Purely Joyful Movie!

There is just so much movie here. For some it may be too much. But in the same secretly sarcastic way most telemarketers say the phrase, the title of this one is particularly apt.

The first must-see film of the year.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

First starring vehicle for Kenny Kwan and Steven Cheung of the pop music duo Boy'z taps an agreeable AFTER HOURS/INTO THE NIGHT vein, casting the pair as chronic slackers recruited by bottom-rung triad boss Michael Chan to inflate his ranks at top dog Ray Lui's regional "war council", where they're chosen to exact a particularly bloody revenge on a vicious rival named Serpent (Roderick Lam) at exactly 6 a.m. the next morning. Handsomely remunerated in advance for their "glorious mission" but desperately unqualified beyond movies they've seen about "cool" gangsters—a couple of which are winked at in quick fantasy sequences—and fearful of not completing the task, they opt to spend what could be their final night on earth blowing Lui's cash, first by winning an even larger sum from his underground casino, then buying their way into a movie being shot in the neighborhood with superstars Charlene Choi and Gillian Chung (of the music phenom Twins), who play themselves. The pair also crosses paths with crooked cop Tats Lau, cab driver Law Kar-ying and neighborhood bully Cheung Tat-ming (ironically the root cause of their current predicament), all of whom unwittingly give them the means to redeem themselves and deter Cheung's sister (Zeny Kwok) from repeating their mistakes in life. Director Adrian Kwan has a couple of Christian movies under his belt, so the theme of redemption and a near-mythical villain who physically resembles a demon should come as no surprise. Seemingly aware that their attractive leads don't exactly ooze charisma, Kwan and writer Tsang Kan-cheung—both of whom cameo as gangsters in a funny early sequence involving an elevator—propel them through an urban maze of amusing, unpredictable incidents populated by strong supporting players and clever cameos, played out against captivating nighttime exteriors by Wong Ping-hung.

Pure silliness, but if you need to kill an hour and a half, you could do a lot worse. It's a little too silly to be funny, but silly enough to be funny. If you are in the right mood, it might actually tickle your funny bone. The most surprising thing about the movie is that it actually has a plot. With all the non-sense going on, you would wonder why they even bother with a plot. The goings-on are reminiscent of the Bob Hope - Bing Crosby road movies. Any excuse for an adventure or misadventure will do. The only noticeable difference is that the buddies and not competing for the same girl.As with any respectable slapstick comedy, there are pratfalls and lucky coincidences galore. Do I need to add that there are cute babes and a happy ending, too?

I think I am scoring this movie a tad too high by giving it a 3 but no movie with the Twins in it, no matter how atrocious or how small their part is, will ever get less than a 3. I can't do it. They do, of course, have the greatest scenes from the film. There is only one or two jokes that actually work in the film so do not expect to laugh much. Just look forward to the 5 minutes of screen time you will get from Charlene and Gillian. The rest is just makes no sense and none of the 36 plot holes are filled...ever. What do you expect from the EEG though? A masterpiece? It will never happen. Just hope they keep putting the Twins in films no matter how bad.