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 Godenza, 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.
