A Little TLC(w): Lucky Encounter (1992)

Goofy but still kind of fun, a supernatural comedy that has some fairly amusing bits.  While it’s not without some major corniness, I found it sort of enjoyable.

A pair of small-time thieves get their shot at the majors when they’re offered what seems like an easy job for an important client:  stealing a stuffed Garfield from a particular house.  Easier said than done, though, when it turns out the house is haunted by the ghost of the little boy.  Inititally afraid, the thieves ultimately become allies and decide to help the ghost avenge his own death so he can reincarnate.

I like this quite a bit better than Fantasy Romance, the other ghost-related comedy I’ve watched for A Little TLC(w).  It’s still not a great movie, or even a particularly good one, but I do enjoy it more.  The plot is a little tighter, the humor isn’t quite as broad, and the slapstick is a bit better.  Fantasy Romance often feels like it’s doing whatever the hell it wants at any given time, whether it makes sense or not, while Lucky Encounter has at least a bit more of a plan for what it’s doing.

Not that it isn’t hokey, because it most certainly is at times.  It’s cheesy and slapsticky, and there are moments where the plot feels paper-thin.  Still, it moves along quickly without feeling frenetic, and there’s something likable about it.

Leung is in more or less his usual late ‘80s/early ‘90s form.  As King, one of the two thieves, he’s the slightly-dubious brains of the operation.  He’s not quite as good as he pretends to be, but what he lacks in skill, he largely makes back in force of personality.

King is basically an honorable thief, one who’s been known to Robin-Hood fancy coats from the rich and drape them over the homeless while they sleep.  It’s an obvious but effective likability tactic, and it’s easy enough to buy that he’d go out of his way to help an adorable little ghost moppet.  I also enjoy his rather shy, roundabout way of being charming, deploying a remote-controlled car with a two-way radio so he can low-key woo a pretty woman with a made-up “horoscope” about falling in love with a handsome stranger.

Recommend?

In General – A hesitant maybe.  It’s not great, but it really isn’t too bad.  Flimsy but fun.

Tony Leung Chiu-wai – Eh, I might.  King is an amusing character, and while it’s hardly a demanding role, Leung plays it well enough.

Warnings

Some violence, swearing, drinking, and strong thematic elements involving a child’s death