Ping Pong (1986 film)
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''Ping Pong'' is a 1986 British
comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...
mystery film A mystery film is a genre of film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur Detective, sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means ...
directed by
Po-Chih Leong Leong Po-Chih (born 31 December 1939) is a British-born Chinese film director from Hong Kong and United States. Early life On December 31, 1939, Leong was born in England. He has two siblings. Leong attended the London Film School, before em ...
. It stars
David Yip David Nicholas Yip (; born 4 June 1951) is a British actor of Chinese and English descent. He gained prominence through his lead role in the BBC series ''The Chinese Detective''. Early life Yip was born in Liverpool to a Chinese father, a seama ...
, Lucy Sheen, and Robert Lee. The film was produced by Picture Palace Films for
Film Four International Film4 Productions is a British film production company owned by Channel Four Television Corporation. The company has been responsible for backing many films made in the United Kingdom. The company's first production was ''Walter'', directed by ...
. Sheen in her debut role plays Elaine Choi, a law clerk brought in to carry out the will of a prominent restaurateur. It premiered at the
Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...
.


Plot

In
Chinatown, London Chinatown is an ethnic enclave in the City of Westminster, London, bordering Soho to its north and west, Theatreland to the south and east. The enclave currently occupies the area in and around Gerrard Street. It contains a number of Chin ...
, restaurateur Sam Wong dies in a telephone booth after making a call. Law clerk Elaine Choi is tasked with executing his will. After attending Mr. Wong's funeral, she reads the will to the family. Mr. Wong leaves one of his restaurants to his eldest son Mike on the condition that it be run as a traditional Chinese restaurant, and another to Jimmy Lee if he agrees to run the restaurant. To his wife Ah Ying, he leaves the family home and warehouse. He leaves £90,000 to be shared equally between his two sons and his daughter Cherry. The latter also receives the family store. For his friend Mr. Chen, he gives the family farm on the condition that he visits it weekly. The last recipient named Sarah Lee is unknown to the family and receives his vintage sports car if she learns to drive. The final condition of the will is that Mr. Wong is to be buried in his home village in China, but the Chinese embassy rules require that his body be accompanied by a family member, which initially all the family members refuse to do. In order for the will to be valid, it needs to be signed by its recipients; Choi finds they are reluctant to do so for a variety of reasons. Mike, who runs a successful Italian restaurant, lives a very Anglicised life and wants to build a multiplex complex over his father's restaurant. Cherry and her husband are disappointed that they did not receive the family warehouse which they ran. Mr. Chen is an illegal immigrant who arrived with Mr. Wong in 1936; while Mr. Wong later gained citizenship, Mr. Chen has kept away from the authorities and has not left Chinatown for the last two decades. In her pursuit of getting the will signed by all parties, Choi acts as a go-between for the different family members. Ah Ying eventually signs the will and agrees to accompany her husband's body back to China. This act prompts Cherry to sign the will. While trying to persuade Mike to sign, Choi falls in love with him. On the day that Mr. Wong's body is due to be sent to China, Mike finds his mother and agrees to accompany her. While waiting for Mike's return, Choi discovers that Sarah Lee was Mr. Wong's secret British mistress. Choi and Mike reunite at the family farm now owned by Mr. Chen who has left Chinatown. Mike gives Choi a gift from China of a traditional dress. Choi also discovers that the last phone call Mr. Wong made was to his brother in China informing him that his wife and his son Mike would soon be visiting the village.


Cast

*
David Yip David Nicholas Yip (; born 4 June 1951) is a British actor of Chinese and English descent. He gained prominence through his lead role in the BBC series ''The Chinese Detective''. Early life Yip was born in Liverpool to a Chinese father, a seama ...
as Mike Wong: Sam's eldest son who runs his own restaurant and is an
Anglophile An Anglophile is a person who admires or loves England, its people, its culture, its language, and/or its various accents. Etymology The word is derived from the Latin word ''Anglii'' and Ancient Greek word φίλος ''philos'', meaning "frien ...
. * Lucy Sheen as Elaine Choi: A young law clerk tasked with executing Sam Wong's will. She is of Chinese descent but has grown up in England. * Robert Lee as Mr. Chen: An old friend of Sam Wong who he illegally immigrated with to England in 1936. * Lam Fung as Ah Ying: Sam Wong's widow. *
Victor Kan Victor Kan (簡華捷, Kan Wah-chit; born 1941) is a student of the late Ip Man and began his Wing Chun instruction at the age of 13 years in Hong Kong. He was with Yip Man for 7 years and in that time during which he became known as the 'King of ...
as Siu Loong: Cherry Wong's husband. *
Barbara Yu Ling Barbara Lee (4 November 1933/1938 – 6 April 1997), who used the stage name Barbara Yu Ling, was a Singapore-born actress of stage, screen, and television who was based in Britain from the 1950s. One of the first Singaporean Chinese actresses to ...
as Cherry Wong: Sam Wong's daughter. *
Ric Young Ric Young is a Malaysian-born British character actor. He is best known for his role as Dr. Zhang Lee in the TV series ''Alias'' (2001–04) and as the henchman Kao Kan in the Steven Spielberg film ''Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom''. E ...
as Alan Wong: Sam Wong's son who is married to an Englishwoman. *
Victoria Wicks Victoria Wicks (born Beverly Victoria Anne Wicks; 18 April 1959) is a British actress. She is known for her role as Sally Smedley in Channel 4's comedy series ''Drop the Dead Donkey'' (1990–1998), Mrs. Gideon in ''The Mighty Boosh'' (2004), ...
as Maggie Wong: Alan Wong's wife. * K. C. Leong as Sam Wong: A prominent restaurateur whose will is executed by Elaine Choi. * David Lyon as Peter *
Jonathan Elsom Jonathan Elsom (born 22 September 1938) is a New Zealand-born television actor, writer, sculptor and artist. He appeared in many British and Australian television series and films, which include ''The Troubleshooters'', '' The Avengers'', ''The Sa ...
as Probate Official *
Juliet Hammond-Hill Juliet Hammond-Hill (born 13 November 1953) is an English actress, best known for her role in the television series '' Secret Army'' (1977–1979). She is also known as Juliet Hammond. Early life Hammond-Hill was born in St Pancras, London, the ...
as Sarah Lee: Sam Wong's secret English mistress. *
Trevor Baxter Trevor Baxter (18 November 1932 – 16 July 2017) was a British actor and playwright. He was educated at Dulwich College and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Early years A postal worker's son, Baxter was born in Lewisham, London, England, and ...
as Priest in Church *
Bruce Boa Andrew Bruce Boa (10 July 1930 – 17 April 2004) was a Canadian actor, who found success playing the token American in British films and television, usually playing military types. Boa's most recognizable film role is in ''The Empire Str ...
as American tourist * Vincent Wong as Chinese Gambler *
Philip Voon Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...
as Embassy Official


Production

''Ping Pong'' was the first film to be filmed in London's
Chinatown A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Austra ...
. It was also the first film directed in the United Kingdom by Leong who previously shot films in
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
. The idea for the film was created by Leong during the filming of his 1984 comedy ''Banana Cop''. The name of the film is derived from Elaine Choi's role in the film as a go-between in executing the will which she compares to a ping-pong ball. Lucy Sheen made her acting debut in this film.


Release and reception

''Ping Pong'' premiered at the
Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...
in 1986. The film was released in the United States and Canada on 17 July 1987, where it made $67,421 at the box-office. Its gross at the UK box-office was £12,928. Kevin Thomas of the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' wrote that Sheen's performance was its "strongest asset". He described the film as a "quest for identity" for Anglo-Chinese torn between integrating with British culture and the fight in trying not to lose their cultural heritage. Walter Goodman of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' commented that although the film showed some promise, it was mostly "not funny or touching or much of anything." ''
Time Out Time-out, Time Out, or timeout may refer to: Time * Time-out (sport), in various sports, a break in play, called by a team * Television timeout, a break in sporting action so that a commercial break may be taken * Timeout (computing), an enginee ...
'' praised the film's "engaging characters", "lively pace" and "quirky humour".


References


External links

* *{{Rotten Tomatoes, ping_pong 1986 films 1980s comedy mystery films British comedy mystery films Films shot in London The Samuel Goldwyn Company films Films scored by Richard Harvey 1986 comedy films British Chinese films 1980s English-language films 1980s British films