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Cast:
Stephen
Chow Sing Chi
Wu
Ma
Teresa
Mo
Yuen
Wah
Roy
Cheung
Amy
Yip
Karl
Maka
Action:
Yuen
Kwai
Producer:
Karl
Maka
Danny
Lee
Director:
Lee
Lik Chee
Score:
 
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THE
MAGNIFICENT SCOUNDRELS
AKA:
N/A
Year:
1991 Reviewer: Phil
Mills
Shing
(Chow) and Betty ( Mo) are two hapless cons who find
themselves competing against each other in a game of
one-upmanship. However, Betty is in serious debt to a
group of loan sharks and when she is seen together with Shing
the debt becomes their combined problem. Forced to
remain together, the two concoct a plan to break into a rich
man's house whilst he is away. Unbeknownst to them
though, the loans sharks have also instructed their own man
(Wu Ma) to steal antiques from the same house. As if
this wasn't farcical enough, when rumours of a rich cousin
getting into town filter through, one giant scheme is
undertaken by all concerned to fool the man into handing over
his hard earned cash. The question is, will any of these
idiots actually emerge with any money?
'The
Magnificent Scoundrels' can truly be categorised as a
comedy-farce that is heavily influenced by the early comic
capers from the 1930s. Despite the presence of Stephen
Chow with his trademark "fast speak", the majority
of gags on display rely heavily on slapstick routines and the
film is littered with numerous panto-style situations.
This can be a good and bad thing as the viewer tends to
predict the outcome of these awkward scenarios which
occasionally causes scenes to drag as you await the
conclusion. However, there are also times when stars
like Chow and Maka truly shine as they utilise their superior
comic timing and zany facial expressions to keep the audience
amused. On the whole though, it's fair to say that
it doesn't have the style or subtlety of some of Chow's later
films as these familiar premises allow little room for
originality.
Overall,
'The Magnificent Scoundrels' can at times be very amusing and
the majority of the cast do show signs of why they became such
recognisable stars. On the flip side though, it does
suffer from the irritable factor that can befall these kinds
of comedies. Therefore, I'd say it's worth picking up
for fans of Chow and the gang but be warned that the humour
may not be to everyone's taste.
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