Hong Kong's Late Night

Johnson Lee's first guest on Sze U Tonight is Sandra Ng

For the longest time, I always wondered why Hong Kong didn't have a late night talk show format like David Letterman or Jimmy Fallon. The city is full of celebrities and socialites -- who wouldn't want the exposure -- particularly a relatively controlled one -- to promote their movies, albums, concerts and products?

Seemed like a natural to me, but the entertainment media scene in Hong Kong seemed to be dominated by print and online, with particular attention paid to what the stars were wearing than what they were saying...

Or perhaps there were concerns a celebrity wouldn't be able to sustain a relatively intelligent conversation for more than five minutes?!

But now my notion has been realized by TVB.

On Sunday the broadcaster debuted Sze U Tonight, featuring host comedian Johnson Lee Sze-chit. Check it out here.

However, critics pounced on the show for copying the look of Late Show with David Letterman complete with a skyline of Hong Kong in the background, a wooden desk, vintage microphone and a mug with pencils.

Cultural critic Jimmy Pang Chi-ming said the show demonstrated Hong Kong's television industry hitting a new low, with ATV recycling programs and struggling to pay its staff their salaries, while TVB had a virtual monopoly.

"TVB has no competitor, which means they do not need to invest in production," Pang said. In the long run, the TV industry will shrink if it cannot keep talented people. This is definitely a new low," he said.

Content-wise the first show was on the crass side. There was a long trailer explaining how Lee was lured back to TV (a long-winded and outrageous situation where he was a hermit somewhere in the New Territories with long gray hair and relied on a cane).

But all of a sudden he was transformed into a clean cut man complete with a sharp suit walking along Lan Kwai Fong and in front of The Peninsula before bursting onto the stage very much like every other talk show host in the United States.

However, unlike Conan O'Brien who was so nervous on his first outing that he constantly fiddled with his watch, Lee was relatively comfortable in front of a studio audience that included his parents. He claimed that for 30 years he had watched late night television in the US and so you could see he was keen to imitate those before him.

First up was actress Sandra Ng Kwan-yu, who is promoting her upcoming Chinese New Year film 12 Golden Ducks (ie gigolos). After showing a clip from the movie (that included Michelle Loo), Ng invited three male co-stars to come out where they strutted their stuff.

Then Lee suggested a competition between him and one of the men with the other two in a dance competition that Ng would judge. One had to dance as if he had to go do a Number 2, another like he couldn't scratch his itch... you get the idea.

It was a good laugh, but what about a decent conversation with Ng about the film or more on how she had to transform herself physically into a man for the part?

Nevertheless, the show continues with three more stars, two women and a guy coming out and playing another game with Lee with a selection of raw and cooked eggs. They have to smash them on the opposite sex's head, and whoever pics the raw eggs wins. It's funny to watch because Lee gets three raw eggs.

The musical guest? Alex To.

We'll have to see how long this show lasts, but with Lee being so passionate about finally being able to do a late night talk show format, it can't go any lower... can it?

Golden Chickensss has the Last Laugh

Sandra Ng (left) with her enhanced chest and two of her call girls...

This afternoon I followed YTSL's tradition of watching Hong Kong-made Chinese New Year movies. She enjoys them very much so I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.

We saw probably what she reckons was the best of the lot -- Golden Chickensss （金鸡sss) starring Sandra Ng Kwan-yu. It's the third in the Golden Chicken series, a euphemism for prostitute, which is Ng's character, Ah Kam or 阿 金.

The previous two movies talk about her life as a prostitute in Hong Kong and this one, 10 years after Golden Chicken 2 was made, sees Kam now a mamma-san, running a relatively successful call-girl business.

She has several mobile phones helping her clients "book meetings" and "board rooms" for rendez-vous with her girls. At the same time she has to make sure these high-class hookers are beautifully made up and go to their clients on time.

But it's tiring work and she wants to find out how to make more money -- don't we all? So on the tip of an ex-client, she goes to Japan to find out how brothels are run there with a hilarious scene with Wyman Wong making an appearance as the Blowjob King... Kam also discovers the realities of dealing with Japanese fetishes that include smelling the armpits of a stinky man...

In the meantime there's a side story of a gangster lover called Gordon who is finally released from jail, but because he's been locked up so long he doesn't realize that times have changed -- a lot.

People aren't beating up rivals to claim back turfs like they did in the 1980s and 1990s -- instead they are focused on doing whatever it takes to make a living, from prostituting themselves to procuring Hermes bags for clients' wives to scalping concert tickets.

In one scene Gordon is out on a "job" protesting against the government, but his underling is on the other side supporting the ruling administration at a rally. Gordon gets mad at him and tries to beat him up -- but his "younger brother" tries to explain that one shouldn't take sides seriously -- everyone's just showing up because they'll get paid.

One character figures out the most cost-effective way to make a living -- be a Legislative Councillor, show up at a few meetings and then five minutes later start throwing things at the chief executive so you get hauled out -- for HK$80,000 a month. Pretty good salary for not much work, right?

The movie isn't meant to be completely polished, while the cameos by celebrities are quite funny -- and apparently even funnier if you've watched all three Golden Chicken movies.

Golden Chickensss wasn't completely brainless entertainment -- it does have some poignant scenes and puts things into perspective -- in a farcical way.