Shaolin
Soccer (Stephen Chow & Lik-Chi Lee) 2002
Stephen Chow’s Shaolin
Soccer is apparently going to be released here in the United States in a few
months by Miramax under the more generic title Kung-Fu Soccer. I’m not sure to what degree the film will be
Americanized (the company imprudently reedited Drunken Master 2 and Iron
Monkey), and I’m also unsure whether or not the film will be dubbed in
English for its stateside release. Luckily, thanks to the wonders of DVD, the
original Honk Kong version of the film (as long as an extended director’s cut)
is available on a Region 0 disc that is playable on most U.S. DVD players for
less than ten dollars. I’m not really the sort to advocate seeing a film at
home instead of in a theater, but when you can’t be certain that a company is
even planning to release the original film into those theaters, you have to take
matters into your own hands.
Shaolin
Soccer was last year’s biggest hit in Hong Kong, and if I understand
correctly, it’s the biggest homegrown grosser ever in that country. It’s far
from the best film to come out of Hong Kong lately, but at the same time, it’s
comedic crossing of soccer and videogame-style physics is generally inspired.
Thanks to some terrific special effects, the illusion that Herculean feats are
occurring on the field remains solid. The variety of bicycle kicks and head hits
on display is exciting, and the exhilaration level is only boosted by the world
altering destruction that they cause. It can be argued that the film, which
follows the exploits of a team of retired monks that want to popularize their
teachings through a soccer tournament, offers little other than special effects
and sight gags, but the energy level is high, and the film moves exceptionally
quickly, always at the pace of a television commercial. The silliness of the
plot allows the audience to forgive a lot of the movie’s shortcomings. The
improbable romance that springs up during the film is one of its off-field
highlights, though. Vicki Zhao, as T’ai Chi bun maker Mui, gives a winning
performance that emanates warmth from despite donning the worst acne ever, the
most overdone makeup since Brazil, and an exceptionally phony bald cap.
For some reason, I find the antics on display in Shaolin
Soccer far more tolerable than those in Jim Carey or Adam Sandler’s films,
even though they operate on roughly the same level. Perhaps, it’s the blending
of digital wizardry with the inherent cultural oddity found in the premise. I
think my appreciation might have more to do, though, with the film’s slack
jawed sweetness and ceaseless comic resourcefulness. The cast is universally
appealing, and everything about the movie seems to be enjoying itself to such a
degree that any derision would make me feel a spoilsport. The movie is always
alternating between narrative crudeness and technical perfection, disarming the
audience’s disbelief and winning their affection. If the actual soccer matches
don’t exactly provide the typical thrills found in sports films, that’s okay
because here the adage that it’s not whether you win or lose, but how you play
the game holds especially true.
***
03-14-02
Jeremy
Heilman
