# Shanghai Noon (2000)

### reviewed by
Shannon Patrick Sullivan

    SHANGHAI NOON (2000) / ***

Directed by Tom Dey. Screenplay by Miles Millar and Alfred Gough. Starring Jackie Chan, Owen Wilson, Lucy Liu. Running time: 111 minutes. Rated PG for mild language by the MFCB. Reviewed on June 5th, 2000.

    By SHANNON PATRICK SULLIVAN

The western genre is one that, in retrospect, seems kind of silly. Modern revisionism like "Unforgiven" and "Dancing With Wolves" aside, the western in general is a rather unfortunate black-and-white look at the mid-to-late nineteenth century, with "the Cowboys" painted as the good guys, and "the Indians" cast as the villains. The richness of the authentic era is often supplanted by simpleminded melodrama, a litany of archetypes in spurs and ten-gallon hats. Which is not to say that these movies aren't necessarily a lot of fun -- it's tough to beat something like "Stagecoach" for sheer exhilaration -- but it's hard to dismiss the notion that part of the reason for the decline of the western was its strict adherence to this imaginary, often offensive version of the past.

It's ironic, then, that a movie like "Shanghai Noon" -- which seeks to be both a traditional summer action picture and a pastiche of the western -- offers a surprisingly genuine view of the Wild West. This isn't the kind of realism offered by the aforementioned Eastwood and Costner films, where you could almost feel the heat of the desert and the gallop of the horses under your feet. But "Shanghai Noon" makes some surprisingly astute observations about the whole Cowboy-and-Indian dichotomy which is rather unexpected in this kind of comedy.

Jackie Chan plays the amusingly-named Chon Wang (which by itself should give you an idea of the kind of humor of the picture), a Chinese Imperial Guard who is sent to Nevada to rescue Princess Pei Pei ("Ally McBeal's" Lucy Liu). The princess has been kidnapped from the Forbidden City by the traitorous Lo Fong (Roger Yuan) and is being held for ransom in a work camp populated by other enslaved Chinese. Chon's job is made more difficult when he is erroneously pegged as the sidekick of train robber Roy O'Bannon (Owen Wilson), and then in a drunken stupor gets married to a sly Native American woman (Brandon Merrill). Thrust into an uneasy partnership and hunted by both Marshall Van Cleef (Xander Berkeley) and O'Bannon's old gang, Chon and Roy have to team up to travel to Carson City and rescue Pei Pei.

Much of the amusement of "Shanghai Noon" arises from the nature of Chan's character: here is a figure who seems alien to both the settlers and the Native Americans alike. One hilarious sequence really puts it all in perspective. Chon, having saved a Sioux child from a tribe of Crow warriors, is invited to join their revelries one night. Chon knows very little English and no Sioux whatsoever but tries to discuss his mission with the Natives all the same. Groans one Sioux, "Now he's saying it slower. Like that'll help."

Similarly, there is a sequence involving the other Imperial Guards sent to America, who have become separated from Chon Wang. Their interpreter is murdered, but they manage to gain passage with a family of Puritans -- who figure they can't be Indians, so they must be Jews. The script, by Miles Millar and Alfred Gough, cuts through the cultural barriers; by showing how ridiculously people act toward Chon and the other Chinese, it acts as a not-so-subtle reflection of the silliness underlying all those old Western serials.

Indeed, "Shanghai Noon" as a whole does a very good job of finding just the right balance between comedy, action, and social commentary. And while none of these are done exceedingly well -- there aren't a lot of absolutely uproarious moments, and Chan's stunts are accomplished but rarely of the amazing variety -- they do come together in a pleasant, enjoyable package.

Owen Wilson didn't impress me much as a one-note character in "The Haunting", but does a much better job here. It helps, no doubt, that he's been given a pretty interesting character to work with: O'Bannon sort of straddles the line between wearing white and black hats. He's a train robber but he's always polite and never steals from ladies. He's torn between rescuing Pei Pei because it's the right thing to do, and because he might be able to steal the gold brought to America for her ransom. Even though he's ostensibly a hero, Wilson maintains a believable roguishness throughout the proceedings -- all given an almost surreal edge by the fact that he's a cowboy who sounds like he should be surfing the waves off Waikiki.

Chan does his usual capable job, although he plays the buffoon a little too much early on, making his character's later competence seem incongruous. Liu makes the most of a small role, playing a princess who possesses both strength and grace. Somewhat less successful is Merrill as Chon's Native bride: although she handles the mostly silent part well, the character itself forms the basis of the movie's most unsuccessful subplot. Obviously intended to be a parody of the many inadvertent, neglected and often ill-fated Native brides in westerns (see "The Searchers", for example), Merrill's character is used as a deus ex machina a few times too many, and is an uncomfortable insertion into the story. Nowhere is this more apparent than at the end of the film: the character's final fate is contrived and almost nonsensical, as if Millar and Gough had no idea what else to do with her.

Despite its unconventional marriage of martial arts and cowboy antics, "Shanghai Noon" is not a movie that will reinvent the western genre. But that's not what it sets out to do: it's basically an excuse for Jackie Chan to do what he does best in a new environment, and get in a few digs at popular cinema along the way. The combination might be unorthodox, the material somewhat uneven, but somehow, it works pretty well.

Copyright © 2000 Shannon Patrick Sullivan. Archived at The Popcorn Gallery, http://www.physics.mun.ca/~sps/movies/ShanghaiNoon.html

_______________________________________________________________________ / Shannon Patrick Sullivan | "We are all in the gutter, but some of us \ | shannon@mun.ca | are looking at the stars." - Oscar Wilde | \___________________________|__________________________________________/ | Popcorn Gallery Movie Reviews www.physics.mun.ca/~sps/movies.html | | Doctor Who: A Brief History of Time (Travel) /drwho.html |

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