Ricky Hui 許冠英 |

Security Unlimited (1981)

This film almost killed me. I never laughed so much during a film and I have seen a lot of comedies, believe me. I have to say, the humour of the Hui brothers are unique. I saw trailers of this film before so I had a picture of what to expect but it wasn't enough to prepare me for what was coming.

This film is packed with gags from the first minute to the very last one and Ricky again plays his usual clumsy but totally adorable character that made me fall in love with him. The first scene he appears is my favourite, when he wants to join the security team but it turns out he is colourblind. He tries to fool the guy who examines him. I simply adore his facial expressions there and could watch that two minutes scene forever. Michael is this bossy, unpleasant guy whom everybody hates, but in the end he turns out to be a man with a good heart. Sam is goodlooking as always and undoubtedly has the most wits and guts among the three characters. Surprisingly enough, I've fallen for Ricky again. I cannot help it, I always find something enchanting and sweet in him.

I enjoy all the scenes when Michael teaches the newcomers and although he is as stupid as can be, he's trying to appear the cleverest. His words are

hilarious: "It's so lonely to be clever. A clever man's words often make the stupid ones roar with laughter." The brilliance of those lines is, that sadly, many people are like him in real life... These teaching scenes remind me of the American films "Police Academy", but I have to say it's superior to them. I find many of the gags artificial there. In "Security Unlimited" they come naturally and don't struggle to seem funny because they are, while I often feel in American films that we are kinda forced to laugh - but that doesn't work for me.

Ricky's second big moment is when he tries to look taller with a trick. The scene with the doormat and driving les

sons are among the best moments of the film, not to mention Ricky's face and voice when he breaks the ignition key. The scene with the gun is brilliant and Ricky's reaction and facial expression is priceless. Bigger and smaller gags follow each other during the film and I kept asking myself where all these ideas come from. The brothers' fantasy has no boundaries.

The scene that almost killed me with laughter is when Ricky's hiding the immigrants under the table and suddenly

Michael appears. What's happening at the table simply cannot be described, it's a must see. I had to stop the film several times during that one. I got a tummy ache and tears were pouring from my eyes because I laughed so much. I've never seen a funnier scene in my life. I am convinced that this scene wouldn't have worked with any other actor. It had to be Ricky and Michael, their facial expression is simply without equal. I adore Ricky's discrete little hickup after drinking so much from the bottle.

The next highlight for me is the kitchen scene when they find the lizard in the cupboard. I cannot decide whose reaction is best of the three brothers, all of them are brilliant.

Another favourite Ricky moment for me is when he got so scared of the dead body that he was

almost unable to struggle out of the room. It's worth to rewind it just to see that facial expression and body language. The only scene that didn't really work for me in the film is between Michael and the guy in the kitchen. It had very funny moments but was a bit too long for me.

Besides the funny scenes I have to mention two touching ones as well. The first is when Ricky realises that his fiancee sells her body. The pain and disbelief as he lifts his arm toward the girl without a word, emphasizes the tragedy of that moment perfectly.

The second touching scene for me is when Michael sacrifices his $50.000 to rescue Ricky from prison.

I love this film from the first moment to the last and I can recommend it to anyone who would like to see Ricky, Michael and Sam at their best. This film is a real gem in HK cinema. Watch out for those Ricky moments!