Dancing Lion

Year:2007
Director:Francis Ng Chun-Yu, Marco Mak Chi-Sin
Cast:Francis Ng Chun-Yu, Anthony Wong Chau-Sang, Teresa Mo Sun-Kwan, Lam Chi-Chung, Gia Lin, Hins Cheung King-Hin, Lam Suet, Sammy, Ronald Cheng Chung-Kei, Yan Ng Yat-Yin, Deep Ng Ho-Hong, Don Li Yat-Long, Monie Tung Man-Lei, Race Wong Yuen-Ling, Rosanne Wong Yuen-Kwan, Chin Kar-Lok, Raymond Wong Bak-Ming
Description:
Local
satire reigns with Dancing Lion, a funny but
chaotic comedy that puts the "Hong Kong"
back into Hong Kong film. Francis Ng stars and co-directs
this bizarre charmer about
a wacked out family and their wacked out antics, which
exist thanks to the pursuit of a singular goal: money.
The film's central family is out to make some
quick dough, and somehow it's lion dancing that becomes
their calling. Fortysomething loser Fai and pal
Gau become the toast of the
town thanks to their lion dancing skills, though the
actual development of such fame is barely there. Here's
how it happens: the pals are slackers who are threatened
with layoff, and must win a talent contest to keep
their jobs. They plan to perform a lion dance, but
fail, only to get urged on by onlookers while they're
sitting on the sidewalk looking depressed and dejected.
They perform, the coins shower in, and presto: they're
local heroes! What the heck?
Coherence, thy name is not
Dancing Lion - though to be fair, it's not
tried-and-true storytelling that the filmmakers are
aiming for. Writer Lam Chiu-Wing has crafted a screenplay
without a supported narrative. The barebones outline
of the film is this: down-on-their-luck pals become
successful lion dance practitioners, whereupon they
participate in a bunch of get-rich-quick schemes,
fail at them, then get back up in time to win the
big lion dance competition. That sounds like a familiar,
Rocky-like premise, and the film's trailer
- which features the stars marching to the big lion
dancing showdown like extras in a Once Upon a Time
in China movie - only supports that perception.
Well, if that's your perceived idea of Dancing
Lion, better change those expectations right quick.
That plotline does show up in the film, but the stuff
that connects it hardly supports it. The lead characters
go through the motions of a normal storyline, but
it's not where they're going that matters, but what
they're doing at every single instance. Dancing
Lion is not in the journey, it's in the details.
So what are the details?
Well, Francis Ng's character is an annoying wannabe
who acts like he's in a hip-hop video despite being
over forty years of age. His family has opened a speakeasy
to make some dough, and his
sister and niece sometimes badger
the guests for hot stock tips. Once the family hits
it big with lion dancing, they start to spin-off their
success to death, opening a lion dance school for
tykes, and even selling it as a fitness alternative
for pudgy women looking to slim down. Meanwhile, Great
Uncle gets disenchanted and heads north,
where he runs into Mainlanders looking to head to
Hong Kong to make some beaucoup lion dancing bucks.
Lion dancing becomes all the rage in Hong Kong thanks
to Fai and Gau's newfound celebrity, but the downside
is rampant lion dancing gangs and even turf wars.
Characters drop famous names and engage in copious
Cantonese wordplay. Meta-references abound; Anthony
Wong pointedly uses a product that he endorses in
real life, and the characters talk about how great
Mandarin Films is, name dropping executive producer
Raymond Wong, and even claiming Mandarin as a hot
stock tip. There's also an extended sequence where
the actors basically talk about how they're in an
outtake. Screw the story! These guys appear to be
having fun, and that's probably all that matters to
them.
The audience? They could
be baffled or alienated. Unless you're expecting a
satire freight train, Dancing Lion can be one
puzzling movie. The early going is especially tough,
as the actors overact mercilessly. Francis Ng's hip-hop
posing is especially annoying, and some jokes pop
up out of nowhere only to skulk off without gaining
a laugh. Events occur with little build up or even
logic, and the characters don't seem to exist beyond
their basic types. It's not until perhaps halfway
that the satire starts to sink in. The film offers
numerous details that - once they're filtered through
current events or local culture - reveal themselves
as funny and informed. The film lampoons common Hong
Kong culture and customs, above all the omnipresent
desire to make money, money, and more money. It's
a cynical way to look at Hong Kong locals, and yet
it's so familiar that it feels true. Dancing Lion
is at its best when it's mercilessly making fun
of Hong Kong people; once the satire starts to take
hold, the film hits amusement overdrive.
There are some attempts at
pollyannaish point-making; the script espouses the
value of hard work, and gives props to the strength
of family, the importance of teamwork, and probably
the elastic band on Lam Chi-Chung's pants. Quite often,
the film repeats the mantra that a person should work
hard to develop a good foundation, rather than trying
for the quick financial fix. That's an obvious and
even hackneyed lesson, and the message might feel
a little forced - that is, if the film weren't so
intent on making a mockery of all things Hong Kong.
Didactic lessons are easy to take in a satire because
they're usually handled blithely and with a knowing
wink. Dancing Lion is one long knowing wink.
If that's your boat, then this film will float it.
What the film probably
won't do is convert mass audiences into Dancing
Lion believers. Despite being well-informed, the
film's satire is not as sharp or as entertaining as
Herman Yau's Shark Busters or Edmond Pang's
You Shoot, I Shoot. Those films managed to
balance story, character, and satire, while Dancing
Lion merely seems to throw everything into one
big satire stirring pot, hoping that the audience
will dive in and not drown. That's a pretty tough
sell, especially since the film has character types
instead of actual characters. It also delivers a couple
of rather trite messages, and even resorts to a climax
filled with chintzy CGI. Given that these commercial
elements are given large focus towards the end of
the picture, one might accuse the filmmakers of trying
to have their cake and eat it too.
However, the film is co-directed
by Francis Ng, who probably could care less what people
think. Ng has always been a bit of an oddball, in
both his acting and filmmaking choices, and popular
appeal has never seemed to be a factor in his previous
directorial efforts. Ng and co-director Mak manage
to make Dancing Lion fun and even smart, and
neatly sidestep any issues of narrative deficiency
by simply ignoring them. In the end, this is one for
the local cinema fans - and by that, we mean the people
who like the actors, love the city, and can actually
speak the language. Besides being exceptionally referential
to local culture, Dancing Lion possesses absolutely
atrocious English subtitles, which hopefully will
be fixed for the DVD release, though who knows if
we'll get that lucky. This isn't Dragon Tiger Gate,
where the DVD publishers actually shell out extra
dough to subtitle the extras. This is Dancing Lion,
a movie that will likely not play to the international
masses even though it features three of the guys from
Exiled. Those who check out the film for precisely
that reason will probably be disappointed with Dancing
Lion. However, those who come in prepared may
be surprised, and even entertained.