Edmond Pang's "Men Suddenly in Black" is this year's surprise comedy hit. The movie takes a mundane story of four guys out to play while the wives are away and transforms it into blisteringly funny material by telling the tale as if it were a potboiler/thriller. The script by Edmond Pang, Ye Nianchen and Erica Lee Man is sharp and well-crafted. Many laughs are generated through overly dramatic moments that play on the cliches of righteousness and male bonding usually associated with triad melodramas.

"Men Suddenly in Black" features a tremendous ensemble cast with a who's who list of cameos that further elevates the pleasure of the film. Tony Leung shines as Uncle Nine in a standout performance that is reminiscent of his role in "Jiang Hu: The Triad Zone." The scene of Tony leading his cronies on a "boys night out" during the '80s is worth the admission price alone and will have you rolling with gut busting laughs. Eric Tsang even parodies his own turn in "Infernal Affairs" and will be remembered as the guy sitting around eating from take-out containers.

Director Edmond Pang reigns in his manic energy and redirects it by setting up individual scenes that build to a crescendo of laughs. Although Pang is unable to sustain the fevered pitch throughout the film, he succeeds overall. The film takes its title from a line by Teresa Mo, where she describes men cheating and suddenly changing their clothes to black, as she leads the female contingent on the trail to uncover their significant others' dealings.

"Men Suddenly in Black" is a delightfully funny film that will alter some of your perceptions of what makes a Hong Kong comedy. No longer will you have to think of the broad comedy with cheesy synthesizer melodies and trite characterizations. As "Infernal Affairs" raised the bar for crime dramas, "Men Suddenly in Black" adds a new level of sophistication for comedies.