Money Crazy

Just got finished watching Money Crazy (1977) and oh boy this movie was indeed crazy and good at the same time.

Positives for Money Crazy (1977): The movie's premise is just as insane as the movie's title. The adventure and mission that ourain characters go on to do whatever they're trying to do to this Rich Chen guy is hilarious. Also, the humor in this movie is very good for the most part. I enjoyed the main characters in this movie a lot. And finally, there are some decent action sequences in the movie.

Negatives for Money Crazy (1977): There were some characters who I felt didn't need to be in the movie and in fact the movie would be the same if not better without those characters in it. And finally, there is a number of humor scenes that didn't land for me.

Overall, Money Crazy (1977) is an entertaining Hong Kong Comedy Movie that got a couple of laughs out of me.

This is one of the few Hong Kong movies I've seen that were made in the 1970s, a story about swindlers Dragon (Richard Ng) and Poison (Ricky Hui) team up to try to steal a set of diamonds from the wealthy and shady Rich Chan (Ying Cheung).

The movie is filled with slapstick action and dry humor, coupled with some fast action scenes and a high-momentum plot. The acting is quite good; Ng and Hui make a dynamic duo and Angie Chiu made a pretty good female lead. There isn't much to the background of the characters, though, and the development and redeeming qualities are few.

Scenes with Ng hanging upside from the ceiling as he attempts to steal the diamond from Chan, a henchman getting bronzed and the servant lady opening a can of worms are some of the scenes I remembered the most. Oddly enough, they're pretty nostalgic since I first saw this movie when I was a kid.

It's a pretty funny movie - go check it out!

Grade B-

Money Crazy is a comedy vehicle for Richard Ng (a rising star for Golden Harvest). Hui brother Ricky is thrown into the mix as Richard's cohort in crime. The two swindlers team up to try and steal a diamond from a big shot Jeweller (he has ties with some real shady characters). John Woo directs the film with a manic pace, slapstick and screwball flair that he would later develop in his later films.

As usual, John Woo's female characters are their to fill up space. This is really a two many show between Ricky Hui and Richard Ng. The two make a real good team and they're funny as hell. Watch for the scene from the french film Riffi, Ricky ties Richard's feet and hoists him down from the celling head first as he tries to nab the diamond from the owner's chest because the owner installed a high tech burglar alarm that would go off with the slightest movement from outsiders.

John Woo also pays homage to the Golden Shaolin Warriors!

A must see for true John Woo fans!!

Highly recommended

A

Factoid: Eric Tsang, Ching-Ying Lam, Mars and Dick Wei make cameo appearances in this film.