KUNG FU HUSTLE is clearly one of the silliest, funny, genuinely well-produced comedies to come around for a long time. It is so very refreshing to lose yourself in this farce knowing that the entire purpose of the film is to entertain. But as in all good comedy there is also a message.

Talented director/writer (with Tsang Kan Cheong)/star Stephen Chow has the whole concept of Kung Fu as entertainment down pat. With the brilliant choreography of Yuen Wo Ping as partner, Chow tells a skeletal tale of two wannabe criminals (Chow himself and his obese sidekick Chi Chung Lam) who will stop at nothing to become members of the Canton mafia Axe Gang. They blunder into a hick town run by a smarmy landlord and his bellicose wife to find someone to kill, as that is the only way they can join the Axe Gang. But this sleepy little town is unafraid of gangs, why? - because they happen to be the home of some expert Kung Fu practitioners. After some absurd events the Axe Gang happens into the town only to come up against impossible odds and a lot of hilarious surprises.

The choreography and setting parodies everything in the Hollywood repertoire: the spaghetti westerns of Sergio Leone, High Noon antics, Busby Berkeley type staging, Keystone Cops zany shenanigans, Marital Arts films - name it, the film takes a shot and the shot outdoes the original! The color and cinematography are terrific, the musical score (to which Chow also contributed!) is a little masterwork of ancient Chinese instruments garnished with contemporary sounds, and the actors, when not engaged in the nonstop fighting sequences, just seem to be having the best time being silly. For pure diversion and giggling entertainment, spend an evening in the company of Stephen Chow and crew. Recommended, even for serious movie aficionados! Grady Harp