Stephen Chow plays a painter/calligrapher/poet who is "bored with his many wives who spend all day playing Mah Johngg and have no appreciation for his work. He sees Gong Li's character one day and falls in love with her. To get closer to her, he sells himself as a servant to her family. The matriarch of this family turns out to be an old enemy of *his* family, resulting in much trouble for Stephen Chow's character. One of the better Stephen Chow movies I've seen.