Mr. Nice Guy (1997)
"Yat goh ho yan" (original title)

A Chinese chef accidentally gets involved with a news reporter who filmed a drug bust that went awry and is now being chased by gangs who are trying to get the video tape.

Director:

Sammo Hung Kam-Bo

Writers:

Fibe Ma (screenplay), Edward Tang (screenplay)

Stars:

Jackie Chan, Richard Norton, Miki Lee

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jackie Chan	...	Jackie
Richard Norton	...	Giancarlo
Miki Lee	...	Miki
Karen McLymont	...	Lakisha
Gabrielle Fitzpatrick	...	Diana
Vince Poletto	...	Romeo
Barry Otto	...	Baggio
Sammo Hung Kam-Bo	...	Cyclist (as Sammo Hung)
Emil Chau	...	Ice Cream Vendor
Joyce Godenzi	...	Cook Show Audience (as Mina Godenzi)
Peter Houghton	...	Richard
Peter Lindsay	...	Grank, Demon Leader
David No	...	Victor
Rachel Blakely	...	Sandy, Demon
Judy Green	...	Tina, Demon

Storyline

Melbourne, Australia. TV Journalist Diana tapes evidence against drug lord Giancarlo, but on her way away from the scene, she is spotted and has to run. In the street, she runs into TV cook Jackie, whose knowledge of martial arts helps her survive the threat. Accidentally, her VHS-tape then gets mixed up with some kid's films in Jackie's car and so all the bad guys are after him as well as Diana, without him knowing where to find the right tape. But when Jackie's visiting girlfriend Miki gets kidnapped for the tape as ransom, Jackie puts the image of being the nice and friendly TV cook aside and goes to see Mr. Giancarlo himself to get her back: playtime's over.

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Plot Keywords:

reporter | chef | drugs | gang | cook | 

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Taglines:

Nice guys don't get mad. They get even.

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for pervasive action violence, some sensuality and drug content

Details

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

English Cantonese Mandarin

Release Date:

18 March 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mr. Nice Guy

Filming Locations:

Chinatown Mall, Fortitude Valley, Queensland, Australia

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$5,250,704 (USA) (20 March 1998)

Gross:

$12,674,183 (USA) (5 June 1998)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Golden Harvest Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min 113 min (original running time) 84 min (DVD edition)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS (US prints) SDDS (US prints)

Color:

Color (Cineart)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Emil Chau plays an ice cream vendor, a role that he also played in _Hong faan kui (1995)_. His appearance is meant to surprise Chinese viewers, because of his iconic status in his country.

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Goofs

After Jackie slides down an escalator rail in a chase at the mall, the seat of his pants bears a clearly visible black scorch mark, which disappears in the next shot.

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Crazy Credits

The last scene shown in the opening credits, following the director's credit for Sammo Hung Kam-Bo is a quick shot from later in the film of Sammo Hung, as the angry biker, beating someone up.

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Connections

References Beauty and the Beast (1991)

User Reviews

Rumble in the Melbourne CBD?

In my review of 'Who Am I?', I mentioned that 'Rumble in the Bronx', 'First Strike', 'Mr Nice Guy', and 'Who Am I?' all followed a similar formula as Jackie tried to capture western audiences. After watching 'Mr Nice Guy' again, I was actually kind of surprised to realize that it was almost a carbon copy of 'Rumble in the Bronx' - a Rumble in Melbourne's Central Business District, anyway.

Giancarlo (Richard Norton), Melbourne's top drug lord is angry because Diana (Gabrielle Fitzpatrick) has a tape that incriminates him. Jackie (Jackie Chan), a TV chef and arse-kicker extraordinaire comes into possession of the tape, making Giancarlo angry enough to kidnap Jackie's girlfriend Miki (Miki Lee). This makes Jackie angry. The end.

Wow. It seems like I've written out the whole plot and embellished upon it rather than summarized it. I'm just kidding - or am I? 'Mr Nice Guy' might be a contender for the thinnest plot in the universe prize, and the so called "supporting actors" don't even seem to be trying to act. Almost everything that happens in 'Rumble in the Bronx' is recycled for this. Unfortunately, the hovercraft was replaced by heavy machinery. Nothing can be an adequate substitute for Rumble's hovercraft.

Jackie kicking arse is the only reason for anyone to watch 'Mr Nice Guy'. It doesn't feature anything new or innovative, but any keen fan of Jackie should notice various 'Protector', 'Police Story' or 'Rumble in the Bronx' moments. It is a fun and exciting action film though, and that's what Jackie is all about.

And now for something completely different: Yet again, 'Mr Nice Guy' features Jackie playing a character called Jackie. I'm convinced that Jackie quit acting for several years, and took up a life as a cop, spy, chef, etc. All the while he had a film crew filming his adventures in order to create easy action movies. It's the only logical explanation - the writers can't be that lazy, right?

'Mr Nice Guy' reeks of being direct to video, but that doesn't stop it from being a fun action movie. Fans of Jackie Chan or Sammo Hung should give this a look - 7/10