Reviewed by: j.crawford
Date: 02/22/2007
Summary: the continuing saga.....
After Clifton Ko Chi-Sum's It's a Mad, Mad, Mad World was a box office hit in 1987, he directed the first sequel, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad World II [1988], which garnered further box office success for D&B Films. When they wanted to go back to the well for a second sequel, Mr. Ko moved on to other projects. D&B turned to company partner Stephen Shin Gei-Yin to produce and co-direct the continuing saga of the Lui family.
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad World III [1989] has more of the same lunacy that made the first 2 films so popular with Hong Kong audiences. This story starts in Vancouver, Canada where the Lui Family is down on their luck and one of their daughters is attending the university. The Lui's, of course, win the Canadian lottery and they are on their way back to Hong Kong to live the good life.
After skipping the first sequel, Eric Tsang Chi-Wai returns as Smiley Joe to compete for the love of Elsie Chan Yik-Si with her new boyfriend, composer Lowell Lo Koon-Ting, in a comedy role. Three screenwriters fill the script with plenty of pre-Handover anxiety humor, but leave plot holes big enough to drive a minibus through. The movie is saved by the charm and charisma of Lydia Shum Tin-Ha and the late, great Bill Tung Biu.
Reviewer Score: 7
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