''Front Page'' (Chinese: 新半斤八兩) is a 1990 Hong Kong

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

Philip Chan Philip Chan may refer to: * Philip Chan (actor) Philip Chan Yan-kin (born 25 January 1945) is a Hong Kong actor, film director, producer, screenwriter and music composer of Taishan area origin. Career He worked as a Royal Hong Kong Police F ...

and starring

Michael Hui Michael Hui Koon-man (born ; 3 September 1942) (also known as Mr Boo!) is a Hong Kong actor, comedian, scriptwriter and director. He is the eldest of the four Hui brothers (together with Ricky, Sam, and Stanley) who were prominent figures ...

Samuel Hui Samuel Hui Koon-kit (born 6 September 1948), usually known as Sam Hui, is a Hong Kong musician, singer, songwriter and actor. He is credited with popularising Cantopop both via the infusion of Western-style music and his usage of vernacular Canton ...

and Ricky Hui. The film is a remake of the Hui Brothers' 1976 film, '' The Private Eyes''.

Plot

Hui (

) is the chief editor of "Truth Weekly" (內幕周刊), which is based on intellectual contents, resulting in sluggish sales. Because of this, the magazine company is on the verge for closure. Martial arts instructor Mad Bill (

) was recently dismissed from his job and applies for a position at the magazine company. Bill proposes to Hui that they convert the magazine to cover entertainment news, especially scandals involving female celebrities. Hui accepts this idea, and the two of them and employee Fly ( Ricky Hui) will fabricate gossip to support a headline for the next issue. This trio decide to spy on Sandy Cheung (Catherine Hung), who has a reputation for purity and innocence in the entertainment industry, and is to marry the son of jewellery magnate. They follow her to a beauty salon, planning to take photos of her having a breast transplant, hoping to cause a scandal, but she turns out to be there for routine skin care. Later, they play dumb and gain Sandy's sympathy to get close to her, and succeed in taking intimate pictures of Sandy with Bill, to support an infidelity scandal about her. The night before publishing the news, when Bill and Fly's conscience caught up with them, they take the negatives of the photos and returns them to Sandy at her engagement party. However, they encounter robbers who have seized control of the venue and takes Sandy hostage to threaten her fiancé to hand them all of the jewellery from his jewellery shop. At this time, Hui, Bill and Fly also snap a large amount of photos of the robbery scene there. Sandy's fiancé refuses to hand over his property, putting Sandy's life on the line. Fortunately, Bill rescues her and repels the robbers with his martial arts skills. Finally, "Truth Weekly" was resurrected by the report of the robbery and attracted a large sale. The robbers, who attempted to flee from Hong Kong, were also apprehended. Hui and his staff were awarded Good Citizen Awards and HK $800,000 cash by the police force, while Bill also wins Sandy's heart.

Cast

as Hui (老許), boss and chief editor of "Truth Weekly" (內幕周刊) *

as Mad Bill Lee (喪標), newcomer staff of "Truth Weekly" who had jobs as a salesman, taxi driver and martial arts instructor prior * Ricky Hui as Fly (烏蠅), a staff member of "Truth Weekly" *Catherine Hung as Sandy Cheung (張珊珊), a celebrity *

Louise Lee Louise or Luise may refer to: * Louise (given name) Arts Songs * "Louise" (Bonnie Tyler song), 2005 * "Louise" (The Human League song), 1984 * "Louise" (Jett Rebel song), 2013 * "Louise" (Maurice Chevalier song), 1929 *"Louise", by Clan of ...

as Mrs. Hui, Hui's wife *Lau Siu-ming as Brother Shun (順哥), chief of the robbers *

Teresa Mo Teresa Mo Shun-kwan (born 5 November 1960) is a Hong Kong actress. Background She started her career at RTV in the 1977, and joined TVB in 1981. She became famous for being cast in ''The Justice of Life'' (他來自江湖), which was based on ...

as Mrs. Ho (何雅祺), proprietor of "Truth Weekly's" office *

Paul Chun Paul Chun (; born 26 June 1945) is a Hong Kong actor. He has appeared in more than 130 films and television series since 1949. In 1966, he appeared in ''The Sand Pebbles'', an American film produced and directed by Robert Wise. Early life He wa ...

as Dr. Pong (龐醫生), a plastic surgeon *Joe Tay as Sang (阿生), a staff member of "Truth Weekly" * Winnie Lau as Pinky (萍萍), a staff member of "Truth Weekly" *Tai Po as an angry stuntman after Hui *Bonnie Fu as Robert's sister-in-law *Yu Sin-man as

Anita Mui Anita Mui Yim-fong (; 10 October 1963 – 30 December 2003) was a Hong Kong singer and actress who made major contributions to the Cantopop music scene and received numerous awards and honours. She remained an idol throughout her career, and i ...

*Lee Hoi-sang as Dragon *Lai Man-cheuk as Sloppy *Teddy Yip as Kent (錦叔), a staff member of "Truth Weekly" *May Law as May (八婆薇), a staff member of "Truth Weekly" *Tsang Kan-wing as Mr. Leung (梁主任), a bank staff *Stanley Hui as Police Commissioner *Lawrence Lau as a martial arts student *Yuen Shun-yee as martial arts master *Chan Ka-pik as Dr. Pong's receptionist *Mak Yan-wa as Dr. Pong's assistant *Chiu Yun-kan as Robert Li *Nip Pang-fung as a robber *Wan seung-lam as a robber *Chu Tat-wai as a robber *

Kingdom Yuen Kingdom Yuen King-dan (苑瓊丹; born 11 September 1963) is a Hong Kong actress with a long history working with TVB. Life and career Kingdom was born in Hong Kong, her father was an ivory carver. She started her acting career with HK ATV during ...

as a late guest at Robert's ball *Lau Chan-au as a late guest at Robert's ball *Yu Kin-shing as Wong, a chauffeur *Law Shu-kei as the orphanage principal *Melvin Wong *Roger Thomas as a party guest *Ho Chi-moon as a party guest *Cho Sai as a party guest *Lee Wah-kon as a party guest *Ng Wing-sum as a martial arts student

Music

Theme song

*''Don't Care About 97'' (話知你97) **Composer/Lyricist/Singer:

Insert theme

*''Two Lonely People'' (兩個寂寞人) **Composer/Lyricist/Singer: Samuel Hui

Reception

Critical

Andrew Saroch of ''Far East Films'' gave the film a score of four out of five stars, praising the confidence and slickness of the three lead actors and its slapstick and moral message, describes it as "sophisticated comedy". In the book, ''The Hong Kong Filmography, 1977–1997: A Reference Guide to 1,100 Films Produced by British Hong Kong Studios'', John Charles gave the film a score of 5/10 and describes it as "short on fresh ideas", but "fairly pleasing if one's expectations are held in check."

Box office

The film grossed HK$26,348,480 at the Hong Kong box office during its theatrical run from 24 August to 2 October 1990.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* *
Front Page
' at Hong Kong Cinemagic *{{IMDb title, 0100974 1990 films 1990 comedy films Hong Kong slapstick comedy films Remakes of Hong Kong films Chinese satirical films 1990s Cantonese-language films Films about journalists Films about tabloid journalism Films set in Hong Kong Films shot in Hong Kong 1990s satirical films Films directed by Philip Chan 1990s Hong Kong films