Hoi sam gwai

The 1984 movie "The Happy Ghost" (aka "Hoi sam gwai") is one of those lighthearted comedies that has a broad appeal, and thus is a movie that is very easily watched and enjoyed.

I happened to watch the 1985 sequel before watching this 1984 first movie, so I had a general idea of what I was in for as I sat down to watch the 1984 movie from writers Clifton Ko, Joe Ma and Bing-cheung Mak.

The storyline in "The Happy Ghost" is an enjoyable one. It is a storyline that has different types of comedy, so there is a good chance of there being something for you to enjoy. But at the same time, the movie actually also has a heart and soul, and a nice enough story to tell. So it is not just all goofy silliness and laughs.

Raymond Pak-Ming Wong plays the role of the happy ghost and he does so quite nicely, because he has that boyish charm to him, while he also have the capabilities of acting and navigating without the comedy genre.

I found "The Happy Ghost" to be a wholeheartedly enjoyable early 1980s comedy. If you are familiar with the Hong Kong cinema from that time, then you know what you are in for here. And "The Happy Ghost" does deliver on that quite well.

My rating of the 1984 "The Happy Ghost" is a six out of ten stars.

This is comedy fantasy movie from Hong Kong, where a group of college girls befriends a ghost of a poor scholar named Stewart Pik (Raymond Wong) from the Ching Dynasty, whom committed suicide because of his failed education, career and marriage. The ghost helps the girls, Bonnie (Bonnie Lam), Juliet (Loletta Lee) and Venus (Sandy Lamb), go through their daily school trials, but leads to some misadventures along the way.

One of my favorite Hong Kong movies from my childhood, this film captures the innocence and care-freeness of Casper the Friendly Ghost and also brings you an important message of friendship, family and educational pride. It is funny seeing the ghost play tricks on the girls' rivals at school and heartwarming to see how the ghost uses the lessons learned from his misfortune to make a positive influence in their girls' lives. Clifton Ko did a nice job directing the movie, keeping the plot interesting and full of zest. The cast of characters all gave a believable and terrific performance in their respective roles.

It is an innocent movie, but with a touch of comedic ghost horror, that is perfect for the entire family. Who wouldn't like to see some fun and harmless magic being thrown around at people? As a film I grew up with, I would often watch it with my cousins when younger, and it is very nostalgic to this day.

Grade A

This is the first of many Happy Ghost films and it centers on a girl's school. While fleeing the rain at a camping trip, the girls (including a young Loletta Lee) come upon a rope that materializes into the form of the title character. He becomes their friend and does things for them, including making sure one of the girls wins events at a school athletic competition. This film is mostly harmless, with the only dose of major reality being teen pregnancy. I would guess this film was aimed for teens and it delivers. It had to be successful, it spawned so many sequels (I know about three more, but there may have been more). A pleasant, non raunchy teen comedy with a dose of comic horror. Pleasant viewing, I'd recommend it.