The Mermaid (2016)

I am surprised and delighted that The Mermaid is played in theaters in New York City.  I have been a Chow's fan since I discovered his brand of comedy many years ago.  Back then as there was only video tape and I wasn't especially well off or well connected so I only saw his works haphazardly.  On the occasions I saw his movies or some snippets or episodes of his TV series, I thoroughly enjoyed them.  Chow always plays this beloved underdog who despite or because of his non sensical non sequitur acts and his utter disregard to the absurd and seemingly insurmountable reality, always overcomes.

 Then one day Chow appeared on the cover of the Sunday New York Times magazine.  If I remember correctly it was a fashion issue.  He was doing a mid air split or something next to a lamp post, a silly pose, I think.  That should be around the time of Shaolin Soccer or Kung Fu Hustle, two of my favorites that kind of established him somewhat in the consciousness of Hollywood.  More importantly and reassuringly, Chow proves that he can make great dramatic comedy with Hong Kong production in his rear view mirror with much of his comedic integrity intact though I can see that Chow is shedding most of his witty nonsensical Cantonese dialogues that define and catapult his career early on, in favor of more action and better production which translate better in cinema worldwide.

The Mermaid or Mei Ren Yu (2016) is a Chow's film without Chow in front of the camera.  Things certainly won't be the same without Chow being front and center on everything.  With Mei, Chow has crossed the line of being stupendously silly to being incoherently stupid.  It used to be that the audience does the laughing, may that be something Chow or his crew says or does while he and his crew appear totally oblivious to the plight and absurdity of their situation.  Mei is just the opposite, often times, the comedy is heavy-handed and the only persons laughing are the self-aware actors themselves, it feels so forced.   I can see Chow tries to add production value so as to appear Hollywood or something (there is indeed a 3D version) but both the production and special effects just fall flat.  Nobody goes to see a Chow's movie for its special effects or production value so what if they are sub-par compared to Hollywood's?  It wouldn't matter one iota if the comedy holds up.  Alas, this isn't the case.

Perhaps the opening scene in which a group of tourists visit a museum best encapsulates the entire movie as envisioned by the director and experienced by me--the tourists, surrogate for the audience, visit a so-called museum only to discover that the exhibits are mere props and scams so the unscrupulous curator can turn a dime on the gullible and the unsuspected.  Chow's tourists laugh and jeer at the exhibits with gusto as while me in the real audience find the material hardly amusing.

I heard the movie is doing well in China and in Asia in general.  So what do I know?