Lunar New Year releases are not normally known for being cerebral cinematic material, but 2003's My Lucky Star (no relation to the 1985 Jackie Chan classic My Lucky Stars) is just plain dumb. While that might not be a terrible thing in and of itself, it's also extremely annoying and, most damningly for something that is purportedly a comedy, not funny in the least.

The movie starts out about 150 years ago, with Yip Ku Shing (Miriam Yeung) having her family's feng shui evaluated by a geomancer, Lai Ma Po (Tony Leung Chiu-Wai), so she can become the emperor's scholar. A mishap results in the Yip family's luck being ruined. Fast-forward to modern times, with Yip Ku Hung being a sad sack seeking guidance from hot-shot Lau Lui Po. Is Lau willing to give up his good luck for the sake of romance?

Or, rather, will the audience care? Probably not. The sort of comedy here is epitomized by a parody of the Bud Light "whassup" commercials, something that was already tired at the time of release and is stone cold dead by now, over a decade later. Vincent Kok and Patrick Tong's script throws out a blitzkrieg of stunt cameos, jokes, puns, and pop culture references, but none of them really stick, resulting in groans (or just silence) rather than laughs.

The film doesn't fare much better on the romantic side of the equation, as Tony Leung Chiu-Wai and Miriam Yeung show absolutely no chemistry together, with their cinematic pairing coming off as awkward and both actors looking bored with the proceedings, counting down the minutes until filming wraps so they can forget this whole mess ever happened. Audience members most likely are going to feel the same way. This is Hong Kong film making at its' most disposable.

RATING: 3