Surprising fun breezy romp
Double Causes Trouble (Shen Yong Shuang Mei Mai) (1989); 7 out of 10: Late Eighties Hong Kong comedy with broad slapstick comedy, some deft performances, and a few action scenes. The basic plot is two single female cousins, who hate each other, inherit their late grandmother’s apartment with the stipulation that they have to live together in the apartment for one year or they lose the inheritance.
The apartment comes with a handsome male boarder whom the cousins immediately fight over, but alas, he is not who he seems to be.
The Good
The Good: If Double Causes Trouble has one thing going for it, it is forward momentum. Like a combination of Airplane and Benny Hill, if one doesn’t like a setup, payoff or particular set of characters, just wait a minute and a new scene or a twist will be upon you. The comedy is more smirk than laugh out loud funny, but there is an awful lot of it. It also goes places one would not expect, and that level of surprise is one delight of the film.
The acting (and overacting) helps keep things breezy, with the leads Carol ‘Do Do’ Cheng and Maggie Cheung being particular standouts. The supporting cast fits their roles well and all look like the broad characterizations that they are supposed to play, so kudos to the casting department.
The Bad
The Bad: This being a Shaw Brothers film, one might expect some martial arts action. The martial arts action, alas, is awful, with some of the least convincing stunt doubles this side of Kirk fighting a Gorn.
The Ugly
The Ugly: Those who hate subtitles and those that are “woke” are going to join forces in disliking this film. Whether it is the comical date rapist, the homosexual hitman and hit-woman, or the transsexual stinger joke, this might not be a crowd pleaser for those that are uptight or sensitive about such things.
The film’s description of women on the prowl for a husband will also raise some recently plucked eyebrows. Double Causes Trouble of course, is a film made at a completely different time (The eighties) and in a completely different culture (Hong Kong). Its complete disregard of such concerns makes the film a bit of a guilty pleasure in this day and age.
In Conclusion
In Conclusion: Overall Double Causes Trouble is a surprisingly fun, breezy romp that is an antidote for the more serious fare.
