The Inspector Wears Skirts
I love silly little "B" films like this one that
are filled to the brim with some of my favorite "B" actresses (though Amy
Yip was regrettably not in this film as she is credited in some places).
There is just a corny charm about these low budget films that I find very
appealing. There isn’t much doubt that the inspiration for this four film
series was the American film Police Academy – but doing it within the framework
of a girls with guns film makes it feel fresh and offbeat. And can you
imagine Hollywood doing a comedy film like this – where the women often
brutally beat up the men and are on occasion whacked around pretty well
themselves.
Though the film’s focus is primarily of a comedic
nature, there is some action at the beginning and end of the film with
a few bits in between. The comedy is somewhat juvenile but good natured
with Sandra Ng leading the way, while the action though not top tier is
not at all bad with Cynthia Rothrock contributing nicely.
In fact, the film opens with a terrific action
scene as Cynthia and Sibelle Hu prevent some Ninjas from assassinating
a Royal personage visiting HK. Cynthia shows some very acrobatic moves
– while Sibelle looks better than I have ever seen her. Not only does she
look quite stunning in this film – but her action choreography is very
competently done as she delivers a few excellent kicks. The two of them
take out the Ninjas with the last one being hauled up a flagpole and blown
to pieces!
After this exhilarating opening, the film settles
down for the next hour into basic comedy. Bill Tung requests that Sibelle
train a special cadre of women officers to become an elite fighting force.
Some of these turn out to be Ann Bridgewater, Kara Hui Ying-Hung, Sandra
Ng, Ellen Chan and many others that I don’t know but have seen in a bunch
of films. What qualifications these women have other than being quite attractive
(except for ugly duckling Sandra!) I don’t know – but it makes for great
viewing!
So they go through arduous training – learn how
to work together – but also find time to romance and compete against a
men’s SWAT team being trained by Stanley Fung. In one training exercise
the girls have to outrun lighted gasoline – and the outtakes show how dangerous
this was. Much of the comedy revolves around poor Sandra trying to find
some man – any man – to romance her and Stanley falling head over heels
for the tough as nails Sibelle. There is also a martial arts contest –
in which Kara looks swift and deadly as she makes mincemeat of her male
counterpart. Kara in fact looks great throughout this film and has a few
choice scenes.
Of course all fun things must come to an end and
the two groups are assigned to protect some valuable jewels at a fashion
show – though the girls are brought along only as “flower vases” so that
the men don’t look too conspicuous. No need to say who saves the day! Jeff
Falcon plays one of the baddies here – and has a few good gos with Cynthia,
Kara and a few others. At one point two of the girls grab his arms, take
a running jump off a table and body slam him into a wall. That had to hurt
(I found this Jeff
Falcon site on the web).
This Jackie Chan production is all good fun. Part
of whether you might like this or not probably depends on whether you are
a fan of some of these actresses – which I certainly am. Cynthia looks
so much better in her HK productions than in her US films. Kara never ceases
to amaze me with how smooth and fast she can move – like a panther – and
I really wish she had gotten roles in some of the “A” films to showcase
her skills. Sandra mugs throughout – but is quite effective and funny at
times – while I think Ann Bridgewater is simply lovely and I like her in
everything I see of hers.
My rating for this film: 8.0