When zero crime backfires

Marking A-list actor Eddie Peng's latest film, the upcoming crime comedy Busted Water Pipes is scheduled to open in domestic theaters on Jan 23.

Directed by Zhou Difei, a Beijing native educated in the United Kingdom, the movie presents a twist-filled humorous story set in an unnamed Southeast Asian country.

The film centers on Yu Dahai, played by Peng, a diligent police officer who is demoted and transferred from the capital to a small town after being forced to take the blame for his boss. Ironically, Yu and his colleagues are so dedicated that the town maintains a zero-crime record for seven years — leading authorities to close the police station and lay off all officers to cut costs. In a desperate bid to save their jobs, Yu and his team hatch a reckless plan to commit a crime.

Aside from Peng, the film also stars comedian Ai Lun as a kindhearted criminal and actor Zhou You as a ruthless tomb raider.

For director Zhou, it marks his first time helming a crime comedy, following his involvement in several blockbusters such as director Ning Hao's Crazy Alien (2019) and director Guo Fan's The Wandering Earth 2 (2023).

At the film's premiere earlier this month, Zhou explained that he and the creative team originally planned to produce a black comedy. However, they later discovered that certain true-to-life elements included in the film are even more absurd and unpredictable than anything fiction could invent.