Chez N' Ham
1993
Directors: Herman Yau, Blacky Ko
Stars: Dicky Cheung, Eric Tsang, Blacky Ko, Cheung Man, Ng Man-Tat, Shing Fui-On, Joey Wong, Michael Wong, Ng Ma
Two bumbling ne'er-do-wells named Cheese and Ham (Dicky Cheung and Eric Tsang) run a revenge-for-hire business. They have their share of scrapes and follies, but things seem to be going well until they are hired by a terminally ill man who wants his girlfriend (Joey Wong) killed. They reluctantly take the job and then back out one they both fall in love with the girl.
How much you enjoy this movie probably depends on how much you like (or can tolerate) Eric Tsang's antics. I personally find him pretty funny, but many people think he's annoying as hell. They would probably think that even more so after watching this movie, since he seems to be terminally hopped up on goofballs -- practically bouncing off the walls. I must admit it got to me after a while; even Ng Man-Tat (who plays Joey Wong's bodyguard) seemed sedate by comparison. There are some pretty funny sequences in the movie, but a lot of the jokes depend too much on Cantonese slang and pop culture references (even more so than your average Steven Chow movie) to be really funny to most Western viewers. Still, Chez N' Ham is probably still worth a viewing if you are into HK comedy or want a look into what it's like. You just may want to keep a bottle of aspirin handy.
RATING: 6.5