The "Chicken and Duck Talk" was one of the classic films produced by Hong Kong's film industry in its heydays from 1980 to 1995. The story itself is simple enough: an old mom-and-pop restaurant suddenly faces a new flashy competition in the form of a fast food store, and Michael Hui as the owner of the restaurant struggled but succeeded in winning the battle for business after reimaging his business. On a purely entertainment level, Michael Hui with his side-slap comedy skills, entertain audiences with various hyperbolic acts, which should keep the audience entertained on a bored night. This is a perfectly legitimate perspective to view the film but it misses the deeper theme.

Underneath the comedic acts, Hui managed to convey the concept of no matter how good traditional ideas/things are, if you can't market them by making them look pleasing and attractive to bells-and-whistles obsessed shallow modern/postmodern generations, you stand no chance against competitors that are all-show-but-no-depth. If you managed to get this point, congratulations, you are watching the film at a deeper level than 98% of Hong Kong's population, who by and large have failed to appreciate the themes beyond the general concept of good guys overcoming baddies.

And yet another deeper theme that has only gradually started to be appreciated in the early 21st century is the theme of traditional mom-and-pop businesses full of sentimental attachments versus the efficient but heartless modern enterprises. It may not be a wholly accurate depiction by Hui after all - there are plenty of cold heartless tyrants amongst mom-and-pop shops in Hong Kong and also plenty of good multinational companies, but it does give us pause to consider whether we have sacrificed our interpersonal relationships for the sake of modern developments, and whether this must follow the waves of globalization. This theme is still far too radical and anathema for a vast majority of Hong Kong people even 20 years on, who worship at the altars of "economic development above all" and the "out with the old, in with the new" mentality, and as far as I know the film pundits who have raised this point are either from the West or Taiwan.

All this is not surprising if you are aware Hui holds a Bachelor of Social Science degree in Sociology from the Chinese University of Hong Kong before he entered the entertainment industry. He knows how to document the good and ills of a society and offer commentaries via visual media. Will the film's deeper themes be appreciated in Hong Kong one day? Hopefully so, if Hong Kong wants to regain its soul.

This is another fun Hong Kong comedy starring Michael Hui and Ricky Hui (their younger Sam Hui has a cameo appearance). Here, Hui (Michael Hui) runs a restaurant with a tasty roast duck recipe. However, his employees and customers have to endure the a run-down and unsanitary looking restaurant - Hui's way of cutting maintenance cost. Hui might have to rethink his strategy when an American-style fast-food restaurant opens across the street.

It's a nice little movie with some laughable moments and decent acting, with Michael and Ricky delivering their unique comedy brand that will sure entertain the audience. Sylvia Chang, Lowell Lo, Wing-Cho Yip and Kai-Nam Ho all make a great team in making the plot pretty exciting by making the audience guess how they will be able to pull off competing with the popular fast food restaurant.

The movie is not as suspenseful or funny as previous Hui Brothers films like The Contract and Security Unlimited, but it's still great comedy that surpasses many of today's films of the 00s and on.

Grade B

I suppose you could argue that this movie relies on an extremely silly story and a great deal of stupid, almost juvenile, jokes. And I suppose this is true... but there are so *many* of the jokes, and they're all so *funny*!

It's a wonderful movie, watchable over and over, and superior to just about all of the Hollywood comedies of late. This, and "The Private Eyes", are also great examples of Hong Kong movies which are very accessible and entertaining to audiences worldwide, without compromising their own uniquely Chinese aspects.