A hysterical take on the famous Chinese folktale that is bound by no rules. Emperor Qi (Anita Mui) and warrior-heroine Wu Yen (Sammi Cheng) are fated to marry each other. But a chaotic love triangle ensues when they accidentally free a double-gaited fox fairy (Cecilia Cheung), who is determined to break them up with a malicious spell and other tricks.

Since his 1993 action film The Heroic Trio, Johnnie To once again unites a dream trio of the most in-demand actresses, who are distinctive icons of their respective generations. Having worked with To in the 1992 screwball comedy Justice, My Foot!, Mui pulls off another comedic role as she cross-dresses as the fatuous Emperor Qi. The chameleon actress once mentioned that she took inspirations from comedy legends in Cantonese films, combining the contrasting qualities of Leung Sing-por, Tang Kei-chen, Sun Ma Si-tsang, and Yam Kim-fai into one layered, caricature character. This gender-bending threeway romp takes the audience on a rollercoaster ride of the characters' haywire relationships as they switch between sexes and identities. At one point, Mui even gives a fantastic double-cross-dressing performance as the emperor disguises as a woman to escape from the palace.

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# Post-screening talk with Shu Kei

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