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Some people argue that martial arts movies are violent. A good number of them are, but the best ones have the same relationship to violence as romance has to Astaire and Rogers: no one takes it seriously, but it does allow for some exceptional choreography.
There’s a comedy that operates under the surface of most great martial arts movies. Sometimes, as in Stephen Chow’s “Kung Fu Hustle” it erupts onto the surface. The characters have defeated the physics and gravity, and that’s what is, for the most part, amusing. To be able to practically soar into the air, spin around, and kick six, seven, eight or nine foes before gracefully landing in a crouched position is simply sublime.
Realists complain that such things are impossible in the first place. Naturally so. Astaire and Rogers did have it easy as they performed everything through one unedited take, and we were indeed able to witness everything. Scoffer Stephen Chow employs wires, hidden special effects, angle tricks, trampolines, and whatever else’s at his disposal. It’s clear, and he knows it’s clear. Nonetheless, the fraud does not negate his talent, because a martial arts actor must be a superb athlete. So, we all know that when you place an average movie star on a wire, he will undoubtedly resemble a fish caught on a line breezing across the ocean.
Chuck’s Kung Fu Hustle, being the 61st project he has worked on ever since his introduction to acting, is a result of his tireless efforts throughout the 2000s when he was only 41. He was already garnering recognition with films such as Shaolin Soccer, purchased by Miramax, which was later edited, cut by 30 minutes, and held off the market for two years. My only experience with his work prior was the well-known top-grossing action comedy in Hong Kong, Shaolin Soccer. After a year of it being unavailable, it was re-released which led me to post a more rational attempt at defending the use of star ratings.
Next up is ‘Kung Fu Hustle.’ This is a movie that you chuckle at every so often, but for the most part, you are just walking around with a goofy smile on your face. It must have taken Chow a superhuman effort to avoid singing a subtitled version of “Let Me Entertain You”, or, no, I’ve got a better example, of “Make ’em Laugh”, the Donald O’Connor number in “Singin’ in the Rain.” There, O’Connor smashed his way through boards and bricks, fought a dummy, sprinted up a wall and out the other side while singing the whole time. Stephen Chow doesn’t sing, but he’s channelling the same spirit.
The film revolves around a Shanghai slum known as Pig Sty Alley. Its governance is under the supervision of a portly landlady (Yuen Qiu) who lumbers around in slippers and wears a cigarette that perennially dangles from her mouth. Shanghai is plagued by the Ax Gang but they do not attack Pig Sty Alley because there is nothing worth plundering. However, when fake gang members are met with neighbourhood kung fu fighters, the real gang steps in to settle the score. One does not simply integrate into society when they are part of the Ax Gang. They don black suits, and top hats and wield axes everywhere. Talk about being conspicuous. I remember Jack Lemmon talking about when he witnessed Klaus Kinski purchasing a hatchet from Ace Hardware.
In essence, the conflict between the Pig Stygians and the Axe gang is a valid excuse for a number of scenes where violence is elevated to an art form. Unsurprisingly, everything we see defies logic but at least the movie acknowledges it; It’s almost as if everyone is in perfect sync with their hallucinations. One of the comedic aspects is that the locals’ middle-aged tradesmen and even the landlady who initially seems cranky are remarkably more skilful than fighters.
Not only did Chow direct the film, but he also starred, co-wrote, and co-produced. It seems that most of Chow’s cut comedies are made in a low-budget style, like Buster Keaton, where the gags are devised during the performance itself, with everyone around the comedian being able to act. Chow plays Sing, which is also his character’s name in Shaolin Soccer and at least six other films. This time he’s an imposter, masquerading as an Axe Gang member so that he can run a shakedown racket in Pig Sty Alley. Just how troublesome it is for Sing when the real Axe Gangs appear, and he’s caught in a mess, is quite amusing. At the end of the film, he’s going one-on-one with The Beast (Leung Siu Lung) in a kung fu spectacle. The punchline is that most of the stuff Sing knows about kung fu is from a useless booklet that a conman sold him when he was but a child.
You might dislike martial arts comedies, but why did you bother to come this far? A guess would be that you fancy the graceful and lyrical epics such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon or House of Flying Daggers. Those are not qualities you will find in “Kung Fu Hustle.” “Kung Fu Hustle” is something I watched while at Sundance, and my initial impression was that “it’s as if Jackie Chan and Buster Keaton had a child envisioned by Quentin Tarantino and Bugs Bunny.” You realize how emotionally stimulated you can get from watching a movie like this.
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