Herman Yau's latest comedy, about a dysfunctional family who's only saving grace is the calming sea-view from a window in their flat, is often funny, often twisted, and actually quite enjoyable!
Of course, its not all as simple as that as this messed up bunch argue, fight and struggle through daily life with each other, and pretty much anyone who crosses their paths...
When the mysterious Louis Koo erects a large billboard on his rooftop flat (with someone who looks like Karl Maka on it), he blocks their favourite view. This results in the family trying to do whatever they can to get it removed, which includes trying to remove it themselves. Cue plenty of madness and outrageous comedy situations of course!
If some of these comedy situations may seem a little staged, that would be down to the fact that the film is actually based on a play written by co-star Cheung Tat Ming (grandpa), who also co-produced. As it creeps towards the one hour mark, A Home With A View starts to turn a little darker, before carrying us right through to its pitch-black ending (if somewhat rushed conclusion)...
The cast is just fantastic, and I loved seeing Anita Yuen back in such a strong role. Both Francis Ng and Anthony Wong get to play the nice guys for a change, leaving their typical 'mad-men' roles behind, and there's plenty of cameos from familiar faces too. The kids of the family are quite fun too, with the son (played by Ng Siu Hin) cracking me up most of all. He looks a little like Wen Zhang and comes across just as funny.
A Home With A View is a great examination of overcrowded and over-priced living in Hong Kong. Herman Yau has crafted a great piece on surviving in a dog-eat-dog world with plenty of laughs and in a way one would only expect to see in a Hong Kong movie!
Overall: Something a little different, A Home With A View is pretty entertaining but not amazing...
