CJ7!

Tuesday night Pat and I went with L-T to Pacific Place to catch the big new years movie - Stephen Chow's eagerly awaited 'CJ7' (co-produced and co-written by AnD artist Vincent Kok btw).

Without giving away any thing you can't see from the promotional materials - Chow plays a poor laborer who is bringing up a young son. He ends up finding a strange toy in the junkyard which turns out to be a strange alien dog of some sort... its got a green rubbery body but a fluffy head (and its all CG).  you can see the trailer here at the official site: http://www.sonypictures.net/movies/cj7/

I enjoyed the movie quite a bit, but its important to know going into it what the movie is.  it is not really a 'stephen chow comedy' that you've come to expect...   its not his typical role of being the down on his lucky underdog who ends up winning at the end... and its not him being zany and doing a lot of absurd jokes.

CJ7 is mainly a family film that focuses on the kid and his alien pet thing... Stephen Chow's role is supporting only and its relatively 'straight'.   ... and be prepared for some 'tugging at the heart strings' to go along with the laughs and kids acting cute. I think if you know this going into it, you'll enjoy the movie a lot more.  There were audible sobs in the theater during the real emotional climax of the film,  which I think is a testament to the success of the filmmakers in getting the objective they were aiming for. :-P

Also I should mention that the kid (who's actually a girl as you probably know), does a really good job opposite both Chow and the dog thing...  The CG takes some getting used to, but after the first 10 minutes you stop noticing that its not super realistic.   Speaking of not super realistic,  Kitty Zhang plays a teacher at the kid's school:

wow, i think its time for a parent-teacher meeting! :-O

On the downside,  the film glosses over a LOT of story telling details (like about the aliens for example)... I'm not sure if they had to cut them for time or what...  but its ok, for this kind of movie you have to unplug a bit and suspend your disbelief and critical thinking anyway...   just be prepared for a nicely wrapped up happy ending (of course since its a family movie, it has to have some sort of happy ending, right?)

One other thing that I was hoping for when the film started was that it would make some effective commentary on the incredible disparity in wealth in modern China (ie the new class structure resurging in newly capitalistic China)... Chow and the kid are the poorest of the poor in China,  laboring long hours in backbreaking conditions while other kids are driven to their private school in Rolls Royces.   

But i think this topic is a bit too touchy to address directly in a major film in Mainland China,  so I kind of understand why Chow and the writers chose not to play up this aspect of the character's situation too far.  But at least they try to give the message that if you live righteously and work hard, thats more important than being rich...  hopefully some impressionable kids in China will learn that lesson. :-P

I've been struggling w/ the rating on this one,  somewhere between 6/10 and a 7/10,  i'll settle for 6 because I'm the kind of audience member who wants more details and i'm not easily distracted w/ a few crying kid scenes!