Rich and Famous (1987)

Very well executed

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

What begins as a feel-good-human-interest story turns into a mystery, then a tragedy, and ultimately an outrage.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

"Rich and Famous" is a slow-moving but character driven Triad drama from director, Taylor Wong, very much created in the style of other Wong titles such as "Triads: The Inside Story".Kwok (Andy Lau), his brother (Alex Man) and some of his friends begin working for local Triad kingpin Li-Ah Chai (Chow Yun-Fat) to eradicate their debt problems. They gradually become more deeply involved with Chai's activities and the goings on within the Triad organization. But problems begin to arise when Tang Kat-Yung, Kwok's brother, begins plotting his own schemes away from Chai and moving towards the company of Chai's enemy, "Big Eye" (Lam Chung).Taylor Wong creates a very familiar plot here, using all the familiar Triad clichés. Yet he manages to construct a film which is still entertaining, tense, and maintains audience interest. His detached, almost documentary style direction, passively observing the characters, is used once again. The interesting aspect of this style is that it does not generally create an opinion for the viewer but instead presents the characters in their normal states and allows the viewer to decide who is good and who is bad. Nevertheless, the slightly formulaic structure is redeemed somewhat by an excellent ensemble cast. Chow Yun-Fat, Andy Lau and Alex Man all give strong performances, while Shing Fui-On, Pauline Wong and Danny Lee provide powerful support. Danny Lee is in fact on screen far less than one would expect and only really appears in two or three scenes. However, his minor role is actually expanded by his vibrant and colourful depiction of the determined cop.Overall, although lacking in originality and inspiration, "Rich and Famous" can still be described as an entertaining and watchable addition to the genre and deserves to be seen by all HK film fans.

This is a particularly dire early Chow Yun Fat Hong Kong gangster movie that occasionally flirts with competence without ever going all the way. It's the usual good brother/bad brother plot, but it's rarely been done as shoddily as this. Danny Lee has little to do, Andy Lau isn't on top form here and only an underused Chow Yun Fat gets by on charisma alone. The film looks like it's been shot in a hurry (the first fight in the betting shop looks as convincing as a schoolgirl pillow fight) by people who'd rather be somewhere else.No surprises, badly staged and pretty amateurish all round except for a last reel wedding shootout, its hard to believe this was a big enough local hit for a sequel, Tragic Hero. Even more surprising is that Tragic Hero is actually GOOD, focusing on Chow Yun Fat's fall from power as he is abandoned and betrayed - that one has style, flair and a bit of weight to it, as well as much better action scenes. But Rich and Famous is just a waste of your time.

While much better then the sequel, this is still by no means a great movie. Every once in a while it approaches greatness, but one thing or another keeps it from achieving it. The character development is better then usual, and Alex Man gives a very good performance as the ambitious, bumbling brother. The two action sequences are excellent, and the surprisingly low body count finale actually has some feeling and emotion in it.

Although Chow Yun-fat is announced as the star of the movie, Andy Lau and Alex Man plays the two biggest parts as two brothers both working for Chow Yun-Fat but ends up as enemies. The movie doesn´t give as much action as one may have hoped, but there IS some great part of shoot-out in it. To sum it all up, it is an action-drama, with tremendous actors and a suprisingly well-written story. Any fans of Chow Yun-Fat or Andy Lau should like this as they both are excellent as their characters.