Well, yes, that's her. But see, back before she started boring people with badly made American straight-to-cable/straight-to-video/Do-not-pass-go, do-not-stay-awake movie, Ms. Rothrock acutally excited people with some not-quite-as-bad-and-even-a-few-good Hong Kong movies. Boy, how I wish those people who treated me like I was nuts had gone with me recently to the U.C. Theater to see the Cynthia Rothrock H.K. double feature. They would've still thought I was nuts, but at least they would've thought so for more convincing reasons (like my tendency to wear my underwear on my head and insist I be called 'Count Chocula' during sex than my appreciation for Ms. Rothrock.
Yes, Madam! was made back in 1985, directed by Corey Yuen, the guy who directed the great Fist of Legend and Fong Sai Yuk, produced by the great Sammo Hung, and co-starring a very young Michelle Khan/Yeoh. So depending on what sort of Hong Kong film nut you ask, you're liable to get a variety of different reasons as to why this is such a good movie (and, of course, if you ask me, you'll hear about Cynthia). But whatever reason, this movie works.
Michelle Khan plays a tough disciplined police inspector (call her the good cop) who's out to bust the untouchable gangster who, among other things, has killed her friend/teacher from Scotland Yard. Cynthia Rothrock is the impulsive Scotland Yard investigator (call her the bad cop) sent out to help her. Much of the plot spins around the Ur-McGuffin of a passport and a piece of microfilm embedded within that everyone wants and the three goofballs who possess it.
The three goofballs, who would normally be an annoying way to keep things going between action scenes, are actually quite good and touching in their own right. One of them, a sort of Daffy Duckish greedy cowardly tinkerer type, is played by Hong Kong Cinema's Patron Saint (and Devil), Tsui Hark. Unlike most directors that appear in movies and make you wish they hadn't, Tsui is a hyper-engaging presence, jumping out windows, pleading for his life, all that fun stuff. Yes, Madam!, like some Hong Kong movies, is actually three movies pushed together, a martial arts movie, a comedy buddy caper, and a crime film, and each of those three movies is a gas. By the time I got to see Cynthia pole vault a ledge, hook her legs and then proceed to use the pole to beat guys senseless while hanging upside down, those happy tears that I tend to leak at the appearance of the sublime were squirting from my eyes. If you want to see three good movies for the price of one, I would think Yes, Madam! would be the one for you. And then after that, you too can belong to the cult of Cynthia, and wander the streets jabbering frenziedly and publishing psycho reviews like this one.
All material on these pages is © 1997 by Jeff Lester. With the exception of non-profit distribution, all other rights are reserved.