Kung Fu Hustle (Film Review)

Just got back from seeing Kung Fu Hustle (from the dude that made Shaolin Soccer). If I was a picky, cynical bastard I'd say it's yet another overcooked Kung Fu epic with a slim story and cardboard cutouts for characters. But I'm not a cynical prick (at least not tonight) so I can say that this is an exuberant, wildly fantastical candy ride. Chow has cooked up a treat - one part Bruce Lee, one part Road Runner and one part Gene Kelly, with a whole bunch of other references and bits going on. Toes and faces get pummelled into pizza, lips and jowls become rubber, bodies contort like spaghetti and characters chase each like the Tasmanian Devil. I could complain that occasionally some of the fights become repetitive, but that would be nitpicking. Oh, did I say that it's hysterically funny also? I must add Shaolin Soccer to my viewing list. Cheers.