Reviewed by: mrblue Date: 02/16/2008 I will grant that Cantonese comedies are an acquired taste, and that She Starts the Fire does seem to have its' share of fans, but, honestly, this is far and away one of the worst movies I've had the displeasure of sitting through in recent memory. The plot revolves around Wendy (played by the lovely Chingmy Yau), a girl whose psychokinetic powers have proven to be such a plague on her family that she's reduced to living with her aunt Big Beer (Deannie Yip), a PR host (aka hooker) who is on her last legs financially. Along with her landlord's (Lawrence Cheng) money-grubbing girlfriend (Carol Cheng), Beer hatches a plan to use Wendy's abilities to make a lot of cash, via a popular TV show and the gullibility of rich women in Hong Kong. Long-time readers of this site know the love I have of both Chingmy Yau and Wong Jing, but even with both their talents present, She Starts the Fire just ends up being a really lousy movie. The acting present here is simply horrible; Deannie Yip in particular makes the viewer want to strangle her as she seems to want to yell and over-act every line she utters. Most of the other actors don't fare any better. Carol Cheng seems to be almost kicking herself in the head for doing jokes about the droopiness of her breasts. "Comedy" like that thrown at the viewer doesn't help things move along in any shape or form. I'm not adverse to toilet humor -- in fact, I find it extremely hilarious if it's used the right way. But stuff like "humorous" attempts at making things like dog-cooking and urine-drinking funny just came across as insulting. Yes, I will give She Starts the Fire a couple of points for the eye candy of Chingmy Yau, especially during the final reel, where she sports some hot pants that leave very little to the imagination. But, just like I'd imagine you'd to be, she seems at once totally bored and repulsed by the proceedings. [review from www.hkfilm.net] Reviewer Score: 3

Reviewed by: JohnR Date: 02/28/2005 Summary: Laugh Riot This is the kind of Hong Kong comedy that got me into HK movies. Deannie Yip is wonderful (similar to her role in Prince Charming, though not quite as good). The story involves Deannie and Carol Cheng constantly hustling anyone who moves. The humor is in the diologue and it flies fast and furiously. All the action is centered on Chingmy, whose job is to look great contantly and use her secret power occasionally. If you're a fan of Marx Brothers-style anarchy, and would rather see Chingmy Yau than Margaret Dumont, this is for you.

Reviewed by: nsbr1 Date: 01/01/2000 This film is probably most famous for the cover picture of Chingmy wearing a short skirt being blown up ala Marilyn Monroe in Seven Year Itch. This film has more going for it than this scene - as it has a number of humorous bits and Chingmy looks very cute throughout. She comes to live in HK with her relative Deannie Yip. Her landlord is Lawrence Cheng and his sister DoDo Cheng has an ongoing feud with Deannie. Chingmy also has these supernatural powers such as being able to start fires - literally - and cheat at cards. Its all pretty funny.

Reviewed by: hkcinema Date: 12/08/1999 Chingmy Yau can set stuff on fire mentally [Reviewed by Anonymous]