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The economy meltdown in the late nineties has caused property prices
to plummet in Hong Kong, which also contributed to high unemployment
rates, redundancies and lower salaries; the local people have no
choice but to spend less and save more.
This film is based on that ethos - how much can
a family really save? Wai (Eric Tsang) has been out of work for
a long while now, but he has the responsibility of looking after
his daughter Chin Wah (Miriam Yeung) and his young son. Not being
able to pay his mortgage, his house is in danger of being repossessed,
but help is at hand. Diana (Dodo Cheng), Wai's ex-supervisor and
now unemployed herself, has an idea - that they pretend to be family
of four and enter the Frugal Game, a new gameshow on television.
The winner will have their mortgage paid back in full to them.
The premise of the game is simple: two families
of four must spend a week in a mock-up house. Each family is given
HK$400 dollars, and when the time is up, the family who had spent
the less amount of money wins. Cameras follow their every movement
so they cannot cheat, but everything in their mock-up house costs
money, including using the toilet, having a shower, buying food
from dispenser machines etc. Each of the family members soon realise
that it is not as easy as it sounds.
Everyone knows that in real life, saving money
is no easy task. Even though many everyday goods are relatively
cheap, when you have no income, these products soon add up heavily.
In a society like Hong Kong, where the unemployed do not receive
benefits or income support from the Government, being out of a job
is a very bad thing. Especially when you have a family to support,
it is no laughing matter.
But I found myself laughing at the antics of those
involved in the Frugal Game. Watching them trying to save money
is at times hilarious, as is their other means to find food, wash,
and entertain themselves. But the film is not just about this, as
there is a funny subplot involving Chin Wah and the director of
the gameshow, Tsui (Eason Chan), who pretty much lives in the past.
His dream is to film a period action feature, with Ti Lung (a funny
cameo) as the lead actor.
Frugal Game doesn't really have much of
a plot to speak of, but the comedy situations that come one after
the other are worth watching just for the sheer hilarity of it all.
My best moment is the chilli chicken scene in the restaurant. Completely
silly, but worth every moment of your time.
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