Simply Actors (2007) Movie Review

“Simply Actors” is an all-star Hong Kong comedy, which along with big names Jim Chim (recently in “AV” and “Mighty Baby”) and one half of Twins Charlene Choi in the cast boasts an incredible number of cameos from the likes of (to mention but a few) Chapman To, Eric Tsang, Anthony Wong, Josie Ho, Sandra Ng, Lawrence Cheng and Isabella Leong. Of course, given this list it’s quite natural to suspect that the film itself is somewhat of a mess, being written around their appearances, and this certainly turns out to be the case, with it basically being a crazed love letter to the acting profession. Thankfully, although it makes little sense and is incoherent throughout, it remains entertaining and enjoyable in the usual Hong Kong comedy genre tradition.

The plot, such as it is, sees useless, acting obsessed Hong Kong cop Man Long (played by Jim Chim, known for his overacting – oh, the irony!) being sent to drama school in a sensible attempt by his superiors to improve the performances of undercover officers in the line of duty. Here, he meets a host of colourful (i.e. weird and two dimensional) characters, including friendly soft porn actress Dani Dan (Charlene Choi), who he immediately strikes up an odd friendship which soon seems to be inching towards romance. Unfortunately, Man Long turns out to be just as bad an actor as he is a cop, something which threatens to ruin not only his relationship with his long suffering girlfriend, but his life as a dangerous undercover operation looms.

The strange thing about “Simply Actors” is that it has a perfectly decent and inventive premise, as a spoof of “Infernal Affairs” and the countless other HK undercover films is long overdue. However, despite the fact that the first twenty minutes or so manage to pack in some genuinely funny parody scenes, the film then abruptly changes direction, ditching the idea in favour of acting school wackiness. Although this is a shame, this kind of shift is pretty much business as usual for Hong Kong comedy and the film’s complete inability to concentrate on one particular narrative strand or approach is not exactly unexpected. Even by the standards of the genre, “Simply Actors” is scatological, though here this turns out to be no bad thing, as it offers a certain amount of chaotic variation which makes the film’s incredibly long running time of two hours more palatable. Special mention goes to the finale, which sees the film launch into bewildering overdrive, throwing in an avalanche of slapstick gags which could have been lifted from any Wong Jing film, before crazily lurching into some laughably clumsy melodrama.

The main problem with the film is easy to pinpoint – Chim. Although he is known for his overacting and over the top style, here he is simply out of control. It’s hard to believe that anyone would find his performance funny, though even if they did, he makes such a nonsense out of his character as to wholly undermine the film’s later attempts to be taken seriously and shift to relationship issues- unless of course the idea from the director and script had been all along to portray him as a mentally deficient lunatic. To be fair, later in the proceedings he does manage to elicit a few moments of hilarity, though unfortunately for him this is due to his woeful attempts to emote, which come complete with facial expressions that suggest he is in desperate need of a visit to the toilet. Still, in a film like “Simply Actors” this is fair game, and intentional or not such scenes do add to the overall entertainment value, and it’s easy enough to laugh at Chim, if not with him.

Thankfully, the rest of the cast are much better, with Choi cheerfully channelling Shu Qi, on who her character seems to be based. The cavalcade of star cameos works well, though it probably does pad out the film even further. The presence of so many of Hong Kong cinema’s A-list gives the film a sort of collaborative air, as if all concerned thought the message were worthwhile and noble enough to get involved – something which in itself is quite amusing, since the only point the film appears to be trying to make is that actors (and even directors, as Alan Mak, Fruit Chan, Wilson Yip and Ann Hui turn up briefly) are tortured geniuses, misunderstood by normal people. Again, this kind of wacky, misplaced pretentiousness only makes the film more enjoyable, though probably not in the way originally intended. Of course, all this pales in the face of the fact that the film gives fans the long-awaited chance to see the mighty Anthony Wong spouting Shakespeare.

Although this in itself probably justifies the existence of “Simply Actors”, despite its overlong running time, the film is a pretty decent Hong Kong comedy for those fond of, or at least used to the madcap excesses of the genre. Whilst the gags are predictably hit or miss, the film amuses through their sheer volume, and manages to entertain despite, or perhaps for those with a more cynical sense of humour as a result of its many flaws.

Hing-Ka Chan, Patrick Leung (director) / Hing-Ka Chan (screenplay)
CAST: Sui-man Chim … Chan Man-Long
Charlene Choi … Dani Dan
Josie Ho
Ann Hui