I'm not familiar with the old HK movies this one is said to parody, so that part of it was lost on me. But this movie is hilarious in spots, really funny in others, and a bit dull in spots to the uninitiated like me.

I don't see how anyone can watch Lau Ching-Wan cheating at mah jong and not roll on the floor laughing. I'm a big fan of him and Francis Ng and they both showed me that they're even better than the high level I held them at. After seeing Fantasia, I'm convinced Francis Ng can do anything; he's amazing.

I didn't even recognize Cecilia Cheung. So high points to her for playing out of character, but unfortunately she could have done a better job with it. If her performance should be blamed on the writer or director then I apologize to her.

The Twins just kind of hang around the edges, they don't particularly add or detract. But their roles were intended to be minor, so that's not a criticism.

Overall, I would recommend this movie even if you don't get all the references. It's probably a 9 or 10 out of 10 if you get the references; for the rest of us it's 7.5.