creates a very uncomfortable atmosphere and crosses the
line from innocent low-brow humour to something that seems a
lot less palatable. Hong Kong cinema has been known to
perpetrate some offensive racial stereotypes (though, when you
look at Hollywood's portrayal of Asians, it's clear they
aren't alone) and 'Crazy Hong Kong' verges on this. Descending
my soapbox now, I can only reiterate that this is a film that
manages to squander Nixau and a quality Hong Kong cast.
Despite some effective chemistry between Nixau and Lau Ching
Wan in some scenes, this is a strictly low-priority film.
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