THE DAYS OF BEING DUMB (1992)

Starring: Jacky Cheung, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Ken Tong, Eric Tsang, Anita Yuen

Keith (Jacky Cheung) and Fred (Tony Leung) are the jinxes of the Triad society, as every boss they have come to serve have died in horrible deaths. Unable to find a boss willing to accept them, they decide to open their own business - a brothel in their own flat, but it all goes pear-shaped when their hired model, Jane (Anita Yuen), refuses to sleep with other men, and turns out to be a lesbian herself.

When new gangster, Kwan, sweeps all of underground Hong Kong under his control, he decides to take on Keith and Fred as his underlings (presumably because they are his lucky stars). But after a brief spell as powerful lackies, Keith and Fred soon discovers that Kwan is a psychopath, and ends up going against him.

Jacky Cheung and Tony Leung are good friends in real life, and they have appeared together in a number of films, eg. Bullet in the Head, A Chinese Ghost Story 3, Seven Warriors, The Eagle Shooting Heroes and Ashes of TIme to name a few. Their genuine chemistry for each other rubs off onto the screen, creating a nicely balanced buddy buddy film, that is very much lightweighted.

Although the film is quite dated now, I think the jokes and comical sketches are still funny, even though the plot is quite dire. There is little action to speak of and mostly relies on the dialogue delivery between Cheung and Leung. Not a classic comedy, the film still manages to deliver outstanding moments, and at this stage in their careers, they were willing to let their hair down in this silly yet warm comedy, something they could not do years later when both actors became huge stars.

RATING

6 / 10