Vulgaria

[GeneChing]

Dialog NSFW if anyone understands Cantonese at your work.
Vulgaria Movie Trailer (2012)

Vulgaria movie trailer

Vulgaria: Filmart Review
11:02 AM PDT 3/22/2012 by Deborah Young

The Bottom Line
A laugh-out-loud, outrageous black sex farce from prolific Hong Kong director Pang Ho-cheung is earmarked for festivals.

Venue
Hong Kong Filmart, March 22, 2012.

Cast
Chapman To, Dada Chan, Ronald Cheng

Director
Pang Ho-cheung

Director Pang Ho-cheung appeals to international audiences in this laugh-out-loud, aptly titled comedy.

Fully living up to its title, Vulgaria is Hong Kong comedy at its breeziest and most communicative. Even if this odyssey about a debt-ridden film producer who stoops as low as you can go to finance his next picture – a porn flick bankrolled by a gangster – it isn’t going to replace Mel Brooks’ The Producers as sub-genre leader anytime soon; it’s smooth and funny enough to win its own coterie of admirers. The laughs are universal and will ensure fast and furious festival bookings, but many of the references to local actors, etc., are in-jokes that won’t be caught outside H.K. It will be interesting to see how this witty, R-rated material is going to fly with more conservative Asian audiences.

It is the second film by prolific director Pang Ho-cheung to play in the current Hong Kong Intl. Film Festival, after his romantic comedy Love in the Buff opened the event. It’s not hard to see their strong local appeal. Both films pivot around a deep feeling for Hong Kong’s dialect, slang, food and social behavior, which in this case makes them even more interesting, if a bit less accessible, to the rest of the world. In the case of Vulgaria, there may be some remake value abroad.

The film’s extreme spontaneity is a result of the off-the-cuff way it was made in twelve days on a mini-budget, with the screenwriters penning scenes and actors improvising as they went along. The zippy pace, cascades of characters and droll perfs offer more proof of the director’s versatility and grasp of genres.

A film teacher has invited uninhibited veteran producer To Wai-cheung (Chapman To) to address his class of film students and explain what his profession is all about. To immediately takes charge and likens the producer’s job to pubic hair, specifically in its/his function of decreasing friction in the director’s intercourse with the financier. Prodded by questions from the floor, he launches in on a frank, often gross, history of his hit film Confessions of Two Concubines, in which he used wannabe actress Popping Candy (Dada Chan) as the 20-year-old body double for an aging porn star (a good-natured cameo by cult actress Susan Shaw.)

But before he gets everybody on the set, To is forced to scrape together some production funds. His ex-wife, a heartless lawyer, agrees to loan him money and suspend alimony payments for a year, on the condition he give up visitation rights to the daughter he adores. Of course he ends up accepting. An associate introduces him to a man with some money to invest – a glittery young mob boss whose lavish dinner party becomes the scene of a hysterical show-down. To atone for not eating the stomach-churning delicacies put before them, the producers are ordered to copulate with two female mules lead into the restaurant.

At this point To tells the student his memory goes blank (illustrated by a piece of 35mm film burning up), and it will not be until the end credits that the truth about that fateful night is revealed.

Chapman To, one of the recurring characters in the Infernal Affairs trilogy and co-producer on Pang’s Isabella, is instantly recognizable as the deadpan producer whose one-track mind rarely deviates from making movies. As such he is wholly sympathetic, even when succumbing to the advances of Popping Candy, an expert in exotic oral sex. Newcomer Dada Chan brings an uncommon archness to an airhead role that should signal her own big-screen break.



Production company: Making Film Productions

Director: Pang Ho-cheung

Cast: Chapman To, Dada Chan, Ronald Cheng

Screenwriters: Pang Ho-cheung, Lam Chiu-wing, Luk Yee-sum

Producers: Pang Ho-cheung, Subi Liang

Director of photography: Jason Kwan

Production designer: Ho Lok-lam

Editor: Wenders Li

Music: Alan Wong, Janet Yung

Sales Agent: Golden Scene Co. Ltd (Hong Kong)

No rating, 90 minutes.

[Hebrew Hammer]

I'm pretty sure that's Sanjuros country of origin.

[GeneChing]

Who will be first with the KFM review for this one?

Vulgaria 低俗喜劇
Hong Kong
Contemporary comedy
2012, colour, 2.35:1, 92 mins
Directed by Pang Ho-cheung (彭浩翔)

Vulgaria
By Derek Elley
Tue, 31 July 2012, 17:45 PM (HKT)

Rough-and-ready satire of low-end Hong Kong filmmaking is what it is, and no more. Asian events, plus niche ancillary.
Story

Hong Kong, the present day. Low-end film producer To Wai-cheung (Chapman To) gives a master class to students at a university, moderated by Professor Cheng (Lawrence Cheng). Asked about product placement, he tells a story in which his pitch to an insurance company was screwed up by his assistant, overseas Chinese Lau Sin-yee (Fiona Sit), wrongly altering his presentation. On the subject of raising finance, he recounts a memorable dinner in Beihai, Guangxi province, China, with a potential investor, gangster Tyrannosaurus (Ronald Cheng), who wanted him to remake his favourite erotic costume drama from his youth, Confession of a Concubine (官人我要, 1976), with the same actress, Yum Yum Shaw. Tyrannosaurus suggested the title Confessions of Two Concubines (官人我又要). Back in Hong Kong, Wai-cheung couldn't persuade Yum Yum Shaw (Susan Shaw), now in her 60s, to take the part; but he got an old friend, Blackie Tak (Matt Chow), then running an illegal gambling den, to agree to direct. Wai-cheung was behind on his alimony payments to his ex-wife, barrister Tsang Lai-fun (Kristal Tin); when she told him to look after their young daughter Siu-kuen (Jacqueline Chan) while she was on a business trip to Shanghai, Wai-cheung was helped by wannabe starlet Tsui Ka-yan, aka "Popping Candy" (Dada Chan). Yum Yum Shaw finally agreed to take the part when Wai-cheung came up with the idea of using CGI to put her face on to Ka-yan's body in the sex scenes. Production was finally ready to start - but more problems were to follow.
Review

Vulgaria 低俗喜劇 is what it is, and no more — a rough-and-ready comedy about the lower end of the film industry, shot on the hoof (in a rapid 12 days), absolutely Hong Kong in its humour (the dialogue only really works in Cantonese), and with not much structure beyond a series of sketches. Most of all, it's a return to roots by maverick director PANG Ho-cheung 彭浩翔, a deliberately free-wheeling blast of energy by a film-maker who seems to need to let off some steam at a time when he's becoming too conventional mainstream (Love in a Puff 志明與春嬌 (2010), Love in the Buff 春嬌與志明). On that level, it works fine: the film has more hits than misses in its jokes, and the cameo-heavy structure keeps things moving. It's exactly what its Chinese title says, A Comedy in Poor Taste.

Pang has been here before, from different angles: film-making satire (You Shoot, I Shoot 買兇拍人 (2001)), erotic film-making (AV ＡＶ (2005)) and racy dialogue (Love in a Puff). Vulgaria throws it all together and, from the film's opening with a 10-second pause for easily offended viewers to leave the cinema, it wears its shock value on its sleeve. And that's the biggest problem with the movie: as in Love in a Puff, Pang's desire to shock too often gets in the way of the real humour. Only in one sequence does Pang really hit the mark and spend the time developing a whole setpiece: a dinner with a Mainland gangster financier (beautifully over-played by comedian Ronald CHENG 鄭中基) that sends up things like extravagance in New China, triad face-saving and Hong Kong kowtowing to Mainland money — and climaxes, literally, with a bang.

Most of the other scenes are more like brief comedy sketches littered with sex-jokes. Some work okay (such as a wannabe starlet describing her idea for a masturbation videogame), while others (Miriam YEUNG 楊千嬅 cameoing as an equal opportunities officer) don't spark as they should. The best stuff, in fact, is when Pang stops trying to shock his audience and lets the characters develop on their own: at its rather soft heart, the film is more about a divorced father trying to connect with his young daughter, or recover his self-esteem by launching a successful franchise, than an expose of the seamier side of Hong Kong film-making.

As the producer who'll literally do anything to raise a dollar (including copulating with a mule), Chapman TO 杜汶澤 is nicely cast, managing to hint at a real character beneath the producer-ly show-acting. (To's scenes with his real wife, actress Kristal TIN 田蕊妮, as his acerbic ex, also hit the spot.) And several of the cameos — '70s sexpot Yum Yum Shaw (now Susan SHAW 邵音音) and Hong Kong-based Japanese actor HAYAMA Hiro 葉山豪, as themselves — have a good-humoured warmth. But the best performance, apart from To's, is by 23-year-old newcomer Dada CHAN 陳靜, a Shanghai-born model (aka E-Cup Goddess Dada 百果園Ｅ神), as a starlet with a special gift who's known as "Popping Candy". Chan manages to blend sexiness, innocence and knowingness into a character who, in comic terms, is the most real character in the whole movie.

Technically, the film is nothing special, but that doesn't get in the way of the antics.

[GeneChing]

Gotta be fast to catch the US releases. They're happening through AMC/Wanda, but it's usually only a one-week run for only a dozen or so theaters across the US.

September 5, 2012, 2:26 PM HKT
‘Vulgaria’ Defends Local Culture
By Dean Napolitano



Just when it looked as if Hong Kong director Pang Ho-cheung was taking the high road, his latest movie plumbs the depths of lowbrow. And that’s just how he wants it.

After two mainstream romantic comedies, “Love in a Puff” from 2010 and this year’s sequel “Love in the Buff,” Mr. Pang has returned to his roots with “Vulgaria,” about a local filmmaker (Chapman To) who grovels shamelessly before a mainland Chinese investor (a standout Ronald Cheng) looking to bankroll a remake of the 1976 erotic movie “Confessions of a Concubine.” Their dinner business meeting sinks into a free-for-all, with the filmmaker joining a wild orgy involving booze, gangsters and a pair of mules. All of this is in an effort to secure financing, which he eventually gets.

In a summer of Batman, Spider-Man and assorted Avengers, “Vulgaria” has emerged as one of Hong Kong’s most popular movies. As of Sunday, it had pulled in 26.8 million Hong Kong dollars (US$3.5 million) since opening Aug. 9, according to the city’s Motion Picture Industry Association. That’s enough to qualify it as a genuine hit in this city of 7.1 million – especially given its Category III rating, which bars anyone under the age of 18 and is comparable to the U.S.’s NC-17 rating.

“Vulgaria” is Mr. Pang’s most provocative film yet. (The movie’s Chinese title — 低俗喜劇 — translates as “Low-Class Comedy.”) Its approach is in line with his previous work: In “You Shoot, I Shoot” (2001), a contract killer hires a novice director to document his hits, and in “AV” (2005), a group of young slackers hatch a scheme to bring a Japanese porn star to Hong Kong under the pretext of making an adult video.

But it also recalls some of the comedies from producer-director Wong Jing over the past 25 years — tasteless, offensive and laugh-out-loud funny — but with a pointed commentary about Hong Kong’s place in China.

Fans have praised “Vulgaria” as well-suited to local sensibilities. It lampoons everything from mainland triads to last year’s hit “3-D Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy.” That movie’s leading man, Hiro Hayama, even pops up in a cameo playing himself.

And “Vulgaria” skewers the current era of China-Hong Kong co-productions, which allows Hong Kong films easy distribution in China provided a quota of mainland talent is involved. One can imagine Mr. Pang having had to jump over the same hurdles as the movie’s hero — minus the mules. Indeed, he hasn’t turned his back on mainland financing, having relocated to Beijing a couple years ago to be closer to the action.

These days, it’s rare to find a Hong Kong film aimed at local moviegoers, not the mainland market. The success of “Vulgaria” is testament to the hunger for local movies that don’t cater to mainland preferences and censorship requirements.

When asked if “Vulgaria” would be distributed in China, producer Subi Liang replied: “Impossible.”

Perhaps most telling, the film can be seen as a defense of Hong Kong culture, especially in the current climate of what locals say is interference from Beijing. Hong Kong has been hit in recent weeks with protests against plans to enact “moral and national education,” which aims to promote a greater sense of identification among local residents with mainland China.

Mr. Pang told the Journal that he wanted to make a “film for Hong Kong people aimed at defending my mother tongue, Cantonese…Being brought up in [an] environment filled with Cantonese, I have a strong feeling towards this language and a desire to do something contributing to the preservation of Cantonese.”

The movie is laced with residents’ partiality for slang and profane idioms. “Obscene and foul language is the quintessence of Cantonese,” Mr. Pang said.

But will audiences outside Hong Kong find anything to laugh at? “Fluency in Cantonese is a must to get the full effect,” LoveHKfilm.com said in its review.

Mr. Pang said, however, that he believes global audiences will welcome a good Hong Kong comedy even if they don’t know the language. As proof, he points out that “Vulgaria” recently picked up awards at the Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal and South Korea’s Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival, and was the opening film at this summer’s New York Asian Film Festival.

“Vulgaria” is finding audiences elsewhere, too. It was released in Australia and New Zealand last month and will soon open in Taiwan, Singapore, Canada and the U.S.

Still, Mr. Pang has made a special point of showing his appreciation to Hong Kong moviegoers by popping up unannounced at local theaters showing “Vulgaria.” It’s important, he said, to acknowledge the “unfailing support from audiences.”

[GeneChing]

Haven't found out what theaters yet, but I saw a poster for this at the local Chinese market.

EXCLUSIVE: Dada Chen Sucks In New Clip From VULGARIA
James Marsh, Asian Editor

Already the most successful Hong Kong film of the year, and coming off a Best Actor win at last night's Fantastic Fest Awards, the hilarious Category III comedy Vulgaria is about to hit US theatres courtesy of China Lion, and so we come to this new clip.

Vulgaria is the latest film from writer/director Pang Ho Cheung, whose previous work includes such diverse films as Dream Home, Love In A Puff and Isabella, and charts the trials and tribulations of a struggling film producer (Chapman To), who will do just about anything to secure financing for his next film. When he gets caught up with a model nicknamed "Popping Candy" (Dada Chen), who is hustling for an acting career, To soon finds her advances impossible to resist and in danger of destroying his already rocky family life.

The film opens in North America on 28 September, and the following clip gives a pretty accurate taster of what is in store:

follow link above for vid (warning: you'll want some of these)

[GeneChing]

China Lion would be bringing me back into the movie theaters, but unfortunately I'm way too busy this weekend.

September 28th, 2012

New York
Empire 25
234 West 42nd St. New York, NY

AMC Loews Village 7
66 3rd Avenue New York, NY 10003

Los Angeles Area
Atlantic Times Square 14
450 N Atlantic Blvd, Monterey Park, CA

Puente 20
1560 South Azusa Avenue, City Of Industry, CA

San Francisco Area
Mercado 20
3111 Mission College Boulevard, Santa Clara, CA

Metreon 16
101 Fourth Street, San Francisco, CA

San Diego
Mission Valley 20
1640 Camino Del Rio North San Diego, CA

Chicago
River East 21
322 East Illinois Street, Chicago, IL

Boston
Boston Commons 19
175 Tremont Street, Boston, MA

Houston
Studio 30 HOU
2949 Dunvale Road, Houston, TX

Seattle
(Releasing date Oct 5th)
Pacific Place 11
600 Pine Street, E 400, Seattle, WA

Miami
Sunset Place 24
5701 Sunset Drive, Ste 300, South Miami, FL

Greater DC
Loews Rio Cinemas 18
9811 Washingtonian Ctr. Gaithersburg, MD

[GeneChing]

The HCtB screener was at Mercado last night, and the poster for Vulgaria was still up and even said "Now Playing" but it wasn't showing that night. I would have totally stayed for it, would have bought a ticket even, if it was.