A miracle happens about 35 minutes into Johnnie To’s new film, “Chasing Dream”: Having debased and humiliated herself washing cars and pole dancing, Cuckoo (Keru Wang) nails an audition for “Perfect Diva,” To’s take on “China Idol” and secures her spot in the competition. Her captor, Tiger (Jacky Heung), debt collector by day, MMA fighter by night, and surprisingly loveable goofball by nature, excitedly calls in a series of debts owed him by an assembly line of woebegone schmucks with empty pockets. But that’s fine. It’s not their money he wants. It’s their gear, their pianos and drum sets and speakers, and their presence at a derelict theater where they set an impromptu stage for Cuckoo to practice and perform in the style of music icons like Madonna, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, and Phoenix Legend, all while Tiger lobs insults, barks instructions, and hurls bits of food at her. She’s going to be a star. He’s going to open a hot pot restaurant. It’s fate.
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“Chasing Dream” overflows with heartfelt vigor that belies the To image many may hold in their heads courtesy of oldies like “Fulltime Killer” and “Election,” or fresher hits like “Drug War” and “Three.” But To contains multitudes. Even “PTU” has a sense of humor, and forget not “Running On Karma,” the Buddhist allegory where Andy Lau wears a muscle suit to play a stripper. The sincere silliness, or perhaps silly sincerity, of “Chasing Dream” makes enough sense given the playful sparks struck over the course of his prolific career; after developing an audience, in part thanks to his gangster films, the man deserves a chance to pivot away from the niche to make a boxing, singing, romantic comedy instead.
These are words that go together only unexpectedly, and the way To feints expectations is “Chasing Dream’s” greatest strength. Instead of getting hard-boiled and gritty, To aims for light and effervescent, joyful and giddy, tender and earnest; there’s no pretense, just a desire to entertain on a grand, traditional scale. Think of “Chasing Dream” as the intersection between sports underdog pictures and 1930s musicals, with commentary about Xi Jinping’s Chinese Dream mixed into the surface. Tiger dreams of getting out of professional fighting (and away from his trainer, Gao, played by Bin Zi) for the sake of his health, and opening a hot pot restaurant that tops all others for flavor, service, and panache. Cuckoo obviously dreams of singing on stage, but baked into that dream is her relentless mission to revenge herself on Qu Fengfeng (Ma Xiaohui), her erstwhile partner in love and in music. He’s the head judge on “Perfect Diva,” known as the King of Originality, except that he stole all of his hits from Cuckoo.
It’s the theft that turns around Tiger’s relationship to Cuckoo, because “Chasing Dream” runs not on karma but kindness. Tiger can’t abide bullies and scumbags. He values fair play. So he throws his energy into helping Cuckoo realize her dream while putting his on a brief pause. There’s a charitability to the film’s plot, an energizing force of compassion and selflessness, and these qualities make the production into an act of spiritual uplift. It’s refreshing to see people operate in such good faith toward one another, even if their first impressions of each other are, put mildly, troubling to unfavorable. So goes the life of a debt collector. Tiger treats Cuckoo like a piece of meat. It’s in discovering a kinship with her, a common wish for betterment—of both career and character—that he drops the tough guy routine and shows his true self.
No wonder he wants to stop beating dudes down in the ring. He’s an excitable teddy bear. Watching him cheerlead Cuckoo during that impromptu practice sequence, even as he peppers her with vegetables as a strange but effective form of encouragement, is as delightful as watching Cuckoo cycle through popular artists’ aesthetics without missing a beat. To’s application of old formulas reemphasizes why these formulas stay in use to this day: They work. But To is an exceptional filmmaker, capable of drawing every last atom of glee out of each scene, in particular his musical numbers, which feel indebted to the madcap exuberance of Stephen Chow, who lifted the choreography of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” for an all-timer gutbuster dance sequence in “Shaolin Soccer.” The same sparks of loony relish fly in “Chasing Dream,” supported by choice moments of glorious fight scenes inside the ring and out. (Heung has a real talent for making an ass-kicking look effortless and, when necessary, getting a laugh out of it.)
“Chasing Dream” tops off To’s genre mash with emotional foils: Ma Qing (Shao Bing), Tiger’s former trainer, and Cuckoo’s grandma (Cao Yang), with whom she had a falling out some time ago. At just under two hours, “Chasing Dream” is a lot of movie considering how damn bubbly it is; it’s proof of To’s unimpeachable skill that these subplots not only fit without wrecking the pace but actually serve the story and his protagonists. 2020 has thus far been short on reasons to smile. A new To film is one reason, especially given the three-year gap between “Chasing Dream” and his last work, “Three.” But “Chasing Dream” is a gift meant to make To’s audience smile on its own merits, three-year gap or not. It’s a riff on “Rocky,” on “A Star is Born,” and one of the most genuine, sweet-hearted films to play in a year that desperately needs it. [B+]