CJ7
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| CJ7 | |
|---|---|
 Official poster |
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| Directed by | Stephen Chow |
| Produced by | Stephen Chow |
| Written by | Stephen Chow Vincent Kok |
| Starring | Stephen Chow Xu Jiao Kitty Zhang Yuqi Danny Chan Kwok Kuen Tin Kai Man |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures Film Production Asia |
| Release date(s) | January 30, 2008 (Beijing)
January 31, 2008 (Hong Kong) |
| Running time | 89 min. |
| Country |  Hong Kong, China |
| Language | Cantonese Mandarin |
| Budget | $20 million US (est) |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
CJ7 (traditional Chinese: 長江七號; pinyin: Cháng Jiāng qī hào) is a 2008 Hong Kong science fiction/comedy film co-written, co-produced and directed by Stephen Chow, who also stars in the film. It was released on January 31, 2008 in Hong Kong. It was also released on March 14, 2008 in the United States.
In August 2007 the film was given the title CJ7,[1] a play on China's successful Shenzhou manned space missions - Shenzhou 5 and Shenzhou 6. It was previously been known by a series of working titles - Alien, Yangtze River VII, Long River 7 and most notably, A Hope.
It was filmed in Ningbo, in the Zhejiang province.
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[edit] Plot
Chow Ti (Stephen Chow) is a poor laborer working at construction sites. He lives in a half-demolished house with his son, Dicky (Xu Jiao). Chow is eager to save up money to send his son to private school to ensure that his future will be better and brighter than life is now for them. However, Dicky is often bullied by other children and his teacher (mainly because of his lowly stature), and he usually finds comfort with a young tutor, Ms. Yuen.
One day, while at a department store watching television, Dicky begs his father to buy him a popular robotic toy. Because of empty pockets, Chow cannot buy it, and the situation ends badly after Chow spanks the stubborn Dicky in front of other people. Once again, Dicky finds comfort in Ms. Yuen, who was passing. That night, Chow visits a junkyard (where he usually picks up clothes and other home appliances for Dicky) and brings home a strange green orb; he tells Dicky it is a new toy better than the robot they saw earlier. Dicky is hesitant at first, but agrees to keep it. A night later, it turns out to be a cuddly alien that befriends Dicky. After playing, Dicky falls asleep and dreams the alien, whom he names CJ7, will help him gain popularity and high grades at school (references to Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle are made in the dream sequence.) Positive, Dicky brings CJ7 to school the next morning, but it turns out his dream was only a dream; he ends up receiving a zero on his exam and getting humiliated at physical education. Dicky tries to dispose of the alien, but realizes his mistake and reconciles with it at home. Over the next day, because of CJ7, Dicky finds new friends at school. However, because his schoolwork grades have been declining, Chow takes CJ7 away, claiming his son will never pass school if there are distractions. The father and son have a falling out, and, predictably, Dicky sticks close to Ms. Yuen, who promises she will look after the boy. This cheers Chow up somewhat, who is fearing he might lose his son's love.
Later, while Chow is working on top of a skyscraper, he was tied to a heavy tube and it pulled him down which caused him to fall. He later dies at a hospital, and Ms. Yuen takes Dicky home, telling him of the circumstances. The boy then shoves his tutor out of the house; in tears he keeps telling himself that his father will never leave him alone.
At the hospital, CJ7, using its otherworldly powers, revives Chow and transports him home. The next morning, Dicky, in tears of happiness, promises his father he will never give up at school and in life. But CJ7's rescue is costly, as his own life fades away due to exhaustion. While Dicky waits and waits for his pet to resurrect, he receives a message (presumably from CJ7): continue on his schoolwork. As he does, things go back to normal, with Chow attempting to flirt with Ms. Yuen (with little success), and Dicky playing with his new friends. One calm afternoon, Dicky's wildest dream greets him when a UFO zooms by, dropping hundreds of healthy CJ7s in the process.
[edit] Production information
- As with the title CJ7, the earlier working titles, A Hope,Yangtze River VII and Long River 7, referred to the Chinese manned space program. The mission of Shenzhou 6 was completed in 2006 and the real Shenzhou 7 is set to launch in September 2008. [2]
- The film had a budget of $20 million US, and heavily uses CG effects.[3]
- Chow plays Ti, a widower who lives in a partly demolished house with his son. Ti works as a Coolie, saving everything he makes so he can send his son to private school. When Ti can't afford to buy a toy (named CJ1) for his son, he finds a makeshift toy at the dump instead. The toy is actually an alien and the aliens are desperate to get it back. The alien was named CJ7, which is the title of the film[4] Some rumours state that it is a "pet" rather than a "toy".[5]
- The reason Chow's character can't afford to buy the child a toy is because he spends all this income on sending his son to a private school. Furthermore, he owes his boss (a contractor played by Lam Chi Chung) for money loaned to him after the death of his wife.
[edit] Cast
- Stephen Chow - Chow Ti
- Kitty Zhang - Ms. Yuen
- Lam Chi Chung - The Boss
- Xu Jiao - Dicky Chow
- Lee Shing-Cheung (李成祥) - Teacher
[edit] Trivia
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Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
Xu Jiao, who plays Ti's son "Dicky", is actually a girl in real life. The reason for this is because Stephen couldn't find a suitable boy to cast the role; when Xu Jiao appeared in the role casting interview, Stephen thought to himself "Hey, I've found the right face for the role!" Therefore, Stephen took her to cast for Ti's son instead of an actual boy because she had the right face and appearance. Stephen also said that she reminded him of himself when he was little.
The scene where Dicky throws his sunglasses to his strict teacher is similar to Tom Cruise's mega film "MI2".
Some scenes feature cameos from Stephen Chow's previous movies, namely Shaolin Soccer (when Dicky used his super sneakers to kick the soccer ball into the goal, which collapsed) and Kung Fu Hustle (when Dicky flew in the sky with his sneakers, which breaks, jumps from the head of an eagle, and sees CJ7's shape as a cloud and uses the Buddha's Palm).
[edit] Critical reception
The film received mixed reviews from critics. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 43% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 54 reviews[6], much lower than Stephen Chow's previous films Shaolin Soccer (90%)[7] and Kung Fu Hustle (89%)[8]. Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 46 out of 100, based on 18 reviews.[9]
[edit] References
- ^ Stephen Chow's Movie 'A Hope' Changes Title. Asian Popcorn (2007-08-17). Retrieved on 2007-08-31.
- ^ Chow has "Hope" and plans to dance. Variety Asia Online (2007-01-11). Retrieved on 2007-08-10.
- ^ Stephen Chow has offers "A Hope". Time Out (2006-07-18). Retrieved on 2007-08-10.
- ^ Stephen Chow's Sci-fi/Comedy will give 'A Hope' to audiences. Twitch.com (2006-09-29). Retrieved on 2007-08-10.
- ^ Stephen Chow and Sony together again: Worldwide distro for 'A Hope'. Twitch.com (2007-04-03). Retrieved on 2007-08-10.
- ^ CJ7 - Movie Reviews, Trailers, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on 2008-03-07.
- ^ Shaolin Soccer - Movie Reviews, Trailers, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on 2008-03-07.
- ^ Kung Fu Hustle - Movie Reviews, Trailers, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on 2008-03-07.
- ^ CJ7 (2008): Reviews. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2008-03-14.
[edit] External links
- Official Sony Pictures international site
- CJ7 at the Internet Movie Database
- CJ7 at Rotten Tomatoes
- CJ7 at Metacritic
- CJ7 at Metacritic
- CJ7 at Box Office Mojo
- CJ7 at Allmovie
- Twitchfilm.net - A Hope
- CJ7 Review, Poster and Trailer
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