¡¡Nice to know that Chinese families can be as ravingly insane as American ones, at least in the movies. And in "All¡®s Well Ends Well" (no relationship to the Shakespearean play), romantic troubles turn one family topsy-turvy, with plenty of bizarre physical comedy and goofy strife.
The three Shang brothers live with their TVholic parents: successful Moon (Bak-Ming Wong), who has a glamorous mistress and neglects his dutiful, plain wife Ching; swishy So (Leslie Cheung) who has a love-hate relationship with his butch biker cousin Mo-Shang; and sexy Foon (Stephen Chow), a DJ with a girl for every new day -- and a budding interest in pretty Hollyhok (Maggie Cheung), who has a new movie identity every day.
Things start to come unravelled when Moon¡®s affair is found out, Ching moves away, and his housework-impaired mistress moves in. Soon Moon is trying to woo his wife back. Meanwhile, Foon suffers a blow to the head and goes completely insane, with only the angry Hollyhok to care for him. The three brothers¡®s romantic problems come to a head at a party for their parents. Will everyone live happily ever after?
Not very suspenseful, when the ending is basically given away on the DVD box. But the fun of "All¡®s Well End¡®s Well" ("Jia you xi shi") is watching the brothers muddle through their three very different affairs. One is semi-realistic and poignant, one is a funny love-hate one, and one is just outright hilarious. Just watch Chow chase Cheung around the house with a chainsaw.
Director Clifton Ko keeps the laughs coming -- lots of falling, punches, Madonna costumes, electric shocks, foot massages, facial masks, Eiffel tower kisses, and Chow being chased by a baby. But there¡®s also some pathos in the comedy, with Moon trying to woo his ex-wife back, or So and Mo-shang comforting each other when they are both dumped.
The cast is ensemble, and everyone does a good job, but especial props go to Stephen Chow and Maggie Cheung. Chow is especially funny here, either as a suave ladies¡® man or a lunatic with a meat cleaver, while Cheung is equally hilarious as a girl who pretends to be movie characters. And Sandra Ng is hilarious as the frumpy-housewife-turned-glam-karaoke-DJ.
The "really mad" family in "All¡®s Well Ends Well" will win you over by the end, with their endless disasters and misunderstandings. Charming, romantic and weird.
