The Time You Need a Friend

Movie
The Time You Need a Friend
NR 1 hr 31 min
John Woos melodramatic tragicomedy The Time You Need a Friend 1985 stands at the crucial crossroads in the directors career Woo had been churning out innocuous comedies for more than a few years and after establishing the heroic bloodshed genre hed never look back But this tale of two comedians estranged former pals who bury the hatchet for one last show together blends the pathos and malebonding of Woos later dramas with the silliness and pratfalls that marked his early works At their peak Ku Ren and Shem Bien were an unstoppable screen comedy team the undisputed stars of the silent era But a major falling out has kept the duo offstage for decades Despite the urgings of family and friends Ku and Shem refuse to reconcile As both men approach their twilight years one last chance for a reunion presents itself in the form of a televised charity benefit Ku Ren and Shem Bien struggle to come to terms with years of bitterness and bring the house down once again