At the time of writing, the box office numbers for "La Comedie Humaine" (人間喜劇) has been steadily rising in Hong Kong. The movie has apparently opened to rave reviews there and to ensure the movie enjoyed the same success rate in Malaysia, Wong Cho Lam was in town for the gala premiere and promo blitz. Public showing is set for July 22.
Cho Lam has got to be the hottest rising king of comedy of this era. His meteoric ascendence to fame is further propelled by his convincing, impressive and funny impersonations in "Fun With Liza And Gods." The thunderous applause he received for his quirky answers during the short appearance prior to the gala premiere speak for itself. At one point, he was speaking in "Handela Baby" tone of voice - churning out familiar one liner like - "Are you serious ?" and ""我接受唔到囉".”
I didn't know that Cho Lam has a penchant for Penang hawker food like prawn mee and asam laksa, too. He lamented that he wished the trip was longer so that he could head to Penang to satisfy his taste bud.
He urged attendees to spread the words to friends and relatives - "watch the movie."
After a short game session with two fans, Cho Lam bade us farewell. I thought he was going to watch the movie with us, just like what the artistes normally do in Hong Kong but too bad, that wasn't to be.
I shall not go into details on the movie synopsis. It's a humourous and touching brotherhood tale about a cold-blooded hired assasin from Mainland (Chapman Toh) and geeky screen-writer (Wong Cho Lam). Fiona Sit plays Cho Lam's love interest. To my pleasant suprise, one-half of FAMA,C-Kwan is casted as one of Cho Lam's screen-writer pals. Gambate C-Kwan !
I had expected more hillarious moments but these were far and few between. Infact,
"72 Tenants Of Prosperity" seems to be way funnier. Chotto matte ! Before you strike off this film from your to-watch list, let me tell ya that this movie is still worth forking out RM9-11 from your pocket. The cast showcased great performance from all the leading stars. Fiona is slowly shedding her teeny- bopper image and she didn't disappoint with her psychotic and abusive lover role. The pairing (Fiona and Cho Lam) is refreshing. Infact, they make a better on-screen couple than Jaycee-Fiona, which is so jaded. Also, when Chapman teams up with Cho Lam, the chemistry is superb ! They can do no wrong - be it funny or moving scenes. One scene worth mentioning - Mr. Wong has a lips-locking scene with Fiona in the tram ! Nah, it ain't steamy but it's certainly sweeet - sweeet ! The only aspect that lacks ooomph in this movie is probably the script. Somehow, it lacks the punch to make the movie standout and not turned into a mediocre fare.
