Merry Christmas (1984)
A widower named Baldy (Karl Maka) longs for his lovely neighbor, but is unable to summon the courage to tell her until another man enters the picture and forces his hand. Knowing that Mak, the middle-aged newspaper editor, often misses his late spouse, his beloved children persuade him to date Siu Fung, the singer who lives next door. At this moment, Siu Fung's cousin, Uncle Sam, returns from the States and proposes to marry Siu Fung. One day, dispute happens between Sam and Mak which makes Siu Fung mad with Mak..
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If you don't like this, we can't be friends.
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Don't listen to the negative reviews
Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.
Many comedies made in Hong Kong at the time were like this, slapstick laden, running in double time, full of wackiness. This film is about a father with three children, two boys and a girl, and how the kids help him find love. The girl is played by Loletta Lee in an early role and you can already see her blossoming into a beauty. Karl Maka plays the father and he is just all over the place. The older son tries to help his dad by giving him advice, but sometimes the star of the show is the two year old Junior. His expressions, his little mannerisms are all funny. He gets some of the best laughs. There is, thankfully, Paula Tsui, who plays, literally, the lady next door Paula, whom the father's kids are trying to fix him up with. I don't know why he didn't try before, she's cute and sweet, but this is a comedy so these things have to play by their own rules. This comedy works because it doesn't lose focus. There are funny pranks, lots of running around, lots of shouting and, when you need it, a little warmth. If you like these kind of slapstick comedies, its definitely worth watching. Again, they made many slapstick comedies in Hong Kong at the time just like this. This is definitely a watchable one.
This is a very similar film to 'A Wonderful Life' also featuring Leslie Cheung, but in Merry Christmas, Cheung's appearance is quite minimal, and the main credits go to Karl Maka as 'Baldy Mak'.It's a very light-hearted, typically Cantonese romp about a dysfunctional family headed by Baldy Mak. Many things are greatly exaggerated in his 'ordinary' life, but it comes down to how can he get his new love to stay with him after she announces she wants to emigrate to the USA. Cheung's role is a small side part; he's a jack-the-lad figure who tries to seduce Baldy's daughter within the film. Meanwhile Baldy's elder son also has a love problem being mapped out. Just like in 'A Wonderful Life', everything materialises as a happy ending on the eve of New Year's Day (this time the Western New Year).It's not really anything special; it won't move you at all - just a flashback to an average piece of Cantonese cinema.