CJ7

CJ7

Official poster
Traditional 長江七號
Cantonese coeng4 gong1 cat1 hou4
Directed by Stephen Chow
Produced by Stephen Chow
Han Sanping
Chui Po-Chu
Written by Stephen Chow
Vincent Kok
Tsang Kan-Cheong
Sandy Shaw Lai-King
Fung Chi-Keung
Lam Fung
Starring Stephen Chow
Xu Jiao
Zhang Yuqi
Music by Raymond Wong Ying-Wah
Cinematography Poon Hang-Sang
Edited by Angie Lam, Kendall Murillo Montoya
Production
company
Beijing Film Studio
China Film Group
Star Overseas
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Sony Pictures Classics
Release dates
  • 30 January 2008 (China)
  • 31 January 2008 (Hong Kong)
Running time
 88 minutes[1]
Country Hong Kong
China[2][3]
Language Cantonese[1]
Budget US$20 million[4]
Box office US$47,301,471[5]

CJ7 (Chinese: 長江七號; Cantonese Yale: Cheung gong chat hou) is a 2008 Hong Kong-Chinese science fiction comedy drama co-written, co-produced, starring, and directed by Stephen Chow.[3] It was released on 31 January 2008 in Hong Kong. It was also released on 14 March 2008 in the United States.

In August 2007 the film was given the title CJ7,[6] a play on China's successful Shenzhou manned space missions—Shenzhou 5 and Shenzhou 6. It was previously known by a series of working titles—Alien, Yangtze River VII, Long River 7 and most notably, A Hope.

CJ7 was filmed in Ningbo, in the Zhejiang province of China.

Plot

Chow Ti is a poor construction worker. He lives in a partially demolished house with his nine-year-old son, Dicky. Chow is eager to save money so he can continue sending his son to private school. However, Dicky is often bullied by other children and his teacher at school.

One day, while at a department store, Dicky begs his father to buy him a popular robotic toy called CJ1. Chow cannot afford it, and the situation ends badly when Chow spanks the stubborn Dicky in front of other customers. Again, Dicky finds comfort in Ms. Yuen, who is passing by. That night, Chow visits the junkyard where he often picks up home appliances and clothes for Dicky. He finds a strange green orb and takes it home, telling Dicky that it is a new toy. Hesitant at first, Dicky agrees to keep it. The following evening, the green orb transforms into a cuddly alien creature that befriends Dicky. After playing with the alien, he names the alien "CJ7", and then falls asleep. He dreams that the alien will help him gain popularity and good grades at school.

Cast

Production

As with the title CJ7, the earlier working titles, A Hope, Yangtze River VII, and Long River 7, referred to the Chinese manned space program. The mission of Shenzhou 6 was completed in 2006 and the real Shenzhou 7 successfully launched in September 2008.[7] The film had a budget of US$20 million, and heavily uses CG effects.[4] Xu Jiao, the child who plays Dicky, is in fact female. She had to cross-dress to be in the film.[8]

Homages

References to Chow's other films are made during some scenes, particularly during Dicky's dream sequence. These references include Dicky using his super sneakers to kick a soccer ball into the goal, which subsequently collapses (referencing Shaolin Soccer) and Dicky flying into the sky with his sneakers, jumping from the head of an eagle, seeing CJ7's shape as a cloud and using the Buddha's Palm, (referencing Kung Fu Hustle). The scene where Johnny uses his ruler to catch a fly to break his teacher's spectacles and the girl uses her pencil case to break her teacher's spectacles. The scene where Dicky tosses away his glasses while they self-destruct is a reference to John Woo's Mission Impossible II and Dicky tosses away his glasses to break his teacher's new spectacles. On one of the DVD featurettes, Chow cites E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Doraemon as an influence on the film.

Critical reception

During its North American limited release, CJ7 received mixed reviews from critics. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 51% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 73 reviews,[9] much lower than Stephen Chow's previous films Shaolin Soccer (91%)[10] and Kung Fu Hustle (90%).[11] Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 46 out of 100, based on 18 reviews.[12]

The film fared no better with local Hong Kong critics. Perry Lam of Muse gave a decidedly negative review of the film: 'We go to see a Stephen Chow movie for its great entertainment value and, occasionally, its terrific cinematic panache. We don't need to be told that we are morally superior because we don't have much money.'[13]

Awards and nominations

28th Hong Kong Film Awards

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "CJ7 (PG)". British Board of Film Classification. 30 May 2008. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
  2. ↑ "Cheung Gong 7 Hou". BFI Film & TV Database. London: =British Film Institute. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Buchanan, Jason. "CJ7 (2008)". Allmovie. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Stephen Chow has offers "A Hope"". Time Out. 18 July 2006. Retrieved 10 August 2007.
  5. ↑ CJ7 at Box Office Mojo
  6. ↑ "Stephen Chow's Movie 'A Hope' Changes Title". Asian Popcorn. 17 August 2007. Retrieved 31 August 2007.
  7. ↑ "Chow has "Hope" and plans to dance". Variety Asia Online. 11 January 2007. Retrieved 10 August 2007.
  8. ↑ Newsday article
  9. ↑ "CJ7 – Movie Reviews, Trailers, Pictures – Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on 16 June 2008. Retrieved 24 August 2008.
  10. ↑ "Shaolin Soccer Review – Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 7 March 2008.
  11. ↑ "Kung Fu Hustle – Movie Reviews, Trailers, Pictures – Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 7 March 2008.
  12. ↑ "CJ7 (2008): Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 14 March 2008.
  13. ↑ Lam, Perry (March 2008). "Stephen Chow's moment of truth". Muse Magazine (14): 102.

External links