There was a bit of a change of pace this week. After the epic that was ‘Shoah’ (1985), I would be lying if I said I wasn’t pleased to see Mark choosing a less than ninety-minute black comedy. A completely different vibe straight off the bat. ‘Lucky Grandma’ (2019) is a film that I knew absolutely nothing about going in which is always something that I am happy to see with these Monday reviews. Well, at least until Mark starts picking bad films and then I might be less inclined to get excited. Anyway, will you join me on this journey of discovery as we delve into ‘Lucky Grandma’? The film follows Grandma Wong (Tsai Chin), a widowed, stubborn, chain-smoker who lives in New York city’s Chinatown. On the way back from a trip to the Casino she inadvertently steals a large sum of money from the Chinese mob and thus begins a sequence of events that threatens to start a gang war.
The BFI description of this film describes it as Coen-esque which is both serendipitous with my current Friday reviews, and an accurate description of the film. Like a lot of the Coen’s films, it involves an array of eccentric characters in situations that don’t seem to fit their general character and that is where the comedy comes from. In this case, it is a Grandma embroiled in a possible gang war, which is admittedly a funny premise before we even get into the narrative. Unfortunately, I don’t think that the film executes the comedic potential of its premise as much as it could. That isn’t to say it isn’t funny because it can be, and there are a couple of big laughs thrown throughout, but overall, I was left a little disappointed by the comedic side of the film. The narrative, on the whole, is a fun one, although I think the pacing is a little off. It seems to build up a lot and then rushes a lot of quite big events into its last half an hour and it left me feeling a bit unsure as to what exactly was happening. But like I say, it is a fun premise, and it is executed well enough that it makes the film a fun time. It is also technically sound. There a few standout shouts, but it is mostly quite standard in its shot choice and composition. The sequence in the casino stands out as it reminded me a little bit of Edgar Wright and how he cuts quickly and adds intensity on quite mundane things. It isn’t exactly an accurate comparison other than in how the shots are edited and look, as this film uses it to heighten the excitement of the casino, so it isn’t focusing on mundane things, but I feel like it is probably worth mentioning. Also, worth mentioning is the score. Although the whole premise is quite silly it is made all the sillier by the score which really enhances it. It is a playful and fun score and while it is not something, you’re going to go out of your way to listen to it works well for the film.
This is a film that is hugely elevated by the performances of its actors, especially Tsai Chin. The rest of the cast is also strong with several fun performances throughout. There are a couple of performances which go a little cartoonish at times, but they fit with the kind of tone that the film is going with. But they are all in the shadow of Tsai Chin who is a bloody riot. She has so much charisma and it shines through in every scene. She plays stubborn and grouchy brilliantly, but she also has a superb comedic timing and her ability to almost undersell what is happening in a scene not only is a great character trait, but she pulls it off brilliantly. She also can be ridiculously expressive and so much of her performance is done just through facial movements. And when she needs to be a bit more emotional in a more dour or sad way, you bet she pulls that off too. The film is a lot of fun and so much of that is down to her performance.
As much as I did enjoy this film, I feel like it is one of the weaker films that Mark has chosen. That is not a knock at all, the films that Mark has chosen week after week have been so strong that even films that are just goodwill land near the bottom, and that is what has happened here. It is a lot of fun although I had hoped it would be funnier, and I feel like it has some narrative and pacing issues. But boy is it not elevated by Tsai Chin’s performance. I am gushing a little bit, but she is just that good. I would recommend it on her performance alone.
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