Kam & Ronson HK Blu-ray Synopsis: Three good friends – A wealthy businessman, a kung fu master and a racketeer. The racketeer on the verge of dying, begs the kung fu master to take care of and protect his son, while begging the wealthy businessman to support his son financially until he is 18. In return, a secret cache of his years of swindling will be revealed by then. Wealthy businessman Dato Ang requested his family lawyer to bring back a young man, Ah Yong, from a Kampong in Malacca. Members of family are surprised and concerned about Ah Yong's relationship to Dato. Ah Yong was raised by an old couple who sell sugarcane. Old man 'Uncle Chun' taught Ah Yong kung fu since he was young, but never told him he was learning 'Wing Chun'. When finally Ah Yong finally arrives at Dato's house, they are surprised to find out about the secret cache... (102 Mins)

 

Views: I can't believe it's taken me 15 years to see this movie since it's official release back in July 2011. Saying that, I can honestly say there was no rush! I Love Wing Chun is a martial-arts comedy about a young man whose dying swindler father convinces a kung-fu master and his wife to raise him, and a wealthy businessman friend to support him. But in doing so, he promises the latter that, when the son turns 18, a treasure map to all his swindled riches will be revealed. So, after a group of friends turn up at his home to bring him back to the city for the businessman, the teenage Wing Chun takes his first adventure away from home – resulting in host of ridiculous circumstances, life lessons, and martial-arts showdowns. Thankfully, Wing's fearless (and clueless) auntie and uncle are close behind...

 

It's the directorial debut of Lex Tsai – whose only other experience in the film world was producing Herman Yau's Astonishing (2004) featuring Sammo Hung and Christy Chung, as well as Yau's horror film The First 7th Night (2009) and Gary Mak's Bar Paradise (2005), so this was quite the project as a first time writer/director. And it shows! While not completely unwatchable, I Love Wing Chun plays like a collection of comedy skits that are loosely held together with it's ridiculous storyline. Unfortunately, most of these attempts at comedy fall flat, bringing on more eye-rolls than they do actual laughs – although I did chuckle a few times. This was mostly during the characters time spent on Wing Chun Street that saw a Barak Obama lookalike take on the wooden dummy, Yuen Wah pummelled by a crazed masseur, Yuen Qiu having an episode in the hair salon that leaves her with an afro, and then some. While I never did laugh out loud, I did have a smile on my face every now and again but, ultimately, I Love Wing Chun is pretty shit for the most part. Badly written, poor comedy, a pointless conclusion, and a bland young cast that's about as appealing as dipping your balls in hot wax!

 

Thankfully, Tsai secures the services of Hong Kong film greats such as Yuen Wah, Yuen Qiu, and Nat Chan – although don't be expecting the same laughs from the latter as we got back in the heyday of the 1980s and 90s. As was the case for many Hong Kong comedies after the success of Kung Fu Hustle (2004), Yuen Wah and school sister Yuen Qiu are cast as recycled versions of their famed characters for the umpteenth time, as we've seen portrayed in films like Kung Fu Mahjong (2005) and it's sequels, My Kung Fu Sweetheart (2006), Just Another Pandora's Box (2010), Kung Fu Wing Chun (2010) and others. That said, I'm not complaining! I love them both and they are genuinely the best thing about this movie, delivering the funniest scenes and some fight scenes that show that, even at that age, they still have plenty of moves and energy to offer. It was also cool to see folk like Bobby Yip, Guy Lai, Nelson Cheung, Joe Chu, Tat Lau, Evergreen Mak, and John Ching cameo – with the latter paying homage to his character from Chow Sing Chi's hilarious God of Gamblers 2 & 3 (1990). While the 30 minute making of documentary on the Blu-ray, shows just how much fun everyone had while making it (and I think they genuinely believed they were making cinematic gold here), I stand by the fact that the new young, bland, and mostly inexperienced cast involved where a big part of it's failure to entertain. Yes, they may be handsome and pretty, but do they have the same screen charisma as those we cherished back in the golden days of Hong Kong cinema? Absolutely not! Handsome Olympic diver-turned-actor Tian Liang plays the titular Wing Chun, and is actually quite good in doing so. He is joined by television actor Damon Law, the very cute and flamboyant Calvin Yee, as well as Allen Tee, actress Z Yan, and Malaysian singer Gan Mei Yan. I guess one of the highlights of this film was knowing that Christopher Chan Sai Tang both appeared in, and was in charge of the action choreography – which was pretty good when it came about. Of course, Sai Tang was an official member of the Jackie Chan Stunt Team, joining them on Armour of God back in 1986 before working on films like Project A 2 (1987), Police Story 2 (1988), Miracles (1989), Twin Dragons (1992), City Hunter (1993), Crime Story (1993), Thunderbolt (1995), The Accidental Spy (2001) and many other Hong Kong classics over the decades. But unfortunately, for many, it's just not enough to save the pointless blether that is I Love Wing Chun...

 

Overall: With few laughs and fun fights, I Love Wing Chun tries to tap into the Stephen Chow/Wong Jing madness of yesteryear, but fails in doing so – which was a shame, because it should have been so much more!

 

Kam & Ronson Blu-ray Extras: Making of Documentary, Trailer