If one of your goals - as is mine - is to watch
as many of the over 500 Shaw Brothers films that made it to digital, you
will run into a few potholes along the way. With some like The Flying Mr.
B or Mr. Funny Bones, you can adroitly avoid them just based on the title
or be suspect of films that were produced near the end of the Shaw run in
1985. But for the most part their films range from good to great whether
it is a wuxia, kung fu, fantasy, musical, historical epic, soft core or a
melodrama. Most Westerners focus on their action films, but I find pleasures
in the other genres as well. They are just well-made with great production
values, beautiful actresses, charismatic men and were the dominant film company
in Asia for 20-years. But their comedies elude me. I just don't find
them at all funny. They feel plodding, obvious and juvenile to me. It could
be the language and cultural barriers of course, but they don't work for
me. This one falls into that category like lumpen coal.
I had hopes for it though since Ho Meng-hua
is the director. He is one of my favorite of the Shaw directors in a variety
of genres and in this same year this film was sandwiched between two classics
- Flying Guillotine and Black Magic. I get the impression that unlike Chang
Cheh and Chor Yuen who were given free reign to make the films they wanted
to - Ho is assigned films to direct by Shaw. The script from Sze-to On just
sort of meanders from scene to scene trying to squeeze a laugh out from time
to time. Hard to blame the guy though if this wasn't up to snuff as he wrote
over 250 scripts - some fan favorites like Magic Blade, Big Bad Sis, Vengeful
Beauty, Warriors Two and who can forget Erotic Ghost Story I & II. This
isn't terrible - just dull with a low energy level other than when Ai Ti
beats the crap out of two thugs - Grenade and Machine Gun. Ai Ti was brought
over from Taiwan for a few topless appearances in naughty films. But not
here - instead we get exploitation actress (The Bamboo House of Dolls, The
Killer Snakes, Oily Maniac) Terry Lau in a few nude scenes.
Ai Ti is married to the colorless Kang Kai
and runs his life with an iron fist. Oatmeal and milk for breakfast every
day. His brother-in-law Danny Lee tries to sneak him real food but he is
always caught. He hates his job and his boss, Ku Feng. He decides to quit
and writes out a resignation letter in a yellow envelope and also calling
Ku Feng a lot of names. Then Ku Feng tells him that he is promoting him to
manage the office in America. Much of the rest of the film is husband and
wife trying to steal the letter back before Ku Feng reads it. They get the
wrong letter though - this one a code by a triad to get stolen goods. Terry
is the boss. She sends her two henchman - Grenade and Machine Gun - to get
the letter back and Ai Ti sends them running. More silly frivolity
is sought but not found.
