If you like smart comedies with a good dose of drama then look no further than Men Suddenly in Black, billed no less then 'The Coolest Black Comedy of the Year.' Pulling it off with box office and critical acclaim, and a host of film awards was no mean feat for writer-director Edmond Pang Ho Cheung, whose sophomore effort is a comedic fusion of gangster thriller and goofball farce.

The ridiculous premise starts with 'Godfather' solemnity as four men meet clandestinely at the back of a dark-lit pool hall. Brother Tin (Eric Tsang) has gathered together Dr. Lee Wing Cheung (Jordan Chan), Tsui Kiu (Chapman To) and the novice Paul (Spirit Blue) for a mission. For the next 14 hours while their wives and girlfriends are away, the men will embark on a quest of ultimate carnal debauchery and for Tin, the opportunity to fulfill a long-held promise to a fallen friend.

Set up as a series of missions, not unlike a heist flick, the men get closer and closer to their objective with each scene. Hilarity ensues as we witness the bungling lengths to which the men will go to achieve their immoral ends and the even further lengths they'll go to remain uncaught. And if the whole affair is ethically challenged right from the get go, then at least the women don't necessarily get the moral high ground. Their wives may not be as naïve as they appear and may be just as ruthless as the men when it comes to showing who's really in charge of a relationship. The game of cat and mouse is on, and in this battle between the sexes, no one emerges totally unscathed.

The performances are uniformly excellent and because they're played completely straight, the characters anchor the film with their believability. Their concerns become real to the audience, so as they move from gangster parody to prison drama, and then buddy bonding flick the tension is never lost. Even when something as ludicrous as a fight with water hoses and camera flashes play out like a major gun battle, the laughs don't overcome the drama. A major feat and a credit to Pang's sense of mood and atmosphere.

In his career Eric Tsang has made the remarkable transition from laughable doofus to dramatic heavy and his portrayal of Tin is no different, by turns authoritative and in control, but crumbles when he gets out-bluffed by a stuck-up young woman. Despite being back in a guy gang, Jordan Chan moves away from his role in the Young and Dangerous series with a sensitive doctor whose pride may not allow him stop, but his feelings for wife might. Male-bonding is a staple of action cinema anywhere, but with Chapman To for comic relief and Spirit Blue as the immature greenhorn their camaraderie is infectious and carries them through tests of honour, loyalty, betrayal, and even a maudlin stroll down memory lane of their adolescent conquests. And watch out for Tony Leung Kar-Fai in a side-splitting bit as the self-sacrificing Uncle Ninth.

While the women are a force to be reckoned with, individually they aren't quite as well fleshed out as the men, except for Teresa Mo whose tough lawyer is every bit the match for her husband Tin. Tiffany Lee and Candy Lo somewhat make up for their sketchy characters with their distinctive personalities, but as the soft-hearted wife of Chan's Dr. Lee who fears finding out the truth more than anything else, Marsha Yuen may affect the most.

Released in both single disc and 2-Disc formats, this fine film gets a decent amount of extras on both editions. The first disc in the box set and the single release are identical, so aside from trailers for The Romancing Star 1 & 2 and Running on Karma, the real extra is the filmmaker's audio commentary featuring director-scriptwriter Edmond Pang Ho Cheung, co-writer Patrick Kong, and editor Wenders Li. What makes this a real treat and certainly the first time I've encountered it, is that Mei Ah has gone the extra mile and subtitled the entire Cantonese conversation track in English! Screen-specific and filled with anecdotes, the three have an easy chemistry and clearly enjoyed working with each other. They are very complementary to the many performers and crew they worked with and reveal details behind the production from choice of locations to the use of Adam Cheng's famous theme song from Romance of the Book and Sword to set the tone for a scene. They mention the influence Michael Mann's Heat on the feel they were reaching for and hint at scenes that were cut from the longer version of the original script.

The second disc of extras, subtitled as 60 Minutes Special Mission is presented fullscreen and is only partially subtitled in English.

The Director's Statement is bravely political (especially considering Hong Kong's current climate) and reveals that the film's underlying bleakness has more to do with the filmmaker himself rather than say, any undue box office influence from Infernal Affairs. For Pang, the closure of the Tonnocchy Night Club meant not only the end of the golden age for the male characters in the film, but also symbolized the end of Hong Kong's golden era as a free economic and creative powerhouse since the handover to China. A surprisingly somber thought for what is typically considered as comedic escapist fare.

The making-of-featurette is about 22 minutes long and looks like it was made for television. Quick interviews with the cast and crew reveal details behind the script and even background information for the characters, especially for the women in the film. While the wives get quite a bit of screen time, little is known about who they are and where they came from, and here you get a chance to see more of the wonderful actresses and what they thought about their roles. While clearly a promotional piece, it's shot well and much of the on-location footage is quite interesting and is definitely worth a look.

Okay, now the deleted scenes are a real disappointment. Not only are the 5 selections not subtitled, but they're all very minor and are little more than extended scene bits. They're a little funny if you understand Cantonese, but nowhere to be found are the alternate takes and whole sequences that were dropped from the finished cut as mentioned in the commentary track. A missed opportunity.

The Outtakes Footage selection was a little confusing at first, but basically you have to play a game set up as series of 'missions' that involves picking in the proper order all the places that the men visit in the film. Not too hard, and it's amusing the first time, but it's kind of annoying if you have to do it over and over again. The outtakes themselves are only 7 minutes long and consist of flubbed lines and laughing performers. Unremarkable, and also not subtitled.

The Storyboard Comparisons shows clips from 3 scenes simultaneously with their storyboards and displays the differences between the two. Not too exciting.

Also included is the trailer, which is always nice to have and a quickie TV spot.

The Photo Gallery is self-explanatory and contains 30 images from the production including performers, location shots and several alternate poster designs and the film logo.

MTV is apparently a music video that was made for the film. At 3 minutes long, it splices in footage from the film with (I assume) a four member band singing the theme song in a recording studio. It's not subtitled, but the Cantonese lyrics are amusing and the guys even sing the female parts.

Data Bank has the typical plot synopsis and a short list of the cast and crew. If you click on any of the four male leads however, you will get a mini bio for the character they play rather than for the performer. Cute.

If you enjoyed the movie as much as I did, then the second bonus disc is almost worth the price, but if you decide to skip it and save a few bucks then you aren't really missing anything of import either.

Men Suddenly in Black is a terrific comedy with great performances, a clever script, and a DVD that's more than worth your time. While the plot may seem unoriginal, the film is brimming with such fresh comedic set-ups and inventive gags that the only let down is a short ending that seems rushed. Having invested so much in the characters we want to see what happens to them, but only two couples get closure on-screen. Nonetheless this is only a minor quibble as you can certainly figure out the rest. With panache and assurance Edward Pang has put together an outstanding film and is definitely a talent to watch.

copyright©2004 Leon Ho

Reviewed 9/10/2004