Writer: Goh Wen Xuan

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Watch this if you liked: “72 Tenants Of Prosperity”, “Short Of Love”

The power of a funnyman: Take one look at him and you'll burst out laughing uncontrollably. That is how Chapman To and Wong Cho Lam are in "La Comedie Humaine"; you can't help but laugh when they appear on screen!

"La Comedie Humaine" is a story about an unnamed killer (Chapman To) who travels to Hong Kong with his partner Sunset (Benz Hui) for a killing assignment. Somehow or another, they both split up, with Sunset leaving a rooftop address to meet. Sadly, the killer met with an accident and was rescued by Soya (Wong Cho Lam), a screenwriter. The killer, who wakes up annoyed by Soya's undivided attention to him, tries to kill him but fails every time! Soya then tells him about his love story with Sky Love, a neurotic girl who abuses him all the time. An unlikely friendship blossoms between Soya and Seeto Chun Wan (the killer's fake name).

The movie is refreshingly hilarious, with two movie spoofs inserted in: "Assembly" (2007) and John Woo's mega hit "The Killers" (1989). Chapman To, Wong Cho Lam and Benz Hui are in their element, combining both imitation and impromptu within each scene to make this movie a rib-tickling fest. Several memorable scenes stood out, including one that needed Seeto Chun Wan to come up with a story in order to lie to Soya. The whole story concocted by him was riddled with movie titles, all taken from various DVDs around Soya's house! Now, THAT'S pure genius in screenwriting.

After bursting into the scene under TVB, Wong Cho Lam has been a phenomenon in his over-the-top acting. "La Comedie Humaine" has been nothing short of excellent acting by Cho Lam. Chapman To's Mainland China-ish accent and belly-baring shrunken outfits were nothing short of entertaining as well. Kudos should also be given to Fiona Sit, who plays a schizophrenic ex-girlfriend of Soya, who doesn't believe in Soya's commitment to their relationship due to her family issues.

Overall, "La Comedie Humaine" gave the reviewer a pleasant surprise, without displaying an extreme amount of satire like other Hollywood spoofs. Watch this movie if you like Wong Cho Lam and Chapman To's comical performance. Avoid this if you prefer to watch Wong Cho Lam strutting around in a girl's outfit like Handelababy.

Cinema Online, 13 July 2010