Stephen Chow (played by Stephen Chow), the proclaimed God of Cookery sits high and mighty in a life of fame, passing his stern judgment down upon up-and-coming cooks. When a rival chef publicly reveals him to be a con-man with little actual cooking skill, the former cuisine king is reduced to starting at the bottom again, befriending shop owners and using “Pissing Beef Balls” to work himself up back to the title of the true ‘God of Cookery.’The Good?
Chow has a talent for the classic gags from food in the face to cheesy “look-over-there” jokes. It’s universally hilarious and consistently silly. There’s a general layer of camp to the film that allows occasional serious, dramatic moments to stand right next absurd kung-fu battles in the middle of cooking
The cast gives a perfect performance complete with tacky dialogue. Karen Mok and her unattractive makeup job and toughness, or Vincent Kok and his hilarious transformation from an elevator defecating loser to the coolest chef in town. Or the arrogant but still likable Chow, down to the nose-picking school “girl.” All the characters, including the minor ones are a joy to watch and have something unique about them.
This film is about as refined as it gets for a Stephen Chow film. Chow works within a standard story structure and the film is for the most part, normal and comprehensible.
The Bad?
There’s one completely out-of-place awkward flashback element to the finale that tries to maintain and even up the ridiculousness of the film, but it feels almost anticlimactic and leaves us on a bad note. The film is still a hysterical comedy, but it could have done without this.
B+
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