Yes Madam
Director: CoreyYuen Kwai
Year: 1985
Rating: 8.0
This legendary
film to some degree kick started the Girls with Guns genre and launched Michelle
Yeoh on her way as an action goddess. In a way it came out of nowhere. Born
in Malaysia and going to university in England, her mother entered her into
a beauty contest and she ended up winning Miss Malaysia. Beauty contests have
been the entry card for a number of Hong Kong actresses - and then to commercials.
Interestingly, she made two ads - one with Jackie Chan and one with Chow
Yun-fat. She was of course to make two great films with each years later.
This led to her small non-action role in Sammo Hung’s Owl versus Bumbo. She
had no martial arts experience whatsoever but had studied dance as was the
case with Moon Lee and other actresses who became female action icons. Sammo
had formed a new film production company called D&B with Dickson Poon
(who Michelle was later to marry) and wanted to make a female buddy action
film.
His first part of that equation was American
Cynthia Rothrock who he spotted in America in numerous martial arts competitions.
Rothrock had no film experience at all but she was the real deal. But Sammo
needed another female - and he remembered Michelle from Owl and Dumbo and
figured she could do some of the action and they could double for her in the
tough stunts. Michelle agreed to take the film which in itself is surprising
when you look back - but she wanted to do as many of the stunts as she could
and she persuaded director Corey Yuen to let her. A star was born. Actually
two stars with Rothrock. In one of those strange twists of fate these two
women have become the most famous of action female stars over the past 30
years. There were many great ones before and after but these two were able
to translate their fame in Hong Kong films to fame outside of Hong Kong films.
They both went on to great careers - Michelle in particular seems bigger than
ever but Rothrock is still going as well. In interviews she has said that
though she has made many action films outside of Hong Kong, the ones she
made in Hong Kong were the best. No doubt about it.
Though I said this kick-started the Girls
with Guns genre that is not entirely true. This plus two other Michelle Yeoh
films (Magnificent Warriors and Royal Warriors) and Rothrock's appearances
in three films in 1986 - Righting Wrongs, Millionaires Express and Magic
Crystal. But it was Angel with Moon Lee and Yukari Oshima in 1987 that really
opened the floodgates of this genre - over the next seven years loads
of Girls with Guns films - often low budget - were produced making stars
of Moon, Yukari, Sibelle Hu, Michiko Nishiwaki, Sharon Yeung Pan-pan, Cynthia
Khan, Joyce Godenzi, Elaine Lui, Jade Leung and Kara Hui Ying-hung.
Hong Kong of course had many female action stars long before this group, but
this was something special just because of the number of films produced, the
talented women and an audience that formed around it. Even all these years
later with the genre long gone and female action stars pretty much a thing
of the past, many of us look back at this period with great fondness. Many
of the films were admittedly junk but within each one there were some special
moments of wow in there. Whether this genre would have come about without
Michelle is hard to say but those first three films are still about the best
of female action movies.
The film introduces Michelle right from
the start and in fine fashion. After catching a flasher (with a book - ouch),
she happens to be on hand for an armored car robbery and shoots all of them
and even pulls a Dirty Harry - "I don't know if I have any bullets left. Up
to you". He makes the wrong decision. It is almost the director saying, hey
check her out. Pretty cool huh. It moves on quickly from there to her fending
off the advances of a married cop (Melvin Wong) to her going to dinner with
an old friend at his hotel. But she is a bit late – Dick Wei got there before
her and put an apple in his mouth and then shot it. But – there is more –
before she shows up Mang Hoi breaks into the room and without knowing it
steals the microfilm that Wei was sent to get. Maybe not a great idea
to kill the guy before getting the microfilm – there is always time later
for that.
Mang Hoi is working with John Shum as
two-bit thieves and their other partner is a forger played by Tsui Hark in
total wacko mode. They are goofballs and so is the comedy around them and
this becomes the format of the film – a great action scene followed up by
a plunge into the depths of whining, shouting and pratfalls. Some of the
comedy is actually clever especially the Tsui Harks parts which seem to be
inspired visually by All the Wrong Spies which he was in. This was just how
a lot of action-comedy films were in the 1980’s – in particular those from
Wong Jing or Sammo. They even bring in Sammo and Richard Ng as old men for
comedy and Wu Man and Billy Lau as traffic cops for some silliness. They
just can’t help themselves.
Dick Wei saw Mang Hoi steal some papers
from the dead man’s desk and so he goes after him. On the way to the big finale
are some other smaller but satisfying action pieces. At the airport Michelle
goes after the terrific Eddie Maher (his health club is in the end credits)
and Rothrock gets her introduction here with one of her patented off the
wall and behind her back kicks. Tsui has a nice comedic set-piece with Maher
trying to kill him, the two girls team up to fight Wei in a bar and after
in an apartment. Wei gets a lot of good time in this film which makes me
happy. He was one of the best bad guys in Hong Kong film.
But this is just a prelude to get us to
the finale when the two of them take on all the minions, Dick Wei (again),
Chung Fat and the crazy laughing boss, James Tin-chuen in his home.
It is fantastic - there are some action moments that are therapeutic and bring
you to your feet. The final fight goes on for about fifteen minutes with
variation upon variation as the two of them take on all these men. It contains
the incredible balcony - head through the glass shot of Michelle and Rothrock
using a stick to wedge herself high against the wall, the one on ones with
Michelle against Chung Fat and Rothrock taking on Wei. There are also some
astonishing falls that make you go holy shitt. Whenever these two are on
the screen it sizzles. Not so much the three stooges but that is Hong Kong
film for you. It is directed by Corey Yuen and choreographed by him and Mang
Hoi.
