Aug 21

Happy Ghost III is the best of the 5 in the series for me, marginally ahead of number 4.

These are a set of Hong Kong ghost comedy films starring Raymond Wong, with this being the only one to feature Maggie Cheung.

Likeable and silly at times family comedy, lots of fun. Maggie is really good here.

8.5ish out of 10.

Having already seen the previous two movies in the "Happy Ghost" franchise, I had the opportunity to sit down in 2021 to watch the third movie in the series. Oddly enough this movie have eluded me for so long, especially since I am a huge fan of Maggie Cheung. So needless to say that there was joy when I stumbled upon the "Hoi sam gwai: Chong gwai" (aka "Happy Ghost III") movie in 2021.

And I am thrilled to see that "Happy Ghost III" continues on in the spirit - pardon the pun - of the previous two movies. So if you enjoyed these movies, then you most certainly will also like "Happy Ghost III".

The storyline told in "Happy Ghost III" was every bit as funny and enjoyable as the previous two movies, and it was nice to have Raymond Pak-Ming Wong return to reprise his role. And of course it was such a treat to have Maggie Cheung in the movie, because she just brightens up everything she is in.

It was also interesting to see that it was creative force Johnny To that directed the movie, and Tsui Hark also had a part to play in the movie.

"Happy Ghost III" is an embodiment of the mid-1980s Hong Kong slapstick comedy genre, for better or worse. I enjoy it, so this was right up my alley.

I am rating "Happy Ghost III" a six out of ten stars.

This is the second sequel to The Happy Ghost, where singer Tsui Pan-Han (Maggie Cheung),after committing suicide due to her unsuccessful career, is to be reincarnated. However, professor Hong Sam-Kwai (Raymond Wong) inadvertently gets in the way of Han's reincarnation and, as a result, Han decides to make like crazy for him by wreaking havoc on his love life and in his career to exact revenge.

I remembered watching this movie with my parents when I was small, about six years-old, and thought it was a fun movie with Han playing tricks on Kwai and with her possessing one of Kwai's students. A few years later, when I re-watched this movie on a video copy that my grandfather owned, I was excited to learn that it was actually part of the Happy Ghost trilogy and to see two of the students from the previous film, Thai-Chek Yee (Fennie Yuen) and Yiu-King (Charine Chan),make an appearance. It is a film full of slapstick comedy and misadventures, coupled with a fast-paced plot and a more elaborate ghost theme. Because the videotape copy of grandfather had was not in very good quality, I couldn't enjoy the movie as much, so he went through great lengths to locate a better copy of this movie for me (which was difficult since it was classified as an old movie by that time). As a result, this film is pretty special to me.

Raymond Wong does another great job in his duo role as Kwai and his reincarnated spirit Stewart Pik. Maggie Cheung does a bubbly and sweet portrayal of Han the Ghost (an early role for her). Their on-screen chemistry was actually quite funny and uplifting at the same time. It's quite suspenseful to see how Kwai will get himself out of Han's playful tricks. In addition, all the magic from Han's ghost powers to Kwai's supernatural powers give the film wonder and awe.

Unlike the previous two family-oriented Happy Ghost movies, this one has more adult-related themes. However, the themes were too bad and director Ringo Lam actually pulled off some good direction of the plot. While this film is a good addition to the trilogy, I thought that ***spoiler ahead*** that Han went overboard in making Kwai's life crazy, even going as far as making his reputation at the school he teaches take an extreme negative toll. Toward the end, Kwai had to end up attempting to save Han from something she herself started, so, as a result, it seemed Kwai didn't get a big break out of all the trouble Han caused ***spoiler ends***.

Overall, this is a sweet movie with a touch romance, action and drama mixed in with the fun ghost horror and comic relief.

Grade B+