The Lunar New Year is upon us and Taiwan’s film studios are releasing a few family-oriented comedies to draw in the holiday crowds. Foul-mouthed gagman Chu Ko Liang (豬哥亮) reprises his role of mob boss in David Loman 2, while television director Fung Kai’s (馮凱) second feature is the comedy-drama Rookie Chef (神廚).
‘ROOKIE CHEF’
From the makers of Din Tao: Leader of the Parade (陣頭, 2012), Rookie Chef examines fatherly love. At the center of the drama is widower Chih-ming (Wang Po-chieh, 王柏傑), a man who goes on the run with his young daughter Lele (Hsu Hsuan-le, 許萱樂) after losing a custody battle with his father-in-law (Chien Chang, 檢場).
Photos courtesy of Activator Marketing Company and Hualien Media International
A series of coincidences finds the father and daughter at the home of Chi Bao’s (Lorene Ren, 任容萱), where Chih-ming soon discovers the hidden recipes of a legendary chef — Chi Bao’s grandmother — that will form the menu of a restaurant that they plan to open.
At two hours, the movie could have benefited from better editing. Chih-ming’s past history as an irresponsible father and husband is only revealed halfway through the movie, too late to fully develop his character as a man willing to change for the sake of his daughter. By the time the protagonist rises to his challenge, we’ve already lost interest or become distracted by the film’s contrived coincidences and underdeveloped characters.
Shining through this visual mediocrity is the performance of acclaimed actress Lu Yi-ching (陸弈靜). Discovered by Tsai Ming-liang (蔡明亮), Lu is typically cast in serious roles. However, in Rookie Chef, she shows off her funny side, wonderfully fusing well-timed humor with a sense of maternal warmth.
Photos courtesy of Activator Marketing Company and Hualien Media International
‘DAVID LOMAN 2’
David Loman 2 (大尾鱸鰻2) reprises the same bawdy humor and sight gags that made its predecessor a Lunar New Year hit in 2013.
Now retired from the criminal underworld, Loman runs a bed and breakfast with his loud, boisterous family. The plot is built around various domestic situations — a relationship crisis between Loman’s daughter Jin (Amber Kuo, 郭采潔) and her partner Xiao Ho (Tony Yang, 楊祐寧), as well as unresolved issues between David’s wife (Miao Ke-Li, 苗可麗) and her younger sister Hottie (Joanne Lien, 連靜雯). Hong Kong’s big boss Brother Tien (Eric Tsang, 曾志偉) soon arrives to meddle in everyone’s affairs.
As the comedy formula requires, everybody gathers together at the end of the movie to celebrate a wedding. It is actually one of the movie’s better moments, attended by all manner of appealing lunacy and antic buffoonery.
David Loman 2 has a strong episodic feel, with some sections working better than others. However, the story suffers from incoherent sentiments to the point of being nonsensical.
Liang’s jokes rely on the vulgar and the lewd, though he has toned down considerably the profanity, possibly due to the criticism David Loman I received for having too much it.
In short, David Loman 2 fails to appeal because it simply repeats itself. It is probably not wise to make it a trilogy.
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