Spoonatects Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Taha Avalos The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Kimball Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Leofwine_draca MY YOUNG AUNTIE offers something a little different to the usual Shaw Brothers film. This one goes down the comedy musical route and it's something of an overlong piece at two hours, but it still manages to pack in all of the fight action that you expect from Shaw; it's simply that the rest of the film is unlike the majority of the studio's action output.The main thrust of the story concerns the lovely Kara Hui and the unusual situation in which she finds herself: married to an elderly chap who dies, she is now the senior woman of the family, the titular character, to whom others must defer to despite her youth and beauty. Thus this is a fish-out-of-water comedy, with a lot of slapstick and knockabout humour arising from Hui's relationship with the bratty youth played by Hsiao Hou.Hou doesn't often get the chance to shine in the films but he makes a big impact here, and is funny and a great fighter to boot. Presiding over things (he wrote and directed, as well as co-starring) is Liu Chia-Liang with a strong role that dominates the action at the climax. In support are Wang Lung Wei playing his usual stock mega-villain, Gordon Liu in an amusing cameo as a westernised Chinese, and Yuen Tak, one of the least known of the famous 'Seven Yuens' which included Jackie Chan and Yuen Biao. The musical scenes are surprisingly a lot of fun and the comedy works well too. The highlight is undoubtedly the sight of seeing Hui kung fu-fighting in a dress that shows off her lovely figure; she's a real star in this one.

elshikh4 First of all I loved this movie. But it got strange points that bothered me. Sure we're accustomed to the American movies and their formulas. In the same time, it isn't a problem to be accustomed to other formulas as long as they proved themselves solid. This time I think it didn't. At its start the movie puts a story with a great basis. An widow grand auntie who is less than 20 year old, hiding her youth and suppressing her rebellion under so serious looks and old fashioned clothes. Now she had to meet someone of her age who's totally the opposite (love must be in the air by now). Not to mention, that there is also an evil antagonist who chases both and wants to steal and destroy them. So, it's some romantic comedy about the hypocrisy of the past, while not living the present (the girl represents the past of Hong Kung, while the boy is the present with all the recent inventions, modern culture, etc), and it's a kung-fu movie in which fights must solve a big conflict and beat a very wily relative who has such an incredible booby-trapped house and unbeatable henchmen. The thing is; the romance didn't end up; I don't know is it inappropriate, in the Hong Kung's culture, for the guy to marry the girl at last ?? And the climactic sequences went on and on like it's forever. True that bringing the 4 old men into the battle was a good move that must attract the older audience, giving Lau Kar-Leung, who performed the character Yu Jing-Chuen, and wrote, directed the whole movie, the time of his life as well. But I felt so board, especially with not changing the place.Save the last 20 minutes, still this movie is so watchable. Kara Hui is the jewel of it, as the auntie (Jing Dai-Nan). She proved that her acting is as perfect as her martial arts. It's fascinating how she was turning from a staid statue into just a teen girl with all the natural astonishment. Her amazed looks to a new colorful world she didn't experience before, waking up her youth inside, assured how a gifted actress she is. The scene in which she fights some guys in the market while wearing a naked dress (beating them up, then hiding her exposed legs) was one of the loveliest and sexiest moments I ever saw in a movie. Fair enough to win the Best Actress honors at the first annual Hong Kong Film Awards for that performance. Yu Jing-Chuen wasn't less powerful himself, making such a nice character. And I believe by writing that end he kind of implied that the new generation can't have victory only by itself; they need the old one to really overpower. Hsiao Hou, as the son (Ah Tao), was the least interesting cast-member, doing well in the fighting scenes and the comic ones, while lacking the charisma of everyone around. The cameo of the legendary Chia Hui Liu (aka : Gordon Liu) as the friend (James) was strange, he didn't do much as if that was a rest role for him, and he looked extremely ridiculous in that big blond wig too ! Anyway, the entire movie is enjoyable, having sense of difference for the Shaw Brothers movies at the time. I mean we have the beginning of the 20th century, with automobiles, masquerades, singing, dancing, and sex tone, getting totally out of the Shaolin Monastery and the bald monks! Simply the decorous atmosphere got finally broken, even if a little. I loved this story, with its comedy, action and wind of change indeed. I just didn't like most of the third act; it ruined the taste of the final product.

Zac Hanscom If you're looking for a kung-fu action movie, look elsewhere. While there are fighting scenes, the film revolves around its provincial protagonist, who struggles to find her way in Americanized Canton. Unlike most "kung-fu comedies," the action scenes are used to reinforce the comedy, instead of the other way around.Cheung Booi is a statement about the farcical nature of kung-fu movies, where the stars always seem to find some reason to fight. Instead of some grand drama about honor and respect, minor misunderstandings cause the characters to yell at each other and start beating each other up.My Young Auntie, as it's known in the West, is the story of Cheng Tai-nun, played by Kara Hui, who is a young woman who marries an elderly landowner to keep his holdings from falling into the hands of his greedy and corrupt brother. After he dies, she moves to Canton to live with her nephew, played by director Lau Kar Leung, and his son Ah Tao, played by Hsiao Ho.The basis of the irony is that although Cheng is the same age as Ah Tao, her manner is more akin to her status as his step-great-aunt. While Ah Tao speaks English (extremely poorly), plays the guitar and goes to costume parties, Cheng utterly fails when she tries to adapt to her lifestyle in Canton, complete with makeup, revealing gowns, high heels and dance scenes.What makes this movie great is its realization. Lau Kar Leung is perhaps one of the greatest, if not the greatest director of his generation in Hong Kong, and Kara Hui won "Best Actress" at the first Hong Kong Film Awards in 1982. Also, this is arguably Hsiao Ho's finest performance. His chemistry with Hui is remarkable, and although he went on to have a storied career in kung-fu comedies, often working alongside Sammo Hung, he has the perfect combination of athleticism and comedy. As the romantic tension and intrigue build in the second half of the movie, his entire countenance changes. No longer does he easily jaunt through life without a care in the world. He becomes the straight man and his cohorts the Kramer, Elaine and George.My one complaint is how suddenly the comedic aspects of the film die off during the conclusion. The film transitions from outright farce to dramatic intrigue with little but a change in incidental music. But there is a certain symmetry in it. The film begins focused on the intrigue, focused more on Lau Kar Leung's character, and it ends that way, too. But the final scene returns to the movie's comedic roots, giving conclusion to both aspects of the film.

winner55 Some martial-arts purists think that comedy was the worst thing that could have happened to the old-school kung-fu flick; and it is true that the introduction of comedy into the genre signaled the end of the "chop-socky" period in Hong Kong film. But the fact is, one can only carry-on a primarily physical exhibition of prowess for just so long, then everyone gets bored with it. And that's really why the chop-socky died and how the Hong Kong "New Wave" action film was born: the producers, the actors, the directors all just got bored with hitting people for ninety-minutes straight.Given that, and given the fact that Liu Chia Liang is a professional director with a considerable list of films in his resume, this film has to be seen as something other than just another kung-fu comedy. Rather, it is a comic film within the martial-arts genre, and in fact one of the best ever made.What Liu has done with this film is really a pleasant surprise: he has taken a martial-arts plot and re-constructed it along the lines of a Hollywood-style musical! Complete with episodes of singing and dancing! It was around the time of the making of this film that some film-makers and film fans began to recognize that the cinematic performance of martial-arts (really derived from the acrobatics of the Chinese opera) has more in common with dance than with fighting. (I will continue to point out this connection until most Americans realize what they are actually supposed to look for when watching a martial arts film - well-choreographed body movements, using the plot of an action film as an excuse for their performance.) At any rate, quite clearly Liu Chia Liang made this connection and decided he would explore it close to its limits.The result is an incredibly charming entertainment, filled with marvelously human characters attempting miraculous kung-fu (and tripping over their own shoelaces as often as not when they do so). and the film being set at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, allows Liu the opportunity to explore the nature of the Westernization and Modernization of China that contributed so greatly to the making of the China we know today. So the film has considerable historical import as well.Also, fans of Stephen Chow's recent Kung Fu Hustle should really watch this movie carefully, as Chow clearly learned from it before the making of his own film.A very amusing, well-made film. Oh, yes, and the kung fu in it is really, really good.Purists won't admit it, but this is probably director Liu's best film.