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Cast:
Helen
Law
Isabel
Chan
Marco
Ngai
Lam
Suet
Kitty
Chung
Josephine
Lam
Producer:
Charles
Heung
Wong
Jing
Director:
Bowie
Lam
Score:
 
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KUNG FU MASTER IS MY GRANDMA!
AKA:
N/A
Year:
2001 Reviewer: Andrew
Saroch
Troubled
youth Gucci (Chan) constantly fights with her mother and has
little time for her cantankerous grandmother, who is amusingly
called Wong Fei Hung. Her standing with both of her relatives
is hardly improved when Gucci finds herself consigned to a
young offenders' home after an altercation in a bar. While
Gucci is working off her debt to society, her mother is
tragically killed in a road accident and the grandmother is
now her legal guardian. When Gucci is released, she is not
only devastated to learn of her mother's death, but is also
shocked to discover that Wong Fei Hung is now in sole charge
of her. It's only natural that two such diverse characters are
immediately at odds and, sure enough, there is friction
between them throughout the first few weeks. Eventually, Gucci
begins to see that her grandmother really cares for her and
also sees how the neighbourhood in general views the venerable
Wong Fei Hung.
With
a title that implies some kind of dreadful spoof of the genre,
'Kung Fu Master Is My Grandma!' surprises the viewer by
heading down the teen drama route and skilfully avoiding most
of the moods insinuated by it's name. Seemingly a television
film, this modest budgeted little drama scores well with its
impressive performances, but stumbles when the heavy-handed
direction becomes more prominent.
Teen
dramas - whether they be Asian or Western in design - are as
old as the concept of 'teenagers' and all tend to follow a
similar path. 'Kung Fu Master Is My Grandma!' is similar in
construction to the usual clichéd storylines of redemption,
with Gucci initially having the same spirit of rebellion
within her, but finding common ground with her elders. Even
though such ideas are in constant use, this drama handles the
situations reasonably well, thanks largely to a good cast. The
acting lifts the usual scenes of angst and anguish, giving the
viewer the chance to be forgiving towards the underwritten
sub-plots and melodrama. Helen Law, an actress who has made a
career in the past decade of playing these irascible old
codgers, is typically accomplished as she lends a certain
professionalism to her role. Law's handling of occasionally
flat material is a reminder of the virtue of having a seasoned
veteran in the cast of a production. Newcomer Isabel Chan is
given a sympathetic character whose problems never alienate
the viewer, therefore her performance is endearing and points
to an interesting future for the young actress.
As
capable as the performances are, they are unable to dilute the
tepid nature of Bowie Lam's direction. Owing more to the
overwrought melodrama of U.S. TV movies, his direction allows
moments of genuine pathos to get drowned in pure hysteria.
When Gucci's mother dies and the news is conveyed to the
daughter, the overblown soundtrack completely destroys any
real drama found in the situation. Lam also has the
unfortunate habit of using ludicrously extended close-ups of
his characters in the hope that their facial expressions will
inject some emotion into the proceedings - all they do is
betray the roots of this production.
'Kung
Fu Master Is My Grandma' offers very little in the way of
action despite its title and allusions to Wong Fei Hung
(amusingly, each of Helen Law's friends in the film is named
after one of Wong's legendary cohorts). Nevertheless, in its
own way it is quite a diverting drama that has its moments of
chemistry between the two leads. It's just unfortunate that
the b-movie direction undermines the hard work of the cast.
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