Slickers vs Killers (1991)
Director: Sammo Hung
Cast:
Plot: Success Hung (Sammo Hung) is a mobile phone salesman with issues. His police woman wife Lisa (Li Yu) doesn't pay him enough attention, so he ends up pouring his heart out to his psychiatrist, Dr Ko (Joyce Godenzi). He finds himself in competition to prove he is the number one salesman with the companies latest employee, the very self assured Miss Cheng (Carol Cheng). One evening he stumbles upon the vicious murder of a triad leader (Tommy Wong) by two assassins known as Owl (Lam Ching Ying) and Bat (Jacky Cheung). Success Hung just about escapes with his life and reports the incident to his wife but she just thinks he is exaggerating and attention seeking. When the killers try to get to Success Hung again he is placed into a safe house with his wife, her policeman partner Ai (Ngai Sing) and Dr Ko. The house turns out to be anything but safe when the killers find out about it and plan to get rid of the witness no matter what. Also, members of the murdered triad leaders' gang believe that Success Hung was involved with the murder and also turn up at the house to get their revenge. Things couldn't be worse... or could they?
Review: This Sammo Hung directed action comedy from the early nineties is quite dark in content compared to the majority of Sammo's work and is certainly off beat when it comes to the comedy. With plot threads that come and go, and occasional changes in the story pacing, this sometimes seems like a whole bunch of unused ideas from other projects that are loosely linked, but in its way it just adds to the feel that anything goes in this undemanding but entertaining film. Collaborating with regular writer Barry Wong, the plot places Sammo in the role of an average man finding life a little difficult with under laying marital problems and new competition at work. Those pressures coupled with being witness to a gangland murder certainly mean that Sammo gets the opportunity to mix it with his emotions playing everything from out and out comedy to serious drama with some impressive action to round it all off.
The whole of the main cast have some nice moments. Sammo's scenes played out with Joyce Godenzi as his psychiatrist are almost surreal from the opening scenes with the seascape background where you don't realise at first that it is just a back projection in the doctor's office, to a later scene where Sammo wanders around the same office in flippers to avoid slipping on the over extremely well polished wooden floor. Joyce's performance is very understated in the whole film, but we do get a rare chance to see her in action towards the end of the film when she and Yu Li get to have a wonderfully choreographed girl on girl exchange.
The stand outs for me are Lam Ching Ying and Jacky Cheung as the mob hit men. Lam is the older more experienced and level headed of the two while Jacky is younger and often shows signs of being seriously disturbed. Jacky's performance does occasionally border on the annoying at times as he overacts in a pantomime sort of way through some of his crazier moments, which is a complete contrast in fact to his superb performance of mental illness in the classic John Woo film "A Bullet In The Head". Yu Li is also worthy of note as Sammo's wife. She spends more time flirting with her fellow police officer played by Ngai Sing, (Who is probably better known today internationally by the English name of Collin Chou after his success in the "Matrix" films.) and their obvious attraction to each other is one of the main plot points that lead to some nicely played humour when they all end up at the safe house, especially at meal and bed times. Ngai Sing, a one time student of Sammo Hung, does get to share the best fight of the film with Sammo during the chaotic finale where everything comes to a head. Their fight is in fact inter cut with the Joyce Godenzi Vs Yu Li one to great effect. It is an action highlight that almost makes this film worth seeing for that alone. The make up effects on the two women after their fight are suitably over the top giving rise to a wonderful sight gag.
As always there are a few cameos worth mentioning. Reliable character actor Teddy Yip appears as Sammo's boss early on in the film and Richard Ng turns up as a prospective customer that Sammo and Carol Cheng go to visit together once they know the competition is on between them. At one point out of desperation during the sales pitch Carol offers herself to Ng in an attempt to make her sale, at which point Ng confesses that he would prefer Sammo. Film director Clifton Ko appears very briefly towards the end of the film, as does Billy Lau.
This is not an instant Sammo classic, but there is still plenty to enjoy if you have the right sense of humour for it. It is also effortlessly head and shoulders above a lot of films that came out of Hong Kong at this time with some inspired action to help it along. I have to say that one of the sub plots that has Sammo's character being accused of rape by Carol Cheng falls a bit flat for my taste as the subject itself is one that is a bit tasteless to make fun of, but on the whole this is still immensely entertaining stuff that although I wouldn't necessarily make it a recommended film for everyone, I would still class it as a must see at least once. (Or maybe twice to take everything in.)
Rating: 3.5/5
Cast:
Plot: Success Hung (Sammo Hung) is a mobile phone salesman with issues. His police woman wife Lisa (Li Yu) doesn't pay him enough attention, so he ends up pouring his heart out to his psychiatrist, Dr Ko (Joyce Godenzi). He finds himself in competition to prove he is the number one salesman with the companies latest employee, the very self assured Miss Cheng (Carol Cheng). One evening he stumbles upon the vicious murder of a triad leader (Tommy Wong) by two assassins known as Owl (Lam Ching Ying) and Bat (Jacky Cheung). Success Hung just about escapes with his life and reports the incident to his wife but she just thinks he is exaggerating and attention seeking. When the killers try to get to Success Hung again he is placed into a safe house with his wife, her policeman partner Ai (Ngai Sing) and Dr Ko. The house turns out to be anything but safe when the killers find out about it and plan to get rid of the witness no matter what. Also, members of the murdered triad leaders' gang believe that Success Hung was involved with the murder and also turn up at the house to get their revenge. Things couldn't be worse... or could they?
Review: This Sammo Hung directed action comedy from the early nineties is quite dark in content compared to the majority of Sammo's work and is certainly off beat when it comes to the comedy. With plot threads that come and go, and occasional changes in the story pacing, this sometimes seems like a whole bunch of unused ideas from other projects that are loosely linked, but in its way it just adds to the feel that anything goes in this undemanding but entertaining film. Collaborating with regular writer Barry Wong, the plot places Sammo in the role of an average man finding life a little difficult with under laying marital problems and new competition at work. Those pressures coupled with being witness to a gangland murder certainly mean that Sammo gets the opportunity to mix it with his emotions playing everything from out and out comedy to serious drama with some impressive action to round it all off.
The whole of the main cast have some nice moments. Sammo's scenes played out with Joyce Godenzi as his psychiatrist are almost surreal from the opening scenes with the seascape background where you don't realise at first that it is just a back projection in the doctor's office, to a later scene where Sammo wanders around the same office in flippers to avoid slipping on the over extremely well polished wooden floor. Joyce's performance is very understated in the whole film, but we do get a rare chance to see her in action towards the end of the film when she and Yu Li get to have a wonderfully choreographed girl on girl exchange.
The stand outs for me are Lam Ching Ying and Jacky Cheung as the mob hit men. Lam is the older more experienced and level headed of the two while Jacky is younger and often shows signs of being seriously disturbed. Jacky's performance does occasionally border on the annoying at times as he overacts in a pantomime sort of way through some of his crazier moments, which is a complete contrast in fact to his superb performance of mental illness in the classic John Woo film "A Bullet In The Head". Yu Li is also worthy of note as Sammo's wife. She spends more time flirting with her fellow police officer played by Ngai Sing, (Who is probably better known today internationally by the English name of Collin Chou after his success in the "Matrix" films.) and their obvious attraction to each other is one of the main plot points that lead to some nicely played humour when they all end up at the safe house, especially at meal and bed times. Ngai Sing, a one time student of Sammo Hung, does get to share the best fight of the film with Sammo during the chaotic finale where everything comes to a head. Their fight is in fact inter cut with the Joyce Godenzi Vs Yu Li one to great effect. It is an action highlight that almost makes this film worth seeing for that alone. The make up effects on the two women after their fight are suitably over the top giving rise to a wonderful sight gag.
As always there are a few cameos worth mentioning. Reliable character actor Teddy Yip appears as Sammo's boss early on in the film and Richard Ng turns up as a prospective customer that Sammo and Carol Cheng go to visit together once they know the competition is on between them. At one point out of desperation during the sales pitch Carol offers herself to Ng in an attempt to make her sale, at which point Ng confesses that he would prefer Sammo. Film director Clifton Ko appears very briefly towards the end of the film, as does Billy Lau.
This is not an instant Sammo classic, but there is still plenty to enjoy if you have the right sense of humour for it. It is also effortlessly head and shoulders above a lot of films that came out of Hong Kong at this time with some inspired action to help it along. I have to say that one of the sub plots that has Sammo's character being accused of rape by Carol Cheng falls a bit flat for my taste as the subject itself is one that is a bit tasteless to make fun of, but on the whole this is still immensely entertaining stuff that although I wouldn't necessarily make it a recommended film for everyone, I would still class it as a must see at least once. (Or maybe twice to take everything in.)
Rating: 3.5/5
Review by D. M.
Photos by Klara
Photos by Klara
For bigger photos please click on thumbnails
"I'd love if the audience remembered me.
Everything about my movies, my characters.
Don't forget me.
I'm happy that you guys don't forget me.
I love you."
(Sammo Hung)
Everything about my movies, my characters.
Don't forget me.
I'm happy that you guys don't forget me.
I love you."
(Sammo Hung)
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