Pretty Ghost (Wo lao po wo xi ren, 1991)

Teddy Chan Tak-Sum

Hong Kong

98 min, color, Cantonese (English subtitles)

Here's another harmless comedy that serves up full dishes of the delectable Rosamund Kwan and the even more delicious Ellen Chan, both paired with Tony Leung Ka Fai in one of his most over the top performances. Laden with SFX straight out of a 60s B-movie set (or someone's basement), Pretty Ghost (aka Alien Wife) tells the timeless tale of the fiery love of the pretty ghost Chia (Rosamund) for Tony (himself), who accidentally faxes her over to his apartment while doing battle for his immortal soul with some very upset and, judging by the big black circles under his eyes, very evil ghost, who is trying to kill him and then drag him to hell, not necessarily in that order.

Faxing off your only helping hand is a bit imprudent, even if it is not corporeal. But stuff happens in the heat of battle, friendly fire can be harmful too. Fortunately, everything turns out well when Tony, out of pure dumb luck Dirt Devils the evil ghost into the dust bag and then, in a fit of divine inspiration, microwaves his ass into what appears to be script oblivion.

Once safe home, he discovers that Chia has become his genie because he has breathed his yang (or ying, I forget) into her, which apparently binds her to him and him to her. That is, they share a mildly telepathic link, and a lot of same sensations (but only when needed by the plot). Now, this would have been quite annoying if Tony did not put Chia to use right away. And this he does because his little pathetic architectural self is in great distress over his pretty coworker Ellen (herself). The bespectacled suitor has been trying to court her for years, but apparently without much luck because she is hardly aware of his existence. On the other hand, she has a boorish and well-proportioned boyfriend (Michael Chow), who does not miss an opportunity to apply his beefcake humor to the nerdy Tony.

Chia decides to help but most of her attempts are not very successful, mostly because of Tony's own idiocy. In a particularly hilarious episode, she nearly ruins his first date with Ellen when she first watches some tear-jerker on TV and makes his burst into tears in the middle of a funny story about some rat, and then, when she switches to soccer (which can be quite funny for ghosts, you know), she causes him to experience the pangs of laughter... right when Ellen is telling him about her poor dog who went bald.

Cute antics aside, Chia predictably develops a strong attachment to Tony and finally falls for him, just when he proposes to Ellen. Fortunately Chia's dad (Woo Fung) is close and ready to help, albeit in somewhat unconventional manner. He sends Tony's best friend Peter on a mission to kill his pal, presumably because the latter, once dead, would be with Chia forever. The plot fails but not the love story.

And so end another 90 minutes of sheer entertainment, abysmally acted, and horrendously scripted, but for some reason funny and enjoyable as hell. I liked it. Sue me.

The MegaStar VCD is gawdawful, with heavy blotches here and there and so much compression artifacts that I was not sure how much of the decor was rectangular. The white subtitles can sometimes be pretty hard to read but then again, who is following the intricacies of the dialogue anyway? Fun for all Rosamund fans, I hear the film is not to be missed by Miss Chan's fan either.

January 15, 2002