CRAZY N THE CITY (Hong Kong, 2005)
Directed by: James Yuen
Starring: Eason Chan, Joey Yung, Francis Ng
Like One Night in Mongkok, this movie is all about cops in Hong Kong, but it takes a lighter approach, while still managing to scrape your heart raw. Chris (Eason Chan) is a beat cop who spends his days walking around and issuing tickets. He gets partnered with a new recruit, the very feminine Manly (Joey Yung), and he gives her one rule, “Avoid trouble.” These aren’t the supercops you see in movies like Lethal Weapon and Rush Hour, getting in car chases, shooting bad guys, and trading wisecracks. These are the cops who exist in real life, patrolling their Wanchai beat, giving tourists directions and trading shifts so they can make a little overtime. They also spend their time watching over the local loony, Shing (Francis Ng, one of Hong Kong’s most intense actors), who lost everything in a series of bad loans and who wanders the neighborhood, his mind shattered, making calls to business associates on a broken cell phone.
Joey Young wants to reach out and do something meaningful, but Eason keeps stopping her with his “why bother?” attitude. These two aren’t superheroes, just working stiffs with a tough job. But when a violent rapist moves into their ‘hood, between solving the case of the dead cat, and arresting scrap metal dealers who are stealing manholes, these two cops have to make a decision and take a stand. A moving tribute to a job well done, Crazy n the City is a poorly-titled movie that’s a comic gem just waiting to be discovered.