Missbehavior
88 minutes, Hong Kong, 2019
Reviewed by Arturo Arredondo
Pang Ho Cheung is one of the most interesting filmmakers in Hong Kong today. He excels at witty, vulgar comedies that surprisingly resist the urge to pander to the lowest common denominator. His works frequently and unsurprisingly require a knowledge of Hong Kong pop culture, Cantonese wordplay, and current events in HK. Missbehavior is no different. It is his first foray into the typically lucrative Lunar New Year comedy format; it’s certainly lightyears ahead of most other LNY comedies despite not being quite as good as some of Pang’s other works, but if you know Canto, it’s clear what you’re in for considering the title of the film in that language can be translated as, “Congratulations bitch.”
June (the woefully underused Lam Siu Ha) is an office worker trying to help her boss Luna Fu prepare to snag a well-known client’s investment for a project. This client is very particular, and a lot is riding on the presentation. The client requests a coffee, and June is instructed to prepare it with low fat milk. In the office refrigerator, a container of milk with a label marked “LF” is used. The client loves the drink and agrees to fund the project. Afterwards, Luna Fu asks June to prepare Luna’s breast milk from the fridge. You can guess where this is going. Desperate, June asks her friends to help bail her out of the situation; the only problem is they used to form a group called the Bitches nearly all have had falling outs with each other for a number of reasons.
The chemistry between the actors is top-notch. Considering much of the dialog and action was improvised around rough guidelines, that the film works as well as it does is a testament to the talent of the cast and crew. If acting is reacting, then the cast are presenting a masterclass in comedic timing and playing off your fellow travellers onscreen. While there is an unfortunate inclusion of a drawn-out joke involving literal toilet humor, a gag involving a stealthy home invasion revolving around a parody of the HK Fire Service mascot “Anyone” rivals the quality of some of the best jokes in You Shoot, I Shoot and maybe even Vulgaria. For the uninitiated, Anyone is a blue skinned, featureless humanoid who wears shorts over their skin but a wristwatch under their skin; a surreal and somewhat frightening presentation that has sparked many a comment from perplexed and attentive HKers.
So, while there is some social commentary and cutting humor, it isn’t a LNY film without a feel good premise, and the theme is, of course, the bonds of friendship. You wouldn’t expect much else from a LNY movie, but Pang Ho Cheung delivers an above average experience that is well worth multiple viewings and requires a bit of brain power to understand some of the references. Obviously, there isn’t going to be radical cinematography and the score hits predictable notes, but if the foundation for LNY cinema is nothing more than a good time, Missbehavior is already a few floors above.
RATINGS: 4/5
