Director: Kuei Chih-hung
Year: 1982
Country: Hong Kong
Alternate Titles: Che yun joi che
Genre: Supernatural; Horror/Comedy
Plot:
After losing his job at a movie studio, a stuntman is forced to take a deal to marry a ghost woman after she takes a fancy to him from before and tries to use her powers to make his life easier, turning everything into a madcap adventure that gets crazier the more she tries to help him.
Review:
Overall, this was a genuinely funny ghost comedy that’s even lighter on the genre fare than its predecessor. This one is more concerned with offering up an endless series of jokes, gags, and slapstick pratfalls than anything else, moving from one setpiece to another without any regard for how it gets there or how it’s supposed to be logically integrated into the film proper. The main point of her being in control of the neighbor and possessing her to use the physical body as a means of interacting with the world as a whole mean there’s little time for anything to happen beyond serving up an endless line of sequences involving copyrighted characters appearing to torment a demolition crew, a bumbling arsonist trying to get information on the tenants to set up a devious plot to get them out of the building but gets run out by the exaggerated pitfalls in front of him, a series of interludes about the comically perverse boss getting his comeuppance to the point of being genuinely driven into a nuthouse, and a wholly unbelievable finale involving a statue coming to life and turning life for the residents over for the better to spite those trying to get them out of the building.
This all comes off well enough to be fun and incredibly hilarious with the kind of zany energy on display, but that highlights the one issue here where it’s so reliant on offering this kind of approach that favors wackiness over coherence and logical motivations. Going from the ghost woman trying to get with the guy after he rejects her, taking control of the neighbor woman to get the job done, and working up a series of shenanigans to get the unscrupulous owner of the property to let them stay there is a solid enough idea, but there’s no reason why the whole thing has to be a secret from everyone else around her. This leaves everything to be randomized with little context behind it since this goes for the gag more than anything, especially with the whole thing prioritizing such potentially flimsy gags as stuff involving exaggerated fast-motion slapstick, foul bodily fluids, nudity at the wrong time, and general setpieces that are designed solely to produce comedic results, which can get tiresome in this overlong running time without much purpose. The finale attempts multiple exorcism sequences for no reason that one couldn't have accomplished either, being problematic enough to keep this one down overall.
Overview: ***.5/5
A wholly over-the-top ghost comedy, there’s some wild and enjoyable work throughout here that is quite funny, even if there are still some big problems that keep this down overall. Give it a shot if you’re fine with this style or approach, appreciate the mixture of influences present, or are fans of the creative crew, while most others out there should heed extreme caution with this one.
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