The Way of the Bug
猛虫过江
China, 2018, colour, 2.35:1, 99 mins.
Director: Xiaoshenyang 小沈阳.
Rating: 6/10.
Mainland comic Xiaoshenyang makes a so-so debut as a director with this mildly amusing crime comedy.
STORY
A village in Jilin province, northeast China, the present day, winter. A big feast is in progress to celebrate the birthday of the village head’s grandfather. While one of the cooks, Shen Fu (Xiaoshenyang), is being bawled out by the chief cook (Xiao Yang) for incompetence, his childhood friend Dalei (Pan Binlong), an incorrigible conman, racks up RMB61,000 in gambling debts to local gangster Huo Yao (Liu Hua). When a young woman, Jing Xiang (Song Yunhua), and her driver Dong Si (Hu Ming) arrive out of the blue and tell Shen Fu that his long-lost grandfather Shen Sen (Li Liqun) wants to see him urgently, Shen Fu decides to go with them. To escape his creditors, Dalei also tags along. They are flown to the island of Nanwan in the south, but just as they arrive Shen Sen dies. Shen Fu discovers his grandfather was head of the Wuhu gangster clan, for whom Jing Xiang works. The current president, Uncle Da (Jin Shijie), shows Shen Fu his grandfather’s bequest – a safe full of IOUs. After thinking things over, Shen Fu decides to stay and take over the running of the gang’s company; he asks the assembled gang leaders to give him one month. Initially, Shen Fu has no luck trying to call in the IOUs of the biggest creditors, crimelord Chen Zhong (Chen Huimin) and docks leader Tie Shan (Shen Chunyang). However, he eventually wins them both over and they form a business partnership that prospers. Then one morning, after a massive drinking session to celebrate their success, Shen Fu wakes up to find Chen Zhong and Tie Shan have both been murdered.
REVIEW
Blank-faced farceur Xiaoshenyang 小沈阳, 37, joins the growing ranks of Mainland comics who’ve turned director (Dong Chengpeng 董成鹏, Xu Zheng 徐峥, Wang Baoqiang 王宝强, Huang Bo 黄渤) with The Way of the Bug 猛虫过江, a mildly amusing crime comedy that never really establishes a character of its own. Though the Chinese and English titles raise expectations of a parody of The Way of the Dragon 猛龙过江 (1972) – in which Li Xiaolong 李小龙 [Bruce Lee] travelled to Rome to help out a Chinese restaurant – Bug turns out to be nothing of the kind: the furthest Our Hero travels is from Jilin province to “Nanwan” 南湾 (read: Taiwan), where he inherits a bankrupt triad and wins over the locals with his northeast cooking. In its first two weeks the film has earned a rather unstellar RMB175 million.
Partly because of his low-key style of comedy, with its background in the northeast’s errenzhuan 二人转 song’n’dance genre, Liaoning-born Xiaoshenyang (real name: Shen He 沈鹤) has always been stronger as a supporting actor – Pigsy in the last two instalments of The Monkey King 西游记 series – than as a lead – Just Call Me Nobody 大笑江湖 (2010), Really? 我说的都是真的！ (2018) – and too often in Bug he looks like a supporting player in his own movie. The bigger problem, however, is that the film – which is basically about a northeasterner out of his comfort zone – never creates a distinct personality of its own. Among the cameo-strewn cast, we get a few Taiwan veterans thrown in as gnarly gangsters (Gao Jie 高捷 [Jack Kao], Jiu Kong 九孔), a couple of jokes (not enough) about the natives speaking Hokkien, and Taiwan rapper MC HotDog MC热狗, aka Yao Zhongren 姚中仁, in a confused role as a hip gangster. But the film never feels really at home in its “Nanwan” setting – despite Taiwan having a whole separate gang culture that’s ripe for parody – and repeated switches back to the snowy northeast only compound the film’s homesickness.
It’s a shame that such a quality cast hasn’t been given better material. Stand-up comedian Pan Binlong 潘斌龙 (the slobby flatmate in Wished 反转人生, 2017; a Henan gangster in Kill Me Please 这就是命, 2017) isn’t exactly known for his underplaying but is terminally annoying here as the lead’s stupid sidekick – think Wang in Detective Chinatown 2 唐人街探案2 (2018), plus haemorrhoid jokes – as well as often throwing Xiaoshenyang into the shade. Much more simpatico are Taiwan veteran Jin Shijie 金士杰 as an over-polite gang leader and his young compatriot Song Yunhua 宋芸桦, 25, the revelation of Taiwan hit Our Times 我的少女时代 (2015), in a grown-up role as the dead crimelord’s adopted daughter. Likeable as they both Jin and Song are, however, neither’s role is developed much beyond embarrassed looks as the two northeasterners blunder around; a romantic strand between Song and Xiaoshenyang never gets off the ground – probably for the better.
The most memorable performances actually come from reliable Mainland veteran Liu Hua 刘桦 as a northeast gangster on Our Heroes’ trail, Hong Kong gangster veteran Chen Huimin 陈惠敏 as a, er, gangster, and Xiaoshenyang’s actress wife Shen Chunyang 沈春阳, 34, with whom he’s often worked on TVDs, as a butch docker with a metal claw for a hand. All their roles have a comic richness that the film as a whole desperately lacks.
Bug looks fine in the widescreen photography of Mainland d.p. Yang Tao 杨涛 (who worked with Xiaoshenyang on The Monkey King 3 西游记 女儿国, 2018), though without any special flavour for the “Nanwan” scenes.
CREDITS
Presented by Filmko Film (CN). Produced by Filmko Film (CN).
Script: Sang Yu, Zhou Jianming. Photography: Yang Tao. Editing: Qiu Zhiwei [Yau Chi-wai]. Music: Hu Weili, An Xin, Ren Yajing. Production design: An Bin. Styling: He Chongnan. Sound: Yin Jie. Action: Guo Yong. Car stunts: Luo Lixian [Bruce Law]. Special effects: Wang Naipeng. Visual effects: Xu Jian.
Cast: Xiaoshenyang (Shen Fu), Pan Binlong (Dalei), Song Yunhua (Jing Xiang), Liu Hua (Huo Yao), Hu Ming (Gong Si, driver), Cao Rui (Biaozi, Huo Yao’s sidekick), Jin Shijie (Uncle Da), Chen Huimin (Chen Zhong), MC HotDog [Yao Zhongren] (Zaihu/Tiger), Shen Chunyang (Tie Shan), Li Liqun (Shen Sen), Gao Jie [Jack Kao], Jiu Kong [Lv Kongwei] (Wuhu veterans), Chen Handian, Na Dou (policemen), Xiao Yang (head cook), Yang Shulin (cook), Ma Yuke, Dong Sanmao, Zhang Jiahao, Yuan Qiongdan, Da Bing, Sun Xiaofei.
Release: China, 15 Jun 2018.