Ga li la jiao (1990)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Sau Leung 'Blacky' Ko

Writer:

James Yuen (writer)

Release Date:

24 May 1990 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Crime | Action | Romance | Comedy

Plot:

Two cops--both best friends and partners--both become the subject of a beautiful news reporter's documentary. The two soon find themselves competing for screen time as well as the love of the reporter while after a murderous arms dealer. |

Plot Keywords:

Best Friend | Journalist | Jealousy | Bent Cop | Cops And Robbers

Cast

Ann Bridgewater	...	Joey Law
Jacky Cheung	...	Curry
Stephen Chow	...	Pepper / Officer Shao Wen
Michael Dingo	...	Ma
Bruce Fontaine	...	Con Man
Sau Leung 'Blacky' Ko	...	Abalone
John Sham	...	King
Eric Tsang	...	Tenny
Barry Wong	...	Chow

Also Known As:

Curry and Pepper (Hong Kong: English title)
Ga lei laak jiu (Hong Kong: Cantonese title)

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese | English | Malay

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 (re-rating) | Singapore:PG (cut) | Hong Kong:IIB

Company:

Media Asia Films

"What must I suck if not bullet?"

As an avid Stephen Chow follower I couldn't keep away from the material that helped his rise to the stardom. So a while ago I started digging into his older films in search of more comedic gold.

I hit a few bumps along the way with films like Faithfully Yours, My Hero and Love Is Love, mainly because they failed to demonstrate the true talent of Stephen Chow and other cast members as a whole. Just when I was about to find an excuse and proclaim Chow as an untapped talent, I came upon Curry & Pepper.

Although it shies away from his later established, fantasy-comedy sequences, it provides handful of fast spoken gags. I wouldn't go as far as to say that Chow and Cheung had the greatest chemistry in the history of buddy-cop movies (not like many others have anyway), but they had enough focus to effortlessly deliver their goods over and over again. Chow tries to come off as a hard-boiled, bullet loving cop with a short temper, while Cheung does a fine job playing a soft-spoken ladies man with similar to Chow's tendencies. Their conflict of interest is over Ann Bridgewater who really doesn't do much except look good and proper.

The end result is satisfying and this movie manages to become one of Chow's best offerings from the late 80's to early 90's era. What ultimately helps this film is that not too many characters are crammed into the story and the routine that Curry & Pepper perform as a two-man-show simply works.