Reviewed by: bastardswordsman Date: 02/11/2002 So many HK films of this type are churned out, some sink without a trace, yet the mediocrity of some are held up solely by the charisma of the lead stars. This is one of those inexplicably enjoyable farca (sic?). Even so, I may yet be being somewhat unfair to this Johnnie To offering, for although it is a blatant bite of the 'classic' Eddy Murphy film, COMING TO AMERICA, it does have some nice touches of its own. Although I see BEYOND have been in a few other films credited as the collective, their presence is welcome, as it that of the young lad who plays an exploited worker with maturity way beyond his few years. Nina Li Chi plays an idiot and Wong San puts in a bizarre performance as an idiotic butler. I would recommend this mindless nonsense which I may well feel compelled to watch again on a rainy day (of which we have a lot in Europe). You will see many similarities and parallels to COMING TO AMERICA, although CYF does not have his noble penis cleaned.

Reviewed by: Inner Strength Date: 01/12/2002 Summary: PRETTY GOOD Considering Johnnie To had not done many movies before this one, especially comedies, he has been able to prove himself in this movie as a great director. A New Years comedy about a rich man (Chow Yun Fat) who desides to live as an average man working in Hong Kong. HE meets and falls in love with Sylvia Chang and get into loads problems and laughs all the way through. It's a light hearted comedy, and not much more than that. THe story is nothing new, but because of how entertaining it is, it covers the problems up. The popular music group (at the time anyway) 'Beyond' are in this too doing a little more than just a cameo. Rating (out of 5): 4 (This rating is based on the year & genre, so don't think it's based as a comparison on new releases etc.) Reviewer Score: 8

Reviewed by: Sydneyguy Date: 07/14/2000 Summary: GOOD I first saw this when it first came out which was years ago and when i was much younger and i LAUGHED my head off!! I agree at lot with STSH especially the part about this being the chinese version of COMING TO AMERICA!! I did have a lot of fun and even bought the Vcd!! I watched it again and it didn't have the same appeal but oh well I'll still give this 8/10 Reviewer Score: 8

Reviewed by: STSH Date: 01/28/2000 Summary: Pleasant but not great In its own right, this film is a pleasant little romantic comedy. The big problem is that it's so obviously a remake of Coming To America (with a few references to Arthur), and therefore comparisons are inevitable. Chow grins the whole way through, as Murphy did. The two fencing/swordplay scenes are copied, though Chow uses a car aerial instead of a mop in the holdup scene. Chow even plays more than one role, as Murphy did, but it's only as a campy-voiced cab driver named Stink, who also narrates. I love watching the great Chow in any film, but I feel a more understated performance would have helped. And I guess that I'm just not very taken by Chow and Chang as a romantic couple. I also wasn't impressed by the shameless self-promotion of the band Beyond, who feature as four inseparable staff in the restaurant. Okay, things do warm up in the last fifteen minutes, and the final chase scene is a hoot. I guess this one's okay if you're bored, but Chow has certainly done better than this. Reviewer Score: 3

Reviewed by: hkcinema Date: 12/21/1999 Rich playboy CHOW YUN FAT disguised as a poor layman woos the beautiful SYLVIA CHANG in this delightful romantic comedy. Co-stars LI CHI and CHENG TAN SHUI as the intended match for the unlikely pair. [Reviewed by Tai Seng Catalog]