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GIRL
WITH THE DIAMOND SLIPPER
AKA:
Modern Cinderella
Year:
1985 Reviewer: Andrew
Saroch
There's
a moment an hour into 'Girl With The Diamond Slipper' where,
at a star-filled party, Wong Jing's character throws a drink
over an arthouse director. Though this has very little to do
with the rest of the story, it acts as a clever piece of
unintentional symbolism regarding Wong Jing's style of
film-making - absolutely no delusions of grandeur and no pretence
of artistic merit. Such modest intentions and shameless
commercialism can certainly provide moments of wonder, but it
also tends to gravitate towards the banal. And on that note,
step forward 'Girl With The Diamond Slipper'.
Aspiring
actress Chang (Cheung) lives with two fellow wannabes and
dreams of one day becoming a screen star. Though this seems to
be a day-dream, she finds herself thrown into the limelight
thanks to the patronage of a lovestruck sponsor. Chang also
receives unwanted attention from two bumbling thieves (Chan
and Jing) who are keen to get their hands on a precious
diamond that they temporarily hid in one of her new shoes.
Unfortunately there is a far less friendly criminal (Wang Lung
Wei) also searching for the diamond and, as he closes in on
the blissfully ignorant Chang, the various parties surrounding
the damsel in distress begin to show their true colours.
A
very young and very cute Maggie Cheung - a million miles away
from her current status as arthouse darling - features in this
typically frenetic Wong Jing action comedy where the emphasis
is definitely on the latter. Her wide-eyed innocence is
undoubtedly a feature of mid-80s Hong Kong cinema - for many
perhaps it a selling point - and it's wisely used by Wong Jing
to paper over the numerous cracks in this feature. Nobody goes
into a Wong Jing film expecting narrative lucidity or even
consistency, but 'Girl With The Diamond Slipper' is especially
careless in its mixing of the sublime and the ridiculous.
Starting
with a tangible spring in its step, this late attempt by the
Shaw Brothers studio to rival the action comedies coming from
Golden Harvest at the time has a cheerfully absurd opening
thirty minutes. Mixing scenes of the oblivious heroine with a
few amusing moments with the oafish thieves, 'Girl With The
Diamond Slipper' is difficult not to warm to for anyone with a
regard for 80s comedies. Wong Jing's usual scattershot
direction, though, means that the pace slackens severely and
too many incidental scenes are shoe-horned in to add to the
woe. Most films that would offer us Nat Chan and Wong Jing as
the leading men are bound to outstay their welcome and 'Girl
With The Diamond Slipper' is no different.
Wong
Jing is often credited for his generic innovation, but his blatant
plagiarism is equally well known. Here Wong clearly takes cues
from the recent successes of Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung in the
modern day action genre, using eerily similar sets and
costumes in the closing half of the film. 'Winners And
Sinners' and, to a lesser extent, 'My Lucky Stars' had a far
better balance of comedy and action, helping to ensure that
even when the film began to drag the audience could expect
something special just round the corner. Though 'Girl With The
Diamond Slipper' has a fine finale and some excellent physical
comedy throughout, the decidedly flat middle section eats away
at the viewer's patience. The production therefore becomes an
average film bookended by moments of real viewing pleasure,
very much dependent on just how forgiving the audience is
towards its weaknesses.
Those
who slog their way through moments of typical Wong Jing
inconsistency (not to mention the obligatory trip through
mahjong hell) are treated to a impressive climax featuring a
menacing Wang Lung Wei squaring up to Yung Wang Yu (who looks
suspiciously like a Jackie clone). Intercut with some of the
more effective comedy routines from our dubious leading pair,
this fine ending is a partial reward for the hard work
expended on the previous 40 minutes. Overall, it's unlikely
that this will be jostling with 'In The Mood For Love' at the
apex of the Maggie Cheung canon, but the aforementioned ending
and a few diverting moments throughout make this less arduous
than it might appear.
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