A Little TLC(w): Happy-Go-Lucky (1987)

Another kind of frenetic late ‘80s/early ‘90s Hong Kong comedy for Tony Leung Chiu-wai.  It reminds me a fair amount of The Royal Scoundrel, although a little less zany and with more farcical elements.  I don’t know that I’d go so far as to call it good, but it was a decent, relatively inoffensive way to spend an hour-and-a-half.

Ma and Kang are brothers (stepbrothers?  Half brothers?  I didn’t quite keep track, but there’s something going on there) whose careers at their parents’ loan company hang in the balance as their parents go through a contentious divorce.  When their dad gets the idea that management of the company will be given to the brother who can woo Mina, the daughter of a wealthy tycoon, the race is on.  Mercenary Ma is all too pleased with the arrangement, but the awkward yet good-hearted Kang needs a little help in the romance department.  He tags in his friend Wei to help, but matters get more complicated when Wei realizes he’s falling for Mina.

The plot is somehow meandering and busy at the same time.  The film gets off to a pretty slow start – it feels like it takes a long time to learn what the central conflict actually is – but once it gets going, there are a few too many wheels turning at once for me to keep track of them.  The humor is broad and gets too wacky at times for my tastes, but overall, I think it’s more “meh” than bad.  The characters are mostly fun, and there are some good interactions amid the frenzy.

Most of my favorite moments are supplied by Leung’s Wei, a quick-talking orphan who makes up in charisma what he lacks in prospects.  He works at the loan company with Kang as a semi-competent repo guy, but his real passion is for concocting hustles.  A charming schemer, he puts me in the mind of a grownup Artful Dodger.  I love the scenes of him slipping effortlessly into some lie or another, coming up with a harebrained idea to either earn himself some money or get him and his friends out of a jam.  But while he’s pretty good, he’s no mastermind, and it takes him a lot longer than necessary to realize won’t win Mina by playing games.

I really like that Wei is so caring.  For a smooth talker who’s a little full of himself and isn’t overburdened with scruples, a lot of what he does is to help others.  He, Kang, and his adopted/foster(?) sister Jackie have a racket going to lose at mahjong to Wei and Jackie’s godmother, because he knows she’ll only accept money from him if she wins it in the game.  He’s very protective of Jackie, and he throws himself wholeheartedly in the plan to woo Mina on Kang’s behalf even though he likes Mina himself, proving more than willing to take a hit and look ridiculous for a sake of his friend.  It’s here, both in Wei’s sly cleverness and his earnest desire to help those he cares about, that the film gets a slight uptick from a somewhat-forgettable comedy to something with a bit of brains and heart.

Recommend?

In General – Not necessarily.  While it’s not bad, it’s not especially good.  If you like this type of broad humor, it might be good for a few laughs.

Tony Leung Chiu-wai – Again, not necessarily.  Although this was made the same year as People’s Hero, it makes me suspect Leung developed his dramatic chops before his comedic ones.  His performance is enjoyable in a goofy way, but subtlety, thy name is not Happy-Go-Lucky.  I’m guessing that, by the time I make it through his filmography, I’ll have found a few charming schemer characters who are more well-performed than Wei.

Warnings

Sexual references (including prostitution,) language, violence, and some drinking.