Shaolin Soccer

After combining kung fu and cuisine in The God of Cookery, Stephen Chow turns to football in this cartoonish underdog comedy, which broke box-office records in his native Hong Kong. Opening with a monochrome flashback to a deliberately missed penalty, the action centres on the efforts of Ng Man Tat's disgraced, disabled ex-pro teaming with Chow's Shaolin monk to coach a side capable of defeating Patrick Tse's team of ruthless over-achievers. The action is everything here, although Chow also tosses in some ingenious effects, the odd movie parody and several throwaway in-jokes (notably Cecilia Cheung and Karen Mok cameoing as excessively hirsute blokes). The result is fast, furious fun.

Enjoyable broad slapstick comedy that takes the usual sports movie cliché Ð of an over-the-hill coach training a team of no-hopers and turning them into winners Ð and treats it in an infectiously ridiculous manner.