A wonderful action comedy with an equally delightful performance from a young Kara Hui Ying Hung as the country bumpkin with a mission, in which she won the Best Actress Award at the very first Hong Kong Film Awards in 1982 and for good reasons.
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Jing Dai Nan (Kara Hui) is an orphaned servant who works for a rich man, the frail Yu Yan Sang; however his brother Yu Yung Cheng (Johnny Wang Lung Wei) is keen to take over his estate when he dies. To overcome this, Yu requests that Jing marries him so she can have the right to his will and deed which she can then pass on to his righteous brother Yu Jing Chuan (Lau Kar Leung) who lives in Guangzhou. Sure enough, her master soon passes, and widowed Jing promptly sets out on her quest of locating her nephew with the family deed in hand.
Interestingly, nephew Yu turns out to be at least double her age but she still retains her seniority due to her marriage as stated in the Chinese law. Needless to say, Yu expects a much older woman to turn up and this leads to some rather hilarious encounters between them. Conversely, his son Charlie Yu Tao (Hsiao Hou) also finds it hard to accept someone so young to be his auntie. From this point onwards, the movie turns into a full blown comedy of errors which is fun to watch.
In the meantime, not willing to let go of the family fortune, the furious uncle Yu sends out his Godson Ah Tak (Yuen Tak) to Guangzhou to reclaim the deed back. Jing is left with no choice but to return to her old home town to confront them, but even with the help of her grandnephew, they're still no match against Yu's henchmen and she ends up being captured. Charlie manages to escape and with the help of his father plus a few uncles, they set out to storm the Yu mansion, determined to rescue her and getting the deed back.
Kara Hui is perfect as Jing and the way she effortlessly switches from being a small town bumpkin who has to adapt to a modern world and eventually to a serious action protagonist is faultless. Her street fight with some hooligans in which she's trying to show off to nephew Charlie is both humorous and exciting to watch. Furthermore, she's truly outstanding with a sword too as shown in her brawl with some thugs dressed up as musketeers in a fancy dress party. Overall, she's graceful in both her moves and range of acting.
Hsiao Hou is equally capable as her hyperactive, westernized and at times goofy grandnephew Charlie. His acrobatic and kicking skills are amazing, while he's just as remarkable with weapons. Speaking in a mishmash of Chinese and English, he's always eager to show off his Western cool to Jing who's traditional and conservative. However, they do make a motivating pair and their interchange plays out amazingly well. Look out for James, one of his friends who plays the guitar and sings, he's portrayed by Shaw Brother veteran Gordon Liu in a funky wig. Appearing customarily in the climax to chew up the scenery is Johnny Wang Lung Wei who plays the greedy, power hungry brother Yu Yung Chang. The physically impressive Kwan Yung Moon also shows up as the qigong expert with amazing kicking skills, who gives Charlie a hard time.
“My Young Auntie” is foremost a comedy but with incredible martial arts action peppered throughout. The overall goofy comedy and silly performances display here are certainly a required taste; some viewers may find them annoying and get turnoff especially if they're not accustomed to Chinese culture. However, it takes a complete turn at the end when it switches gears and showcases Lau Kar Leung himself as the hero who saves the day. The long-takes and spectacular action are more than enough to make up for any misgiving. After all, the Chinese title which loosely interprets as “Elder” probably doesn't apply to Kara's character.
Nevertheless, this is a light-hearted, solid entertainment with incredibly well choreographed kung fu that's smooth and blistering at the same time. Kara is absolutely energetic, adorable and a delight to watch, Hsiao Hou is just as imposing and of course, master Lau himself, showing off his superb quality traditional style of kung fu.
