My Lucky Stars (1985)

Sammo Hung

Hong Kong

96 min, color, Cantonese (English subtitles)

This Sammo Hung film continues the Lucky Stars series began with Winners and Sinners. Although Jackie Chan is usually billed as the star of the movie, his appearances are brief and he is definitely consigned to a supporting role (but what a role it is!), along with Yuen Biao. This is not an action film or a martial arts extravaganza despite several pretty competently choreographed sequences.

Instead, this is an action comedy where (unfortunately), much of the comedy is not physical but verbal and therefore completely lost in translation. The film is about five lame and sex-crazed friends played by Sammo Hung, Richard Ng, Eric Tsang, Charlie Chin, and Stanley Fung, who live together and get involved by the police in an effort to track down Jackie who has gone underground somewhere in Japan on account of his partner Yuen Biao having been kidnapped by the bad guys.

One may think this is not the stuff of comedy, but (barring the comic appearance of Police Chief Walter Tsao played by Cho Tat-wah) the real fun begins when detective Miss Woo (the beautiful Sibelle Hu) gets assigned to the case to manage the group. What follows is a night of hijinx by the guys who grope the poor Sibelle by staging various implausible events at their house. It is mildly funny, but totally over the top, outrageous, and definitely not for people who have come out of the stone age. I did chuckle here and there but there was no occasion for uproarious laughter.

What really makes this film less forgettable than it would have been are doubtless the fighting sequences, of which there are few, but they are all high-quality. The first chase by Jackie and Yuen Biao at an amusement park is stunning, especially with a very impressive jump from top of stairs. Then there is the showcase Jackie Chan fight as he battles his way through a horror show. And last, but not least, there's the famous girl fight between Sibelle and Nishiwaki Michiko (who some may recognize from her appearance in Charlie's Angels), and the even more famous scene where Sammo floor Michiko with just one hit. This one is actually worth replaying several times.

The way to own this DVD (and you do want to have it, Sammo is a good director) is on the Hong Kong Legends label. It comes with the requisite misleading cover picturing Jackie Chan, audio commentary, interviews (with Sammo and Michiko), and trailers. Nice complement to the anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen picture, and the Dolby Digital 5.1 Cantonese soundtrack. There's also an English dub but I have not heard it. The English subtitles are excellent, as usual.

November 11, 2003