Shanghai Noon

Written by: Miles Millar and Alfred Gough Starring: Jackie Chan, Owen Wilson, Lucy Liu, Roger Yuan

“Shanghai Noon” (and that’s a pun, by the way, in case you missed it) is a funny, irreverent, energetic western comedy that never takes itself too seriously. Directed with high spirits and a great deal of skill by Dey, the movie is alive with knockabout charm but is blessed with a solid script that keeps it from spinning out of control. The story is simplicity itself: Chan plays Chon Wang, an Imperial Guard who must travel from the Forbidden City to the old West to rescue the kidnapped Princess Pei Pei (the fabulous Liu, straight from her role as Ling on “Ally Mcbeal”). Once there he meets conflicted outlaw Roy O’Bannon (Wilson), and the two of them must join forces to battle the bad guys and save the day. Although Chan gets top billing, Wilson pretty much walks away with the picture as a man who seems as much out of place in the Wild West as Chon Wang does. Roy is a thoughtful, introspective, slightly whiny type, a real New Age man who could have been plucked from a Santa Monica Starbucks circa 1999. He talks through the entire movie, expressing his feelings and doubts, and analyzing those of others.

There is a hilarious scene in which he talks to Chon’s Indian wife (don’t ask), analyzing their marriage, oblivious to the fact that she seems not to understand a word he says. (In the midst of a duel you can hear Roy's interior voice trying to psyche himself up: “Be the bullet, Roy, be the lead bullet.”) Roy is a great character, and Wilson plays him with a perfect balance of bravado and insecurity. Give the movie credit for wearing its anachronisms lightly, as it does most everything else. The action is, as in all of Chan’s movies (and by now it is understood that his movies are more about comedy and acrobatics than hardcore action) exuberant, the ethnic comedy is served up lightly, and the story winds out just this side of plausible. For once, Chan’s broken English fits the picture, far more than it does when he tries to play, say, a suave international spy. And, though his face is showing its age, his martial arts moves are still a sight to behold (someone once dubbed him a “human special effect”). (Many years ago he was anointed as the “new Bruce Lee,” and actually made some straight kung-fu pictures before hitting upon the formula that would make him an international superstar.) “Shanghai Noon” corners the market on good nature. It won’t change anyone’s life, but it should leave everyone who sees it in a better mood, which, these days, might just be enough. (5/31/2000)