THE MERMAID (2016)

Genre: Comedy
Running Length: 1:34
Cast: Deng Chao, Show Luo, Kitty Zhang, Lin Yun
Director: Stephen Chow
Screenplay: Stephen Chow, Kelvin Lee, Ho Miu-kei, Lu Zhengyu, Fung Chih-chiang, Ivy Kong, Chan Hing-ka, Tsang Kan-cheung

It has been a while since I laughed so hard at a Stephen Chow movie. Although Chow himself is not in THE MERMAID, trust me, if you're familiar with his earlier "mo lei tau" (nonsensical) movies, you'll "see" him everywhere in this movie. I hated his last directed movie Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons and I thought he took CJ7 too seriously. The brand of humour in The Mermaid goes way back to the days of King Of Comedy and The God of Cookery.

But is the movie any good? It's definitely way above average but it's still not "there" yet. For a start, the CG effects are bad, like really bad. You would think Chow would be an expert by now in this area after using this art form in his last four movies, but nooo~ it's worst than Shaolin Soccer. And the mermaid herself, played by newcomer Lin Yun, is irritating. She looks, performs and speaks (dubbed nevertheless) like a younger Shu Qi. I really wonder where did all the budget go. I mean the film makers ran a public casting contest to look for the lead actress and they hired 8 (!) script writers.

In terms of the positive, there were 3 standouts. Deng Chao, Show Luo and of course, the back to basics side-splitting slapstick comedy. The storyline is loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen's well-known "The Little Mermaid" with an eco message. But without the three elements mentioned above, this film would have been meh meh only. Chao is well suited as the douchebag self-made tycoon who slowly opens up his heart to the mermaid. Luo is a revelation here. He stole the show in Journey to the West and he did it here again. He is perfectly cast as the half-man, half-octopus, air-headed "himbo" leader of the mermaid species. There is one standout scene which involves his tentacles and a teppanyaki grill.

Overall, a surprisingly energetic movie marred by bad effects rendering and a weak lead. If Stephen Chow continues this trajectory, he would be back in his game again in the next two movies. And if he appears in any of them (even in a cameo), that would make me so happy I'll sing out loud the theme song from "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" Hoo! Ha!

Rating: 7/10