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The East meets the wild, wild West as Jackie Chan transports his chopstick antics to the genre of cowboys, Indians and quick on the draw gunfights and mercifully, this year's western remake is devoid of mechanical spiders and lame jokes. The idea of such disparate genres colliding may not sound overly enticing, but in a summer that has yielded a poor crop of quality movies, Shanghai Noon is a low-key treat. As the comedy genre has become increasingly obsessed with trying to shock its audience rather than making them laugh, it is a welcome relief to discover a film that is immersed in warm--dare I say it--nice humor for a change. The American pies and scary movies of recent days have not so much pushed back the envelope of bad taste as to treat it as origami, and the end results have been pretty uninspiring. Any movie that claims to be the most provocative, outrageous picture you will ever see will inevitably not be the most provocative, outrageous picture you will ever see and if its only selling point is its smut, then you can count me out. If I wanted to see Carmen Electra, as attractive as she is, in her undies, then I could walk into a magazine store and look at the top shelf for free.

In contrast, Shanghai Noon never opts for the cheap joke, for let's face it pardners, it's not that difficult to think up a filthy joke, so it's funny how easily that passes as entertainment. If it was in the hands of the Farrelly Brothers, the surplus of bulls and horses would not go unnoticed. Shanghai Noon is a feel-good film in the traditional sense of that term, one that is comfortable within the parameters of its lighter certificate, rather than deliberately trying to push the boundaries of that ruling. This is not to say that the film is without its faults: unlike a box of chocolates, you always know what you are going to get with a Jackie Chan film--how did he do that stunt, the humor set to slapstick and some self-effacing humor. While they may be overly formulaic, Chan's films endear themselves to the viewer, or this viewer anyway, in that they deliver exactly what they promise without ever cheapening the name of comedy. Never do you feel uncomfortable in Chan's presence, as most of the jokes are directed at himself rather than at the audience, and that is a very rare thing.

Secondly, Shanghai Noon takes a while to get going, but once it finds its stride, the jokes flow as freely as moonshine. Unlike last year's cynical Will Smith vehicle, Shanghai Noon is fond of the genre that it is parodying, the irony being that our diminutive hero out of his natural habitat can duff up all the cowboys, ride his horse better than anyone else and get the girl. It makes western references by the wagonload: Jackie's character is called Chon Wang (say that one real fast), there is an inspired jailbreak scene and director Tom Dey even manages to squeeze in a neat caricature of Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid.

The plot is as unsubstantial as ever, as once again Chan plays the same role of the small man rescuing the pretty girl from the clutches of the badder than bad bad guy. In this case, our hero is an imperial guard whose task is to bring back the revered Princess Pei Pei (Ally McBeal's Lucy Liu, but we won't hold that against her), who has been abducted by some evil chap whose name I cannot remember but I clearly recall that he looked remarkably similar to Montel Williams--he has whisked her off to the wild country and as needs must, has demanded a ransom of gold for her safe return. Along the way Chan meets Roy (Owen Wilson), a neurotic cowboy whose main failing in life is that he can't shoot a gun straight, can't orchestrate a successful jailbreak; in short, he lacks the requisite talents that a cowboy needs, and therein lies most of the film's gentle humor. 

You may infer from my stumbling vagueness that Shanghai Noon's storyline may have passed me by, and you would be correct, but the film succeeds by means of a series of set-pieces which poke fun at the well-worn traditions of its chosen genre: Jackie gets stoned on the peace pipe, Roy gets buried up to his neck in sand, Jackie starts a barroom brawl. Yet, the real find in this film is newcomer Owen Wilson, Chad's pardner in crime who fuels most of the picture's off-kilter humor. Wilson was partly responsible for writing and producing the independent movie Rushmore, and one suspects that many of his lines in Shanghai Noon were self-penned. Coming across like a young Woody Allen, Wilson's nervy drawl and feigned arrogance contrasts well with Chan's subdued presence, their verbal sparring providing presence and warmth that was strangely lacking from last year's Rush Hour. Wilson is a true gem of an actor, and I am comfortable enough in my manhood to hope that he will be on our screens more in the future. 

While Shanghai Noon may not equal the all-out action moments of previous Chan films such as Police Story, the stunts are still pretty cool and ouch inducing, especially when compared to the lackluster movies that have clogged up the summer schedules. In a medium choked by sequels, flashy effects and dull, dull movies, it is a relief to turn up a film that still knows how to have fun. It may not be Shakespeare, but then it doesn't pretend to be, so slap on a pair of leather chaps, get off your horse and go see Shanghai Noon. 

Reach for the sky indeed. 

Ross Thompson 09/5/2000