Stephen Fung Tak-lun stepped behind the camera to helm this gangster comedy which offers a few smiles but fails to make much of an impression. Twenty-five years after his rival, Boss Lui Fai (Michael Chan Wai-man), swore a truce between their factions, Red Honor triad leader Hung (Yuen Biao) lies near death in his lush villa. Underling Cheung (Law Kar-ying) and his dimwitted son, Kin (Chapman To Man-chat), are dispatched to Bangkok with orders to locate their leader’s wayward son, Georgie (Daniel Wu Yan-zu). The idiots mistakenly believe roommate Sam (Eason Chan Yik-shun) to be Hung’s heir apparent but Sam is thrilled: he has always dreamed of being a triad boss! After some pleading, Georgie (who is gay) reluctantly agrees to go along with the ruse for his old friend, who has no trouble enjoying all of the perks that come with being number one. However, he cannot hope to successfully pass for a gei lo, given his obvious lust for Lui’s spunky daughter, Julie (Karen Mok Man-wai), who only has eyes for the more handsome and cultured Georgie. Though he does his best to dissuade her first via subtle hints and then a flat out confession of his preference for men, Julie will not rest until Georgie agrees to be her boyfriend. While he may not want to be a dai lo, Georgie has clearly inherited his father’s leadership qualities, and Sam is very lucky to have him by his side, as a violent confrontation with Cheng Chow (Fung) is brewing. One of Lui’s underlings, the fierce young hood has pledged to eliminate Sam, as retribution for a perceived slight dealt to him by Georgie’s deceased father.

ENTER THE PHOENIX (a misleading title if there ever was one) is a reasonably promising start for its young director but, like most first-timers, Fung overdoes it with the technical flourishes (split screen, overly elaborate camera set-ups, etc) to the point of viewer distraction. It is a shame that he did not lavish a commensurate amount of attention and care on his flimsy script (co-authored by Lo Yiu-fai). The abundant low humor is undeniably effective on occasion (a surprising number of solid laughs can be had from hearing the ever-flustered Law Kar-ying cursing in English and there are some inspired celebrity cameos) but ultimately undercuts the film’s accomplishments. Georgie is the most respectable and intelligent character here but his sexual orientation is nothing more than a springboard for the kind of lame gay jokes and broad characterizations (with Stephen Chiau regular Lee Kin-yan being the worst offender) found in far too many HK movies. An abundance of overly flashy, wire-enhanced combat during the finale is at odds with most everything preceding it, the considerable appeal of Karen Mok is largely squandered, and Eason Chan’s mugging does little to make his dubious character any more appealing. On the other hand, the pairing of Law and To is comic gold, even with this material, the terminally blank Daniel Wu is a bit more dashing than usual, and Yuen Biao comes off quite well in a role that relies solely on his histrionic talents.