Mr. Coconut (Chinese: 合家歡; pinyin: hé jiā huān) is a 1989 Hong Kong comedy 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.

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

  1. ^ "Mr. Coconut 合家歡 (1989) – Hong Kong | HK Neo Reviews". Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  2. ^ "合家欢 (豆瓣)". movie.douban.com. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
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