goes' form of nonsensical humour that can and does ignore narrative conventions. It is nonsensical in the same way that Edward Lear's poems are, where irrelevant elements are somehow thrown together; as opposed to, say, Lewis Carroll's novels, where the nonsense relies on a play on logic or semantics. Generally, a mo lei tau scene gives one the feeling of incongruity, consisting of rapid comic banter, non-sequiturs, anachronisms, fourth wall references, and Cantonese slang and word play. Regarded as an integral part of Hong Kong's popular culture, it is considered by some as being unique and untranslatable. Compared to a Western comedy film, mo lei tau movies have greater attention on puns and other Cantonese word tricks. Characteristics A mo lei tau performance can be either verbal or slapstick. A verbal example is the catchphrase "Co5 dai1 yam2 daam6 caa4, sik6 go3 baau1" (), meaning "Let's sit down, take a sip of tea, and have a bao (a Chinese bun)", first uttered by Stephen Chow in the TV serial The Final Combat (). The phrase becomes mo lei tau because it is repeated in irrelevant and inappropriate situations. It also serves as a comedic device because the actions suggested by "sitting, drinking and eating" are so plain and normal. For a slapstick example, consider this scene from a mo lei tau film: a man is battered by others but is still able to stand upright. He bravely tells his friend he can take the beating, whereupon his friend replies: "Wow! After being hit so badly, you can still talk? If that was me I'd be puking right now!". The man promptly starts vomiting. The scene is hackneyed, but can be seen even to this day in, for example, the 2005 movie Initial D. See also Cinema of Hong Kong Surreal humour Anarchic comedy film Screwball comedy film References External links http://www.hkfilm.net/schow.htm Cantonese words and phrases Film genres Mo Lei Tau comedy Comedy genres