Tuesday, July 21, 2015

WTF China?!?: Crazy Hong Kong (aka The Gods Must Be Crazy 4)

At long last, I get to see this bit of Foreign crazy!  Today's Film is Crazy Hong Kong aka The Gods Must Be Crazy 4, a Film oddity if there ever was one.  If you don't know, The Gods Must Be Crazy was a strange Film from 1980 Starring a Bushman named N!axu (surprisingly passing Spell Check) interacting with the crazy Locals in Australia.  It became a hit on Video, which led to a Sequel in 1989 (which I have on VHS somewhere).  Now the Story gets weird.  Yes, NOW is where it gets weird.  2 years later, a Chinese Director put together a Film called Crazy Safari with N!axu along for the ride.  It is one thing for an Australian Director to make a Film Starring an Australian Bushman, but it is another for a Chinese Director.  Since I can't get my hands on that one (yet!), I will just go with second best- the Sequel.  This one also Stars N!axu on an adventure in, you guessed it, Hong Kong.  Through a series of silly events, he ends up in one of the most populated Cities on Earth.  Hijinks ensue.  After so long, will this Film be what I hope it to be or just kind of suck?  To find out, read on...
Deep in the outback, N!axu saves a woman from a Lion...only for it to be a Commercial Shoot.  Wah wah!
The Chinese Woman gives him a Coke Bottle with a Toy Bird in it, which he enjoys...until his Village thinks that there is a real Bird trapped inside!

Ha ha ha Racist?
Through an incident so silly that I can't even bring myself to write it, N!axu ends up in Hong Kong and draws the ire of some Comedy Gangsters when their shipment of Diamonds is mixed up with the box he was shipped in.

During this, one random Chinese Guy sees N!axu and says 'Look- Eddie Murphy.'  That has to be a little Racist, right?
The Aborigine Bushman is very out of place in the City, but he ends up back with the woman- since she gave him her Name Badge back in Australia.
Said woman is in trouble due to her philandering and thieving Husband.  Kudos to the English Dubbing Team for bringing up the people wanting their 401K...even though it isn't a thing in China.
During all the hijinks, N!axu ends up traveling outside the city and meeting this Trucker who really loves toys!
The Gangster continue to pursue our hero, leading to a wacky chase/action Scene at the Docks.
She *finally* figures out what N!axu wants and smashes the bottle open...turning the bird real!
In the aftermath, her co-worker goes back with N!axu and helps him run a Restaurant.  The End.
This is just too much.  The Gods Must Be Crazy is a silly Film that has lots of Slapstick.  The Gods Must Be Crazy II has even more and is definitely super-silly.  Even so, they have nothing on this one.  The Acting- goofy.  The Music- wacky.  The Dubbing- unintentionally-hilarious.  To make things weirder, the Cast features mostly Chinese Actors, N!axu and one American (Conrad Janis).  All of them- save for N!axu- are Dubbed into English- badly.  This is like those Jackie Chan Films before he started doing his own Dubbing.  It is also worth noting that N!axu's feelings are told to us by an unseen Narrator- his young Cousin...who does not leave Australia.  He sure knows alot about those things he isn't seeing!  It almost always makes me yearn for the confusing Narrative Structure of Santa and The Ice Cream Bunny- almost.  The problem here is that there is no break from the crazy.  It is all just random, crazy and ridiculous.  The Dubbing doesn't help matters as nobody sounds real here at all.  It is a fun and goofy Film at first, but just kind of keeps going after awhile.  Oh well- the first Chinese one has a Vampire in it...
Next up, I continue to explore the mystery of the batch of Films I got for my Birthday.  I know as much as you do right now, so this should be fun.  Stay tuned...

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