Two Stupid Eggs (2007) Movie Review

“Two Stupid Eggs” is Mainland Chinese director Kiefer Liu’s follow up and sequel of sorts to his hit parody “Big Movie”, and for a change is actually a remake of a Western film, namely the 2003 award winning Spanish comedy “Torremolinos 73″. Although dealing with similar subject matter and themes, revolving around films and film making in modern China, he this time around adopts a more character and narrative driven approach, attempting to balance the laughs with a coherent story and a personal touch.

The film opens with bumbling salesman Wen Tao (actor Guo Tao, also in Ning Hao’s excellent “Crazy Stone”) trying and failing to sell copies of the book ‘Guide for Newlyweds’ to entirely uninterested passengers on a bus. A frustrated director himself, from a long line of distinguished cameramen, he hits upon the wonderful idea of boosting sales by putting together a saucy film to accompany the book. To this end, he gathers together a motley bunch of performers (including Hong Kong actor Sam Lee and “Big Movie” actress Yao Chen) and begins production, not letting his lack of funds and resources dampen his enthusiasm. What does threaten to derail his dream is his neglected wife Xiao Yu (Annie Liu, recently in “Exodus” and “Shamo”), who in no uncertain terms wants a baby and for her husband to settle down and lead a more normal life.

Unsurprisingly, with this being a Mainland China production, despite the potentially racy premise of pornography production, “Two Stupid Eggs” shies away from anything sleazy, being for the most part charming and rather sweetly innocent. Wen Tao makes for a likeable protagonist with a hint of Ed Wood to him, a classic dreamer character who it’s hard not to root for as he tries to fulfil his modest ambition, with Guo Tao turning in a charismatic performance in the role. Since he is well drawn and easy to sympathise with, the film has a solid emotional core to fall back upon when towards the end the comedy takes a back seat to more serious themes. As might be expected this relates mainly to Wen Tao learning the value of acceptance and sacrifice for the greater good, though the message works well enough in the context and is mercifully not delivered in a heavy handed manner, being used to help put a positive spin on certain aspects of the film which might otherwise have been quite depressing.

The film is genuinely funny throughout, and works well as a screwball farce, relying for the most part on a witty script rather than out and out slapstick or anything too crude. Although not particularly original, working in the usual misunderstandings and the mandatory wacky audition montage sequence, the gags generally hit their mark and keep the viewer nicely entertained if not exactly in fits of laughter. The film is a topical affair with elements of satire, packing in plenty of cultural references, and touching on issues of media, morality and even the dreaded Chinese censors. Unlike the early comedies of Feng Xiaogang, the film is amusing in a gentle and rather mild fashion, never trying to be particularly biting or mean spirited, though is no less enjoyable for it. Probably the funniest scenes come as a result of a casting couch scandal which results in Wen Tao being branded and finding fame as a so-called ‘hooligan director’ while his wife slowly catches on.

The film also benefits from being pleasingly cinema literate, and as well as the inevitable slew of gag references to other Chinese productions such as “Curse of the Golden Flower”, Liu throws in some rather more high brow quotes from the likes of Fellini and Eisenstein, used for good mock-pretentious effect. Dealing not only with the film making process and the eccentricities of the Chinese film industry, but also with the relationship between the director and his art, the proceedings have a nicely self-reflective feel.

Again, this is somewhat tempered by the overall message, which is to an extent at odds with the very concept of one man pursuing his dream, though Liu still manages to convey an impression of intimacy, and the film is certainly heartfelt. As a result, “Two Stupid Eggs” is a film which both amuses and genuinely attempts to speak to the viewer, and it stands as somewhat of an unexpected and minor gem which should be enjoyed by all fans of modern Chinese cinema.

Kiefer Liu (director) / Kiefer Liu (screenplay)
CAST: Guo Tao, Annie Liu, Sam Lee Chan-Sam, Yao Chen, Gordon Lam Ka-Tung, Ying Zhuang, Xie Na, Cheung Tat-Ming, Huang Bo