'Drunken Monkey' review by MartialHorror

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DRUNKEN MONEY(2002)
(Directed by Lau Kar-leung)

"It'll get you drunk!"- Signed by MartialHorror

Plot: Two young men attempt to become students of a famous kung fu master who has become quite a hermit when since brother betrayed him. Also known as “Chui ma lau”.

Review:

“Drunken Movie” is a kung fu flick that has virtually nothing fresh or unique about it, other than being the 2nd film produced by the Shaw Brothers Studio in 20 years or so. If you don’t know, the Shaw Brothers basically dominated the Hong Kong film industry(especially with kung fu films) for a long time until guys like Bruce Lee(“Enter the Dragon”), Jackie Chan(“Police Story”) and Jet Li(“Once Upon a Time in China”) began dominating the industry using other studios. So they fell from glory and became……Well, hell, I don’t know what happened to them. But they have finally started making movies again, one of them being “Drunken Monkey”. As stated, there is very little going for it….But also very little going against it.

The film begins with Master Bill(Chia-Liang), a kung fu master who uses monkey style(they actually call it monkeyish style) and runs a delivery service with his brother, Pao(Chun-Wan). When he discovers that Pao is smuggling Opium, Bill wants to turn him into the police. But he changes his mind because Pao has a big family and seems to be remorseful. He is rewarded for his compassion by being betrayed by his brother and left for dead. So far, so good. Things begin to get awry when we are introduced to aspiring artist Yip(Wing-Kin) and his great-uncle, Tak(Wu), who has also trained in kung fu. This is where the movie began to lose me. It becomes a farce, with over-the-top, silly comic routines that I didn’t really find funny. It takes it too far when the Mother starts breaking out in to song. I’ve said it many times before and I’ll say it again, Chinese humor does not sit well with me.

So Tak and Yip set out to find Master Bill, who is living in seclusion with his adopted daughter, Siu-Ma/Mandy(Yao). I don’t like how so many Hong Kong movies confuse ‘strong’ and ‘bitch’. She’s cute and all, but I kept hoping that someone would just slap her. You know you’ve screwed up when you don’t care when the heroine is about to be raped. By coincidence, the boys come across her and chase her to Master Bill, who doesn’t want to teach them at all. But that’s not all, the honorable Inspector Hung(Liu) is searching for Bill, believing that he’s alive after hearing Tak and Yip mention him. He unwittingly tells Pao and his evil partner, Yu(Kun-Kwan), who want to make sure Bill is dead.

“Drunken Monkey” takes place in the 1930’s, and the film occasionally displays a mean spirited attitude towards ’the west’. They make a mockery of the Catholic Priest(who ironically, is Chinese), and it’s clear that us evil westerners are behind the Opium deals. But the film never divulges itself down this route, and instead focuses on comedy and kung fu fighting. Many praised the film for going back to the old Shaw Brothers style, being a period kung fu piece and all with heavy revenge themes. But to be honest, I was never much of a Shaw fan to begin with. To be fair, I find it difficult to see the point of watching old kung fu films when they’ve become so outdated in their choreography. I intend to watch more of them, I’m just explaining why I haven’t yet. Unfortunately, there seems to be a battle between the young and the old. It’s attempt to be hip with the two young leads is grating, while its desire to be old school is homage at best. It fails to come together, creating a disjointed and sloppy narrative. It's themes of brotherhood, honor and revenge just feel tacked on and slapped together. So it falls apart in terms of story.

But regardless, do we really care about narratives in a movie like this? No, we want kung fu. In this regard, “Drunken Monkey” is a mild success. All the fight scenes were good enough, but very little stands out. In fact, it almost feels kind of rushed. But they happen often enough that we can kind of forgive this. Beyond that, the photography is pretty impressive, the costume designs are slick and it is very funny at times. It seems that when the movie tries too hard to be funny, it fails. But there are some genuinely hilarious moments, that are intentional but restrained. Finally, you get the goofy Drunken Monkey stance near the end. I love how these films teach us that alcohol makes you stronger in a fight. You just have to love the Chinese……

Jackie Wu(Grand Uncle Tak) has some personality, but not enough to carry a movie. Chia-Liang Liu(Master Bill) does the best, as expected. I wouldn’t mind seeing more of his movies. Shannon Yao(Mandy) is cute and has some charm, but mostly annoyed me with her extreme attitude. Kill Bill’s Gordon Liu(Inspector Hung) gives a very straight performance and it works. Wing-Kin Lau(Yip) was a bit too over-the-top for my liking.

If you’ve seen one kung fu film, then you’ve likely seen “Drunken Monkey”. But if you really want to watch it, then go for it. I enjoyed it for what it was, but even I can’t deny that it feels like a 2nd rate “Drunken Master 2”. I suppose I’d recommend this to people who enjoy silly, slapstick kung fu movies where the actors make fool of themselves. But hell, when it works, it works. When it doesn’t work, it fails. Luckily, I’d say it works more than it fails.

Violence: Rated R. Some of the violence is kind of grisly.

Nudity: None, but there is an attempted rape.

Overall: “Drunken Monkey” is a serviceable kung fu flick. But I believe that to stand out, every martial arts movie needs to have something exceptional going for it. “Drunken Monkey” lacks that, but at least I had fun with it.

2.5/4 Stars


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