Life Is Cheap... But Toilet Paper Is Expensive
1990 American film
- August 24, 1990 (1990-08-24)
Running time
Life Is Cheap... But Toilet Paper Is Expensive is a 1989 black comedy film directed by Wayne Wang.[1] The film stars Cheng Wan Kin and John Chan. It won an award at the 1990 Rotterdam International Film Festival.[2]
Plot summary
A man is hired, by people he believes to be gangsters, to deliver a briefcase from America to Hong Kong.
Cast
- Lo Wai as The Big Boss, Mr Lo
- Cora Miao as Money
- Bonnie Ngai as Ying Ying (The Daughter)
- John Chan as The Anthropologist (The Son In Law)
- Cheng Wan Kin as Duck Killer
- Kwan-Min Cheng as Uncle Cheng
- Allen Fong as Taxi Driver
- Rocky Wing Cheung Ho as Punk #2
- Angela Yu Chien as Blue Velvet
Reception
The film was the subject of controversy when it originally received an X rating from the Motion Picture Association of America, the distributor, Silverlight Entertainment, chose to release it without this rating and with a self-anointed adults-only A rating.[3]
On their TV show for the week of August 13–17, 1990, the late film critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert praised the decision to apply the A rating since it was a concept they had often discussed on At the Movies in the context of harshly criticizing the MPAA's standards of forcing serious films aimed at adult audiences to either undergo damaging edits to receive R ratings or be locked out of most theatrical and advertising outlets. While neither Roger nor Gene thought the movie was very good (they both gave it a thumbs-down verdict) they appreciated the director and studio taking this stand, and hoped it would someday lead to a viable ratings designation for films that were for adults but weren't pornographic.[4]
In 2022, the film received a 4K restoration, released theatrically by Arbelos Films.[5] Arbelos later released it on Blu-ray in 2023.[6]
References
- ^ Canby, Vincent (1990-08-24). "Life Is Cheap... But Toilet Paper Is Expensive (1991) Review/Film; A Quirky Return to Hong Kong, the Last Frontier". The New York Times.
- ^ "KNF Award". International Film Festival Rotterdam. Archived from the original on 2013-03-07.
- ^ Fox, David (July 25, 1990). "Distributor Rejects X Rating, Gives Its Adult Film an A". The Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "Flatliners / Young Guns II / The Two Jakes (1990)". Siskel & Ebert. Event begins at 17:46. Retrieved August 12, 2015.
- ^ "Life is Cheap… But Toilet Paper is Expensive". Arbelos Film Distribution. Retrieved 2023-12-28.
- ^ "LE: Life is Cheap... But Toilet Paper is Expensive - Blu-ray". Arbelos Films. Retrieved 2023-12-28.
External links
- Life Is Cheap... But Toilet Paper Is Expensive at IMDb
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Films directed by Wayne Wang
- A Man, a Woman, and a Killer (1975)
- Chan Is Missing (1982)
- Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart (1985)
- Slam Dance (1987)
- Eat a Bowl of Tea (1989)
- Life Is Cheap... But Toilet Paper Is Expensive (1989)
- The Joy Luck Club (1993)
- Smoke (1995)
- Blue in the Face (1995)
- Chinese Box (1997)
- Anywhere but Here (1999)
- The Center of the World (2001)
- Maid in Manhattan (2002)
- Because of Winn-Dixie (2005)
- Last Holiday (2006)
- The Princess of Nebraska (2007)
- A Thousand Years of Good Prayers (2007)
- Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (2011)
- Soul of a Banquet (2014)
- While the Women Are Sleeping (2016)
- Coming Home Again (2019)
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