Mr. Coconut
Mr. Coconut (Chinese: 合家歡; pinyin: hé jiā huān) is a 1989 Hong Kong Chinese New Year film directed by Clifton Ko, it stars Michael Hui, Raymond Wong Pak-ming, Ricky Hui, Olivia Cheng and Joey Wong. The film ran in theaters from 21 January 1989 until 6 February 1989. The film depicts society's immigration problem, telling the cultural differences and contradictions between the lives of the mainlanders and Hong Kong people. The movie was a box office success.
| Mr. Coconut | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover | |
| Traditional Chinese | 合家歡 |
| Simplified Chinese | 合家欢 |
| Hanyu Pinyin | hé jiā huān |
| Jyutping | hap6 gaa1 fan1 |
| Directed by | Clifton Ko |
| Written by | Clifton Ko Raymond Wong Michael Hui |
| Produced by | Clifton Ko |
| Starring | Michael Hui Raymond Wong Ricky Hui Olivia Cheng Joey Wong Simon Yam Tony Leung Ka-fai Maria Cordero |
| Cinematography | Ka Ko Lee Jingle Ma |
| Edited by | Wong Yee-Shun |
| Music by | Richard Yuen |
Production companies | Hui's Film Production Co., Ltd. |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 100 minutes |
| Country | Hong Kong |
| Language | Cantonese |
| Box office | HK$31,246,945 |
Plot
The film centers around Ngan Kwai-Na (Michael Hui) who lives in Hainan Island, is used to the culture of villages and simple life that villagers have. One day, he gets a letter form his sister Ping (Olivia Cheng) and visits his sister in Hong Kong, as he endures the modern culture and the Hong Kong streets of the late 1980s.
Cast
- Michael Hui as Ngan Kwai-Nam (雁歸南) - mainland villager
- Raymond Wong Pak-ming as Wong Ka-Fan (黃嘉範) - shoe store manager, Kwai-Nam's brother-in-law
- Olivia Cheng as Ping (雁燕萍) - Kwai-Nam's sister, married to Ka-Fan
- Chan Cheuk Yan as Skinny (奀珠) - Ka-Fan and Ping's daughter
- Ricky Hui as Lime (經紀拉) - manager, later insurance salesman
- Joey Wong as Ling (黃嘉玲) - flight attendant, Ka-Fan's sister
- Simon Yam as Timothy Hui (許公子) - son of a rich family, Ling's crush
- Maria Cordero as Miss Ma (老闆娘) - owner of the shoe store Ka-Fan worked at
- Tony Leung Ka-fai as Bush (高富帥) - Joey's boyfriend, short cameo and only mentioned at the end of the movie
- San Wong as Mr Hui (許先生) - Timothy's father
- Sin Huang Tam as Miss Hui (許太太) - Timothy's mother
- Lowell Lo as Fengshui expert on TV
- Pak-Kwong Ho as Taoist priest
- Ken Boyle as insurance company manager - Mandarin dubbing
- Yung-kuang Lai as Insurance company worker
- Fan Hui as Building Cleaner
- Catherine Lau as Miss Ma's maid
- Ernst Mausser as plane passenger at Bombay airport
- Simon Yip as buffet customer
- Clifton Ko as television show host (cameo)
- Fennie Yuen as subway passenger (cameo)
- Hsiu-Ling Lu as girl at railway station (cameo)
- Loletta Lee as television shampoo commercial girl (cameo)
- Pauline Kwan as party guest girl (cameo)
- Yonfan as annoyed buffet customer (cameo)
- Wing-Cho Yip as tofo seller (cameo)
- Elsie Chan as shoe store customer (cameo)
Critical response
"There is a lot to appreciate director Clifford Ko in this film as he simply allows Hui to showcase his scene by scene talent........this film is simply a reflection of that cultural difference, the condemning of money minded insurance companies, rich and poor gap and the nature of workers and bosses." ----- HK Neo Reviews[1]
On the Chinese movie review website, Douban, it received an average rating of 7.4 out of 10 based on 3691 user reviews.[2]
Awards and nominations
| Awards and nominations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ceremony | Category | Recipient | Outcome |
| 9th Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Actor | Michael Hui | |
| Nominated | |||
References
- "Mr. Coconut 合家歡 (1989) – Hong Kong | HK Neo Reviews". Retrieved 25 November 2019.
- "合家欢 (豆瓣)". movie.douban.com. Retrieved 27 November 2019.