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Cast:
Stephen
Chow Sing Chi
Jacky
Cheung
Ann
Bridgewater
Eric
Tsang
Blacky
Ko
Action:
Blacky
Ko
Producer:
Peter
Chan
Director:
Blacky
Ko
Score:
 
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CURRY
AND PEPPER
AKA:
Curry & Pepper
Year:
1990 Reviewer: Phil
Mills
Curry
(Cheung) and Pepper (Chow) are two easy-going C.I.D.
policemen who are also the best of friends. When they
are selected by a female reporter (Bridgewater) as the
subjects of her fly-on-the-wall documentary, their lives
receive something of a shake-up. Soon, the two friends
find themselves competing for screen time as well as the love
of the reporter and when Curry emerges victorious the
arguments begin. As their friendship goes through a
rough period, a case arises concerning a weapons smuggler by
the name of Mad Dog (Ko). The question is, will Curry
and Pepper be able to put their differences behind them so
that they can once more bring justice to the streets of Hong
Kong.
Buddy-cop
movies are a common concept in Hollywood and as such, they
remain quite proud that they can churn them out by the dozen.
However, only an elite few of these can claim to contain the
essential ingredients of a decent leading partnership combined
with a solid storyline ('Lethal Weapon' is the only one that
instantly springs to mind). 'Curry And Pepper' is an
early example of this genre crossing over into the Hong Kong
film industry but it also remains one of the most successful
created. Chow and Cheung combine perfectly to create
some undeniably amusing antics whilst Blacky Ko (normally
known better
for acting than directing) keeps the pace fast-moving
throughout. The sketch-style comedy routines are linked
extremely well with the hard-hitting action, which is often
surprisingly violent for a film that is probably better
pigeonholed as a comedy. Added to this, there is large amount
of heart injected into the characters that is often lacking in
their square-jawed American counterparts, giving the film a
noticeably more realistic edge.
For
me, 'Curry And Pepper' is a thoroughly enjoyable outing for
all concerned and manages to inject enough freshness into the
genre to allow it to surpass several of it's influences.
Unsurprisingly, it was also a commercial success and a sequel
was originally planned in 1991 but sadly it never
materialised. The closest they ever came was when Jacky
Cheung appeared in the inferior 'Pom
Pom And Hot Hot' but without Chow on board, it could never
recreate the magic.
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