Review | We Are Family movie review: Eric Tsang plays an overzealous actor in Hong Kong comedy about rent-a-families that takes a sentimental turn

Hong Kong comedian Eric Tsang takes a break from the lowbrow variety shows for which he’s known to act in this satire that morphs into a poignant tear-jerker
The story follows an ageing actor with a tragic backstory who starts work for a rent-a- family business. The film imparts warmth, despite its shifting tone

Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Edmund Lee

Published: 6:45pm, 12 Mar 2024

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3.5/5 stars

Eric Tsang Chi-wai may be best known today as the face of free-to-air Hong Kong television station TVB’s increasingly jaded vision of entertainment – courtesy of long-running, unashamedly lowbrow variety shows under the Super Trio banner – but once in a while he serves a reminder that he can be a highly charismatic actor if he puts his mind to it.

Serving as both producer and lead actor here, the veteran Hong Kong comedian’s latest film, We Are Family, sees him ride an emotional roller coaster that may win over a few among his legions of detractors.

The story begins as a farcical showbiz satire and gradually morphs into a poignant drama about an impromptu family, before eventually slowing down and becoming an out-and-out tear-jerker involving life-and-death situations.

Tsang plays Chi-kwong, who we meet in the first scene as an extra on a film set. He proves a nuisance to everyone there purely because of his overzealous attempt to get his part right – think Stephen Chow Sing-chi’s character in King of Comedy.

The ageing acting enthusiast is soon recruited by Carlos (Carlos Chan Ka-lok), the young boss of a rent-a-family company. The briskly paced first act includes a variety of comedic episodes as Carlos, Chi-kwong and acting coach Catherine (Catherine Chau Ka-yee) take turns to satisfy clients who pay them to role-play as their substitute relatives.

(From left) Carlos Chan, Alexandra Della Pietra and Catherine Chau in a still from We Are Family.

One of Chi-kwong’s early assignments as a professional stand-in actor develops into a car chase, designed by action consultant Chin Ka-lok, a long-time accomplice of Tsang’s on the Super Trio shows.

The trio are then joined by Chi-kwong’s landlady, Fong (Tien Niu), in the wedding preparations of a bride-to-be who is enlisting their services – and it’s here that the lively screenplay by writer-director Benny Lau Wai-hang and his two co-writers switches gears to reveal the characters’ tragic backstories.

After his 2022 misfire Burning, a spectacularly awful psychological thriller, this film undoubtedly represents a return to form for Lau, who tends to be at his best when he is telling a compassionate story.

While the film’s descent into sentimental excess feels at odds with its funny opening, there is no denying the warm and fuzzy glow that the story imparts in spite of its abrupt changes in tones.

The phenomenon of rent-a-family businesses, well known in Japan but far less notable in Hong Kong, touches on issues of deception and ethical compromises – neither of which are meaningfully addressed in We Are Family.

In its own engaging way, Lau’s take on the morally complicated scenarios instead stays heart-warming until the end.

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