SYNOPSIS:
"Here Comes Fortune" is about the God of Fortune coming down from heaven to spread some love and wealth to humans in need. The movie is developed by talking about stories which took place in three cities: Shenyang, where a kind-hearted teacher is willing to give up a billion dollars in order to save her adopted daughter; Shanghai, a love story about 533, a female God of Fortune falling in love with a blind pianist; and Beijing where an ugly duckling story of Xu Jie, the boring introverted office lady.
MOVIE REVIEW:
For the record, there were three 'he sui pians' released during the Lunar New Year this year. This was the only one that didn't manage to secure a theatrical release- apparently, the distributors must have thought that it didn't have the star power of Shaw-TVB's "72 Tenants of Prosperity" or the marquee name of the "All’s Well Ends Well" series. So here we are, with this James Yuen film getting the straight-to-DVD treatment.
Quite befitting, if you ask me, for "Here Comes Fortune" is easily the worst of the three. It's not a matter of star power- at the very least, we still have Alan Tam (who makes his first big-screen appearance in many years), Miriam Yeung, Chang Chan, Kitty Zhang and Lam Tze-Chung. It's also not a matter of the lack of plot- both "72 Tenants" and "All’s Well Ends Well 2010" were also built on similarly thin premises. Indeed, what's sorely lacking in this 'he sui pian' are the laughs, which are likely to elicit a mild chuckle at their best, and a painful groan at their worst.
The structure of the film can be divided quite simply into three acts. After a brief introduction where the Gods of Fortune receive their instructions from the Fortune King (Alan Tam) to be more generous to the people following the economic crisis in 2009, they are then dispatched to Earth to perform their due duties.
The first part follows Lam Tze-Chung's God of Fortune, who can't control his liquor, disguising himself as a little schoolgirl (Nuo Min) to give 100 mil yuan to a humble schoolteacher (Tao Hong). The funniest parts of this segment consist of the said schoolgirl's loud snoring and seemingly incongruous weight in comparison to her size. And oh, there's a little plump boy romantically interested in her who can do waves with his tummy.
The middle segment sees Kitty Zhang pretending to be a housekeeper to a blind pianist (Chang Chen) so she can bring fortune to him. But some sparks fly, and Zhang is determined to help Chen regain his sight even if it means she will have to erase his memory after. The funniest part? Vincent Kok's greedy cousin to Chen's pianist farting uncontrollably thanks to Zhang's punishment.
And finally, the last section features Alan Tam's Fortune King himself tasked to bring fortune to a down and out-of-luck office assistant (Miriam Yeung). Not only is she denied the recognition of her hard work, she is also bullied by her other colleagues. Meanwhile, Tam loses his powers in a freak car accident so Yeung and her housemate try all sorts of ways to help him so he can, well, help them (with his money, of course). Just one chuckle to be had here- Tam starts spitting batteries after being hit with a defibrillator set at 1,000 volts.
Just like any other 'he sui pian', "Here Comes Fortune" is also filled with blatant product placements, including the most off-putting of them all- a juice drink that helps Tam's Fortune King regain his powers eventually. Yes, for everyone involved, this can only be described as an embarrassment. Even with the lowered expectations of a 'he sui pian', you’ll need to be in a very, very generous mood to find this worth your time.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
NIL.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The Dolby Digital 2.0 reproduces the dialogue in the film clearly. Picture is clear and sharp, and the colours of the film look vibrant onscreen.
MOVIE RATING:
 
DVD
RATING:
Review by Gabriel Chong
Posted on 2 May 2010
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