Kung Fu Hustle: A Review

Order a plain scoop of vanilla ice cream and the inimitable Stephen Chow will present you with a sumptuous sundae, complete with fudge and nuts and a cherry on top. Such is the nature of his latest comedic masterpiece, Kung Fu Hustle.

Chow, who directed, co-wrote, and starred in the film, manages to decorate what the world knows as kung fu or martial arts with every imaginable variation and spin-off. In Chinese, the movie is just called Kung Fu-a deceptively simplistic but appropriate title: Kung Fu Hustle is not just any kung fu movie; it is THE kung fu movie.

Undated, the film takes place in a setting that recalls China in the first half of the 20th century, with women clad in skintight qipao dresses slit up to mid-thigh, circulating amidst the ostentatious patrons of gambling clubs who coexist with the dregs of society. The former (members of the Axe Gang) rule by intimidation, extorting hapless citizens and terrorizing anyone they consider a significant enough threat to their power. Among the latter are the colorful residents of the equally colorful Pig Sty Alley, a poor apartment complex populated by the usual collection of misfits, endearing oddballs, and unlikely heroes.

Presiding over daily life in Pig Sty Alley are the punch-drunk lascivious Landlord (Wah Yuen), his shrill-voiced, chain-smoking wife, the fiercely protective Landlady (Qiu Yuen), and a trio of aging kung fu masters who blend effortlessly into the neighborhood with their average-Joe jobs and hangdog expressions.

Sing (Chow), a petty thief with grand ambitions, shows up at Pig Sty Alley one day with a floridly fat, eminently lovable sidekick, both of them posing rather poorly as members of the Axe Gang. Chaos quickly ensues after a barber unmasks Sing; the Gang quickly finds a new target in the residents of Pig Sty and a new recruit in Sing, whose lock-picking skills are rivaled in speed only by his mysterious ability to recover from injury and illness.