Mr. Nice Guy (1997)

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 Kam-Bo Hung (as Samo Hung)

Writers:

Fibe Ma (screenplay), Edward Tang (screenplay)

Stars:

Jackie Chan, Richard Norton, Miki Lee

1 win & 2 nominations.

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 Kam-Bo Hung	...	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 William No	...	Victor (as David No)
Rachel Blakely	...	Sandy, Demon
Judy Green	...	Tina, Demon

Storyline

In Melbourne, the Chinese Chef Jackie has a successful show on television. The drug lord Giancarlo and his gang are dealing cocaine with The Demons gang, but they fight against each other. During the shooting, the snoopy reporter Diana and her partner are accidentally exposed and they flee with a VHS tape with the footage of the negotiation. On the street, she stumbles with Jackie and he helps her fighting against the gangsters. When they are escaping in his car, her tape accidentally mixes with other videotapes that Jackie has in a box on the backseat of his car. Jackie goes to his apartment and meets his girlfriend Miki while his nephews "borrow" the tape to watch. Meanwhile Giancarlo's gangsters are looking for the tape and abduct Miki. Jackie's friend Romeo, who is a police detective, chases the gangsters with other policemen while Jackie teams up with Diana and his friend Lakisha to release Miki from Giancarlo.

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Plot Keywords:

gang | gangster | drugs | reporter | chef | 

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Taglines:

Fight first. Apologize later.

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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:

20 March 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mr. Nice Guy

Filming Locations:

Chinatown Mall, Fortitude Valley, Queensland, Australia

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,442,468, 22 March 1998, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$12,674,183, 7 June 1998

Company Credits

Production Co:

Golden Harvest Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min (original) 84 min (DVD) 86 min (Fan Edit)

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color (Cineart)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Feature film debut of Bradley James Allan (Giancarlo's Man). Formally introduced by legendary Stunt Coordinator Vic Wilson.

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Goofs

Near the beginning of the film when Tina is taken to the "guest house", there is a tire screeching sound as two cars drive away, but they are driving on dirt.

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Crazy Credits

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

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Alternate Versions

The Hong Kong version is dubbed into Cantonese/Mandarin languages, and features script changes from the original English (e.g. The Demons are called The Wolves).

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Connections

Referenced in Rush Hour (1998)

User Reviews

Thin on plot but fat with exciting stunts.

Thin on plot and fat with exciting stunts, Jackie Chan's "Mr. Nice Guy" is more like a speedy carnival ride than a movie. Chan plays a television chef who gets mixed up with a female reporter with an incriminating videotape that drug lords are after. Along the way Jackie Chan has his prerequisite close calls and death defying stunts mixed with his affable humor. All the stunts are good ones and there's a set-piece that requires Chan to escape his enemy in an unfinished building where all the blue doors are already installed that is my favorite. It's quite a farce having people opening and closing doors in pursuit and escape and never knowing who or what's behind the next door. One extended scene is a guilty pleasure for me and involves Chan commandeering a large earth moving vehicle and wreaking havoc with it. When I say large, I mean LARGE. The tires alone must be 12 feet tall in and of themselves. It's pretty cool to see the devastation this vehicle incurs. A fun film. Had the plot itself been a bit more thickened my rating would've been higher.