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Big Shot's Funeral

2002, Movie, 108 mins

Big Shot's Funeral: Review

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A major box-office success in China, this film is a mixed bag of caustic satire, cross-cultural capers, and regrettable sentimentality. Revered American filmmaker Don Tyler (Donald Sutherland) is in China to make a LAST EMPEROR-style mega-epic in the Forbidden City when filmmaker's block strikes. Despite the support of his gal Friday, Lucy (Rosamund Kwan), Tyler sinks into a deep depression and motivate himself to get the already behind-schedule project up and running until he starts talking to down-and-out cameraman Yo Yo (Ge You), who's on set to make a promotional "Making Of" documentary. Yo Yo becomes indispensable to Tyler's artistic rebound, but isn't shooing away the director's doldrums fast enough to suit money-man Tony (Paul Mazursky). Faced with the prospect of dismissal, Tyler suffers a heart attack and lapses into a coma. His final wish is for Yo Yo to commemorate his passing with a traditional Chinese "Comedy Funeral," a happy celebration. Despite Lucy's misgivings about going overboard with the preparations — especially since Tyler isn't dead yet — Yo Yo involves his pal, Louis (Ying Da), a producer of questionable taste and ethics. Yo Yo sets up global coverage, booking the Forbidden City and turning Tyler's farewell into a three-ring circus; one backer wants Yo Yo to launch his bimbo girlfriend's acting career by "casting" her as Tyler's fictitious, grief-stricken girlfriend. Against all odds, Tyler wakes up from his come and begins to recover; he's delighted about the gargantuan wake Yo Yo is engineering, but Yo Yo is more than a little concerned when he realizes he'll have to call the entire event off. Not that he wants Tyler dead, but he's made a lot of promises to a lot of shady sponsors who won't be happy. Fortunately, Yo Yo has learned a few things about manufacturing spin and procrastinating about budget overruns from his mentor, master showman Tyler. International co-productions inevitably lose something in the translation — even wordless slapstick can have its timing throw off. But this English-language version of the Mainland blockbuster — which was originally scheduled for theatrical release in the US but wound up going directly to video — eventually wins over viewers with its vision of hype as the universal language. leave a comment --Robert Pardi
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