Chilli Laugh Story may have been intended to be a Chinese New Year comedy but it still makes for a fun watch in July! (Film review)

A Chinese New Year comedy given a summer release!

 

Chilli Laugh Story (Hong Kong, 2022)

- Coba Cheng, director and co-scriptwriter (with Matt Chow)

- Starring: Ronald Cheng, Gigi Leung, Edan Lui, Sandra Ng 

 

I finally viewed my first Hong Kong film of 2022 earlier today.  This is quite the shocker in view of my being a Hong Kong film fan who lives in Hong Kong and our now having passed the mid year point of 2022.  But it needs to be borne in mind that Hong Kong cinemas were ordered to close early on in the year and fifth Covid wave (specifically, on January 7th) and were not allowed to reopen until April 21st.  And while it seemed like cinema operators prioritized foreign movies over local ones in the first few months after cinemas reopened, I now realize that it's because they decided to allocate local marquee movies prime summer slots.  

 

Thus it is, that Septet (directed by seven big name Hong Kong filmmakers, including Ann Hui, Tsui Hark, Johnnie To and the late Ringo Lam) will only finally get a general theatrical release later this month, Far Far Away (which was originally scheduled to be released in cinemas on Valentine's Day) will only begin its theatrical run next month, and Chilli Laugh Story (which was originally supposed to be screened during the Chinese New Year period) went on cinematic release last week.  (And for the record: the other Chinese New Year comedy made this year, Table For Six, won't be released in cinemas until September!)   

Given that Chilli Laugh Story was intended to be a Chinese New Year comedy, I went into the screening expecting wacky fun and a story about, and for, the family.  Happily, this movie about a young man named Coba Cheung (Mirror member, Edan Lui, in his first feature film appearance) who sets up an online business selling chilli sauce made at home by his mother (played by singer-actress Gigi Leung) that becomes a far bigger success than they -- and his skeptical father (played by singer-actor Ronald Cheng) -- delivers: both laughs aplenty and feel good moments involving family members (who also include an aunt in the form of actress-co-producer Sandra Ng).  

 

Amazingly, Chilli Laugh Story is also getting theatrical releases in the U.K. and U.S.A.  I use the term "amazingly" because Hong Kong comedies are notorious for not travelling well and Hong Kong Chinese New Year comedies particularly so, to the extent that they often don't get screened in Mainland China (even while they do in the likes of Malaysia and Singapore).  But it seems that this film's pandemic angle makes it relatable to other parts of the world which have had similar experiences!  This is on account of the movie centering on a family experiencing a number of social distancing restrictions that makes working from home make sense -- even while also potentially sowing discord within the household -- and being part of a community where many people end up eating at home, getting sick of their cooking and needing something (like, say, a yummy condiment) to spice things up! 

 

Nonetheless, I can't help but think that one will "get" much more (meaning) out of viewing the movie if one is in Hong Kong and/or (more) familiar with the local culture and politics.  A case in point: The Guardian's review of Chilli Laugh Story concludes that "There’s a little dig at the evils of contemporary capitalism, but nothing really controversial that would trouble the censors either back home or here in the UK."  But there actually were a number of elements and scenes in the film that I was somewhat surprised did not appear to have incurred the ire of the Hong Kong censors, ranging from there being a number of yellow masks worn by characters in the movie to there being a sad scene involving a son telling his mother that he had decided to emigrate to the UK that was heavy with meaning as well as in mood.  

 

On a lighter note: there's a surprisingly hot -- and daring even? -- sex scene involving Edan Lui's character and his girlfriend (that I'm sure will thrill the boyband member's not inconsiderable number of fans).  But its segue into potty humor (literally!) is pure Chinese New Year comedy.  Ditto a joke involving Ronald Cheng's character's member and chillis (ouch but absolutely hilarious too!) and another involving "weenies" (as referred to in the English subtitles) later on in the film.

 

By the way, it's not coincidental that Chilli Laugh Story's director-co-scriptwriter shares a first name with Edan Lui's character.  For, as it turns out, the inspiration for this film came from Coba Cheng's own chili sauce making experiences during the pandemic!  Something else that I found quite amazing about this cinematic offering: its helmer made his directorial debut with this entertaining movie which also delivered a number of topical, pertinent, heartwarming messages to its target/local audience; ones that require some deciphering but trust me when I say that they should make sense for, and resonate with, people who really f**king love Hong Kong.            

 

One last thing: make sure to stay through to the end credits.  Since I don't want to spoil the surprise, I'll just note here that the movie's story is extended past Chinese New Year 2022 and includes references to something that happened in Hong Kong in March that initially freaked out tons of people but ended up being joked about a lot (and uniting people in laughter)!  

 

My rating for this film: 8.0