stephen chow's CJ7 (2007)

it's hard to resist comparing Stephen Chow's new family-ish sci-fi comedy to its most obvious American touchstone, the also-acronymic E.T.; both are works of accomplished wonder, attuned to the fragile coexistence of childhood imagination and bittersweet reality. more concretely, there's the story: a boy befriends a mysterious creature from another world, and each ends up having a profound effect on the other's life.

beyond those broad similarities, however, there's no mistaking CJ7 for Spielberg's slow, spiritually thoughtful classic; much like his Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle, Chow’s latest is an explosion of cartoonish fantasticism, rich with sight gags, physical humor, and impromptu kung fu battles. the story centers on young Dicky (the adorable Jiao Xu, who happens to be a girl) and his father Ti (Chow), a poor laborer who works long hours to keep Dicky at a snobbish private school where even his teacher outwardly reviles his poverty. after one of his popular schoolmates (played to delightful effect as a lil’ corporate supervillain) shows off his new robot dog, Dicky throws a fit in a toy store when his father, brokenhearted, tells him they cannot afford it. rooting around the junkyard where he gets Dicky’s shoes, however, Ti finds a strange, rubbery green ball (deposited by an enormous flying saucer he quite comically fails to notice) and brings it home under the guise of a brand new toy.

before long, of course, Dicky and his father come to find out that the ball is much more: it is indeed an extraterrestrial, and a sickeningly cute one at that. (Chow’s penchant for goofy, passable CG is unabated here, and the creature is such a joy to watch that its weaker technical moments go practically unnoticed.) from there the film takes a wonderful structural detour dividing hopes from disappointments, and then on to a predictable, manipulative finale that’s nonetheless as joyous and whimsical as what’s come before it.

part of what makes CJ7 such a refreshing family entertainment, though, may also be worth mentioning as a warning to some parents: there’s a certain darkness to the story that makes it honest beyond its wackiness. (in a lot of regards the film bears less resemblance to E.T. than to Amblin peers like Joe Dante’s Gremlins.) the class issues are drawn with a sharper crayon here than in most kid-friendly films, and it’s worth noting that Dicky’s teachers and schoolmates don’t take particular notice when he shows up to school black-eyed and bruised. but mixing these serious elements in with the rest of CJ7’s madcap concoction only strengthens the film, and kids are more likely to be bothered by the subtitles than the themes.

(from the KNOXVILLE VOICE)