This was the last of the truly funny, classic Stephen Chiau movies I had not seen yet, and I was keeping it in my unwatched pile, deliberately saving it for a rainy day until I couldn't resist any more and finally gave in and watched it. So my laughter was tinged with an element of regret, in that I now truly have to either rewatch all his other movies, or simply lean back and wait until he releases a new movie, which these days could be a pretty long wait (gone are the days he used to release one movie a month...).

Magnificent Scoundrels is a truly silly movie that nevertheless reaches sublime levels of hilarity. There's one comedy routine after another, and each one works. Blink, and you'll miss one - they just keep coming at you. I haven't laughed this much in a while. True, much of the comedy is completely dumb and low-brow, but in a very inspired way. Perhaps the funniest routine in the movie features Teresa Mo inacting a number of characters (including an old lady, a police officer, a dog and a soldier) in an attempt to convince Stephen Chiau (who's pretending to be blind) that they just had a car accident. This scene starts with a silly premise and then takes that premise to such absurd heights that you can't help but laugh out loud. Even Stephen Chiau seemed to have had trouble keeping a straight face watching Teresa go through what surely ranks as one of the classic comedy pieces in HK cinema.

The plot is inconsequential - something about con artists trying to con each other, until they realize they're all in the same trade, and unite against a common enemy. In the process, we are treated to a barrage of breast/cleavage jokes involving the well-endowed Amy Yip, the hyper-kinetic energy of Teresa Mo, Yuen Wah as a not too bright villain and Roy Cheung as his vain brother, good supporting performances from Wu Ma and Karl Maka, and Stephen Chiau himself in full form, displaying why he is indeed the most gifted comedian in HK. There's a lot of slapping, and a truly gross kissing scene that even beats the scene he had with Karen Mok in King of Comedy (the one with the running nose).

Strongly recommended.