Rich and Famous (1987) Review

Series: Rich and Famous Saga (1/2)

Director: Taylor Wong

Cast: Andy Lau, Chow Yun Fat, Alex Man, Alan Tam, Pauline Wong, Danny Lee

Country: Hong Kong

Let it be known right here that one of the lead actors in this film, Chow Yun Fat, is my favorite actor of all time. No one, and I mean no one does action like Chow does. Put a gun in that man's hand or a smile on his face and I am freakin' glued to the screen! I also want to say that this is probably the worst film to start with as far as it comes to diving into the amazing filmography of the man himself. However, it was on my mind and I haven't watched in over a year or so. Therefore, I watched it and you will all get your first taste of my love for Chow Yun.

The Godfather Part 1: Rich and Famous

Rich and Famous is a really good Hong Kong gangster drama. It tells a very compelling story of loyalty, brotherhood, and love in its one hour and forty three minute run time. However, this is Part One of the story. That's right, this is a two part ordeal a-la Kill Bill. I have already seen Part Two (a.k.a. Tragic Hero) but will just focus on Part One for now.

Rich and Famous is very much like a Hong Kong attempt at The Godfather Parts One and Two. Attempting to redo The Godfather is no task anyone should ever have to attempt. Therefore, Rich and Famous is a much shorter and action packed version of the kind of generation spanning drama that you would find in a Godfather film.

Kwok (Andy Lau) and Yung (Alex Man) are two brothers who stick through the thick and thin. While Yung is not biologically Kwok's brother, Kwok's father adopted him long ago when he became an orphan. The two get along well at a young age and develop a powerful bond. The film than fast forwards to the 1960's when the brothers have grown up a bit. Yung is always being a troublemaker and gets in to deep trouble when he lands himself with major gambling debt. When Yung and Kwok try to pay off the gambling debt by stealing money from a gang boss named Chu (Chun Hsiung Ko), they land themselves in even more trouble. Eventually, Chu and his men get their hands on Kwok. Yung and his sister Chiu than have to beg for the help of none other than Brother Chai (Chow Yun Fat), one of the heads of the Chinese Triads.

Andy Lau and Alex Man are great as conflicting brothers.

Brother Chai has no need to help them. However, he feels bad for the siblings and knows that it is the right thing to do. He also wants to show Chu that he shouldn't be so brutal and hard on people. With Kwok's release, Yung and Kwok become indentured workers to Brother Chai. While many stories and characters branch off from these events, two main stories drive the rest of the film.

1. The slow dissipation of the relationship between Kwok and Yung.
2. The rising tension between Chu and Chai.

I forgot how good Rich and Famous is. I love all of the characters and how they all change and grow up over the course of several years. I love Andy Lau as Kwok. He's a great and loyal brother who values honor and brotherhood over anything else. Alex Man is also great as his brother Yung. Yung undergoes the biggest character arc of them all too. I know this isn't as good as The Godfather's generational family drama, but I thought that was on display here was quite good for a run of the film 80's H.K. actioner.

Chow Yun Fat is obviously awesome. He plays Brother Chai with his usual charm and grace. I also find it interesting that all of the DVD's, VHS's, and posters for this film paint Chow as the lead character. For the first half of this film, Yung and Kwok are the leads. It takes a good thirty minutes before Chow is even introduced into the film. His Brother Chai character is definitely not the lead. He arguably shares the screen with Yung and Kwok equally.

Chow's Sunglass of Choice: the Ray Ban.

Alan Tam, a famous H.K. singer, plays a memorable supporting character named Mak. He starts off as a sniffling (literally) wimp and turns into a rich and fashionable guy. He single handedly saves the day at the end of the film too. I just loved his character so much. Interesting fact: Tam has released a whopping 115 albums of music, 115!

Danny Lee (The Killer) even has a bizarre guest appearance. As I watched the film for what must be my second time, I noticed a hilarious continuity error involving Lee. Near the end of the film, Lee gets out of a police car and has a head of curly hair. As he walks up to Chow, his hair is now flat! Than, during the very final scene, he shows up again and has curly hair! What happened with the hair department on this!

Notable character actor Shing Fui On also plays one of Brother Chai's guards. Shing Fui On usually plays villains and henchmen in other H.K. films such as A Better Tomorrow 2, Legacy of Rage, The Killer, Tiger on Beat, and God of Gamblers. Therefore, it was nice to see him on the good guy side for once.

A strangulating yo-yo. Watch out Inspector Gadget.

As I stated before, Rich and Famous is mostly a drama. However, that doesn't stop it from having some action here and there. There is a fun fist fight and chase scene at the beginning of the film that is pretty awesome. Yung and Kwok even duke it out melee style in a small restaurant. Kwok even gets knocked out of window and climbs right back up!

The two action highlights come in the form of two shootouts. One shootout, which is very spoilery, bookends the film. I won't go into details on that because it would truly ruin the film for those who have not seen it. However, there is a great shootout at the thirty minute mark that lets all of the film's characters get in on the action. It's definitely the best scene of the movie. Chow Yun Fat even rolls up in a car and drive by shoots a bunch of guys! I want to applaud just thinking about it.

I'd even applaud Chow eating. He's a God (of Gamblers).

Backed by awesome music and memorable characters, Rich and Famous is a great Hong Kong action film that is never discussed in the same breath as the other great Heroic Bloodshed films. That's a shame, because it is quite good. All of the performances are great and the little action that is there is completely memorable. This film will mostly please genre fanatics like myself. Tune in next time for the big finale in...Tragic Hero!

Rating: 9/10 - Rich and Famous is an awesome and underrated Heroic Bloodshed film. Highly recommended!

Best Kill / Beatdown: My favorite kill might be the last kill. Sorry, that's a spoiler though!

Best Performance: Surprisingly, Alex Man gives the best performance as the tragic brother who turns from good to evil over the course of the film.

Best Action Scene: The epic house shootout is fantastic. A high body count, memorable kills, and sick music decorate this bloody moment of hell breaking loose. This is Chinese action done right ladies and gentlemen.

Franchise:

Rich and Famous (1987)

Tragic Hero (1987)