Gorgeous

Gorgeous is something new from Jackie Chan. It's his first romantic comedy. Originally, he was just supposed to be a producer, but then -- despite some hesitation -- decided to star in the film. I think he should have followed his gut instinct and just stuck behind the scenes. Gorgeous works as neither a romantic comedy or a Jackie Chan film (to wit, his particular blend of action and comedy). The romance in the film simply doesn't work. The whole bit with older men and young women is overused on both sides of the ocean, and the fact that Shu Qi and Chan show almost no chemistry together doesn't help out matters any. (Chan supposedly didn't want to work with the former Cat III actress, fearing it might taint his "family man" image; ironically, after the film came out, Chan was involved in a scandal where he eventually admitted to having an affair.) As for the comedy, it depends too much on broad stereotypes (such as Tony Leung's flamboyantly gay character) and silly pratfalls to be effective. The fights (most of which feature Chan's gweilo prot谷g谷 Brad Allan) are decent, but they're too short and lacking the quickness and fluidity of Chan's best work.

This is an interesting experiment that ultimately fails, mostly because of Chan's lackluster performance. If Chan wants to shift his emphasis from martial arts/action to this, he should do his fans (and himself) a favor and step behind the camera. To be fair though, the film does have its' share of fans -- mostly those infatuated with Shu Qi. Myself, I find her not that great-looking as to forgive Gorgeous' many shortcomings, but you still may want to give this movie a try.

Review Courtesy of Neil Koch