PRINCESS & SEVEN KUNGFU MASTERS (笑功震武林) (2013)

Genre: Martial-Arts/Comedy
Director: Wong Jing
Cast: Eric Tsang, Sandra Ng, Ronald Cheng, Wong Cho-Lam, Rose Chan, Natalie Meng Yao, Xie Na, Sammo Hung, Yuen Wah, Dennis To, Kimmy Tong, Philip Ng, Jiang Luxia, Timmy Hung
Runtime: 1 hr 34 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Violence)
Released By: Shaw & Encore Films
Official Website: http://www.encorefilms.com/kungfumasters

Opening Day: 14 March 2013

Synopsis:  During the early years of the Republic era, in the North-East region of China, the people are suffering from the power struggle among the local Warlords, bandits, and Japanese invaders. Warlord Lam (Sammo Hung), is not a leader of great vision, but having a patriotic heart, stands firm in his own beliefs, despite the several solicitations and temptations from Japan.

The only 'paradise' within the region is 'Lucky Town', the one place where no one dared to attack. Rumors abound that this place is cursed, for whenever anyone attempted to invade Lucky Town, they would disappear and vanish without a trace. In reality, there are seven kung fu masters who have retreated into the shadows and resided here. They are Manysons (Eric Tsang) Madonna (Sandra Ng) and Madonhung (Xie Na), the owners of a steamed bread shop Nam Mor Bing (Yuen Wah), the Taoist priest Horny Four (Wong Cho Lam), the tailor Little Trumpet (Ronald Cheng), the cosmetic salesman and Mamasan Maggie (Natalie Meng), the brothel owner. Every one of them is a master in his own right, keeping Lucky Town in peace.

Lam’s daughter, Cheryl (Kimmy Tong) is very fond of culinary arts, and often does grocery shopping in Lucky Town. She is pretty and lovely and very much favoured by the Seven Masters, especially Horny Four who falls for her at first sight and regards her as his dream lover.

The Japanese secret agent, Kiyoko Kurosawa (Monica Mok), allied with traitors from the Tiger’s Den: Tiger Hong, Jaguar Hong and Phoenix Hong (Jiang Luxia), to set up a secret outpost to send secret-coded messages back to Japan. Young patriots, Yan Fang (Rose Chan) who disguised herself as a man,and Howard Luo (Dennis To), infiltrate Tiger’s Den at night, trying to steal the code book. They lose the fight to the Hongs, Howard sacrifices himself to save Yan who was wounded.

On the run, Yan is rescued by Cheryl. Mistaking Yan as a man, Cheryl falls for Yan. She then brings Yan to Lucky Town and begs the Seven Masters to cure Yan. On the other hand, Warlord Lam saves a pretty lady and grows fond of her. This lady is actually Kiyoko Kurosawa in disguise. Using Ninjutsu skills, Kiyoko seduces Lam and controls his will. She then organises a wedding for Lam and herself, in the hope of becoming the warlord’s wife so she can control Lam’s army. On the wedding day, Cheryl and the Seven Masters arrive in time to ruin her wedding plans. Lam regains his senses finally and unites together with the Seven Masters, to fight against Kiyoko and the Hongs.

Movie Review:

If you’ve never liked a Wong Jing comedy, then you might as well stop right here, because we can assure you that his latest hardly reinvents the wheel. But anyone who’s loved a Wong Jing comedy for the nonsensical laughs it offers will find much to like about ‘Princess and 7 Kungfu Masters’, his umpteenth attempt at trying to fuse kungfu with ‘mo lei tau’ comedy – think the ‘Kung Fu Mahjong’ trilogy or ‘My Kung Fu Sweetheart’ – proving to be surprisingly successful relative to his earlier efforts.

Key to this is Wong Jing’s decision to populate his film with an over-abundance of characters. Yes, what may seem like a shortcoming at first sight actually works to the film’s advantage, or more accurately Wong Jing’s advantage. Though he’s written over countless number of movies, the prolific multi-hyphenate (i.e. writer/ producer/ director) has never had a forte for creating strong impressionable characters, and this latest seems to demonstrate a newfound self-awareness of both his strength as well as his weakness.  

Eschewing any sort of character development, Wong Jing instead focuses on creating engaging scenarios specially catered to the specific trait of each one of the characters – be it the steamed bun shop owner with the sonic boom voice, or the effeminate tailor with an inferiority complex due to his height, or the brothel owner with her posse of ‘Charlie’s Angels’ sidekicks. Since each is likely to be just as one-dimensional with more or less screen time, Wong Jing opts for the latter and thereby succeeds in maintaining a brisk and jaunty pace for the entire of the film’s duration.

Thankfully, the heavyweight cast he has managed to assemble for this lightweight comedy do not seem to mind; indeed, as far as we can see from the outtakes that appear with the end credits, it is almost as if each knew that all he or she had to do was to have a good time. Not giving any thought to the possibility of eclipsing each other’s presence, the likes of Ronald Cheng, Sandra Ng, Eric Tsang, Yuen Wah and Wong Cho Lam embrace wholeheartedly their thinly drawn roles, content to enjoy the process of playing off one another in each of the film’s (and there are many) crowded scenes.

More than adroit at giving each one of his leading cast his or her due in the course of the movie, Wong Jing ensures that each one of the characters gets his or her showpiece comedic scene as well as his or her showcase kungfu scene – even if the bevy of characters means that each actor seems to get no more than an extended cameo in all. That’s especially true for Sammo Hung and Dennis To, both of whom get top billing on the film’s poster but who are noticeably absent most of the time. Still, not a single one of them seems to mind, and thanks to their infectious verve, there is not a single boring moment to be found.

Quite astutely, Wong Jing tones down the lame dialogue he is often accused of, and instead lets the action do the talking. Here, the laughs come largely with the kungfu, with Wong Jing having to thank veteran action director Philip Kwok (whose resume includes the 1987 ‘A Chinese Ghost Story’ and the pair of 1990s ‘Bride with White Hair’ movies) for the consistently exciting fighting sequences. There’s nothing ground-breaking to boast of, but Kwok demonstrates an impressive ability of fusing action and comedy that makes this one of the best – if not the best – among Wong Jing’s kungfu laughers.

Of course, the fact that this is more tightly directed than most of his usual comedies might be because Wong Jing shares directing duties here with Keung Kwok-Man, his go-to cinematographer in his most recent years (including ‘I Corrupt All Cops’, ‘Treasure Inn’ and even the dreadful ‘Future X-Cops’). There is quite astonishingly little slack here, which is a lot to say given Wong Jing’s often slapdash direction. And while it is by no means an accomplishment as ‘The Last Tycoon’, ‘Princess and 7 Kungfu Masters’ at least counts among one of his better comedies, especially good for a mindless entertaining diversion to help you relax at the end of a hard day’s work. 

Movie Rating:

(An infectious ensemble cast brings much fun and mirth to this entertaining blend of kungfu and laughter, which also counts among one of Wong Jing's better comedies)

Review by Gabriel Chong