As Stephen Chow Sing-chi’s latest directorial effort, Kung Fu Soccer, prepares to open in Hong Kong cinemas on August 13 following a lucrative but critically divisive release in mainland China, many fans are finding themselves nostalgic for the 1990s version of the “King of Comedy” they once loved.The prolific and universally adored comedian starred in more than two dozen films between 1990 and 1992, most of which were hits. His lowbrow jokes belied a thoughtful, intelligent performer riven with self-doubt who raked in millions of Hong Kong dollars at the box office.Chow’s success tailed off in the late 1990s due to overexposure, but he reclaimed his throne with a pair of effects-driven action blockbusters, Shaolin Soccer (2001) and Kung Fu Hustle (2004), which he both directed and starred in.His success was down to his unique brand of mo lei tau comedy. The term, which comes from the similar-sounding Cantonese phrase mo lei yau, or “without reason”, is often translated as “nonsense”, but “absurdist” expresses the meaning better.Stephen Chow (left) in action in an early scene from Curry and Pepper.As film historian Ryan Law wrote in his essay “King of Comedy”, mo lei tau humour is not script-based: “In mo lei tau comedy, the situation is usually normal, but the attitude and reaction of the actor is abnormal. The comedy comes from the gap between the two, between sanity and insanity.”