"Naked Ambition" is a ribald and funny comedy from directors Dante Lam and Chan Hing-Kar. The script by codirector Chan Hing-Kar is filled with raunchy humor and a great deal of pathos for the sex industry workers portrayed in the movie, elements lacking in the earlier "Golden Chicken," which dealt with a prostitute's life. "Naked Ambition" focuses on Andy and John (Louis Koo and Eason Chan) as Hong Kong's notorious twosome of pornography after publication of their Passion Magazine. The film opens with an interview with Andy that provides the focal point in telling the tale of two down and outers who make it big. The two leads are supplemented by a great cast of supporting actors and delightful cameos.

Similar to "Jiang Hu: The Triad Zone," Lam knows when to let the actors go and when to restrain them. For the most part, Lam succeeds. He allows some sophomoric humor to play against the straight and narrow path, without resorting to too much mugging for the camera. The first half of "Naked Ambition" is filled with some truly outrageous comedy. Unfortunately the comedy loses steam and is replaced with some overwrought sentimentality and melodrama that takes the film down the conventional path of a buddy movie, where the leads work together and find success and then split up....

If you aren't too prudish, "Naked Ambition" is an amusing, racy comedy to behold. Unlike some other Hong Kong movies, everyone in "Naked Ambition" spoke Cantonese, natives and foreigners alike. I applaud that decision and the casting choices. Both Koo and Chan do a commendable job, but the movie is stolen from under them by the top notch supporting cast. The ending gets a bit sappy as Koo does his familiar look down and away, while biting his lip to signify ponderous thought, with a hint of regret. That notwithstanding, "Naked Amibition" is out and out fun.