Golden Chickensss (Hong Kong, 2014) [NYAFF 2014]
In the Hong Kong comedy Golden Chickenss, Sandra Ng Kwan Yue reprises her role as Kam, first seen as a charming prostitute (i.e., a “Golden Chicken”) in Golden Chicken (2002) and then in Golden Chicken 2 (2003). After this eleven year hiatus, Kam is now a highly successful madam with a large roster of her own “chickens.”
She shepherds them to clubs, beach parties, whatever and wherever there’s a way to cash in on the “do-anything-for-money spirit” of Hong Kong. She even goes with two of her girls to Japan to learn about their blowjob parlors, where customers stand on one side of a wall while the employees – including Takuya (Wyman Wong), a man who excels at his job – sit on the other. Access is provided by holes in the wall. Other lessons are learned in the “20 second subway grope” cars.
As you can tell from the above partial list of those appearing in the film, there are a ton of Hong Kong’s film stars who are present, some in significant roles, others in brief cameos. My favorite occurred early on in a brief scene in which Donnie Yen plays Ip Man, only he’s dressed like Tony Leung as Ip Man in Wong Kar Wai’s The Grandmaster (2013)! Hilarious!
Louis Koo has a terrific bit as a Lous Koo look-alike from — get ready — Bumfuck, China. And be sure to stay through the credits or you’ll miss Sandra Ng wrestling with Andy Lau in a spoof on his popularity (a running joke in Hong Kong is that he’s so beloved that he could be elected Chief Executive!)
I really enjoyed Golden Chickensss. Just about all the comedy comes across well, which is not an easy thing in a film with subtitles, especially one from a place that has its own idiosyncratic sense of humor. There’s more to appreciate in the film if you’re familiar with Hong Kong cinema and its major screen personalities.
These screenings of Golden Chickensss, presented with the support of Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office New York, are part of the HONG KONG FOREVER! spotlight section of the New York Asian Film Festival 2014.
Sandra Ng will attend the June 27 screening of Golden Chickensss and will be presented with the Star Asia Star Award.
The full schedule for NYAFF 2014 can be found here.
About The Author
Stan Glick
Dr. Stan Glick became seriously interested in Asian films in the mid-90s after reading Sex and Zen & A Bullet in the Head. His first Asian film review, on Tokyo Blue: Case 1 starring the delectable Keiko Shiratori, appeared in Asian Cult Cinema magazine in 2000. He became a columnist about a year later, a position he held until Asian Cult Cinema ceased publication at the end of 2009. Meanwhile, Stan began his own blog, AsianCineFest, at the end of June 2006. Living in New York, he has covered many of the festivals and film series there over the years, and has also interviewed several Asian film directors, actors, and actresses, including Lee Chang-dong, Tsui Hark, Joe Shishido, and Sora Aoi.
