[KFCC] Drunken Master Review

Story: Frustrated that his son, Wong Fei Hung (played by Jackie Chan), is constantly clowning around instead of learning Kung Fu, his father sends him to live with and study under his uncle. The uncle is supposed to be a great martial arts fighter with an original and unbeatable style, but rumors mark him as a sadistic master with a reputation for crippling his students. Meanwhile, an assassin hunts Fei Hung's father, after a rival landowner places a price on his head.

Review: When it comes to combining kung fu and comedy, no one does it better than Jackie Chan (although Steven Chow is coming close). Ok, that may be obvious point to make, but DRUNKEN MASTER is a somewhat obscure, yet brilliant portrayal of his ability to combine the two. Before he was known in Hollywood and while the rest of the world was still in awe of Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan was inventing the crazy notion of “drunken boxing.”

While DRUNKEN MASTER 2 is more famous, this is a great display of Jackie Chan’s humor and talent. It’s also a nice little piece of “leave the story out of it” filming. From the very beginning we get to see Jackie Chan fight a local martial arts teacher, and the action (and comedy) doesn’t let up until the credits role. What’s great about Drunken Master is its dedication to combining great fights with pure physical comedy- ignoring everything else (including common sense at times).

Along with creating the notion of drunken boxing, Chan also inverted the character of Wong Fei Hung. Where future actors like Jet Li will portray the legendary hero as a stoic fighter for the people, Chan shows a juvenile teen, more sex crazed and egotistical then heroic. It’s an idea that works well and stands as a tribute to Chan, who always wanted to swim against the tide Bruce Lee created.

Be forewarned though, there isn’t much in terms of a plot or character development. Not that it should have any of that “nonsense” anyway, as it would cut into the constant action and comedy. To be honest, this film has a ratio of about 20-1 between fight sequences and dialogue- and about 90 percent of anything spoken is simply a joke or wise-crack. Again, that’s not a complaint, it’s just a fact.

It should be stressed that DRUNKEN MASTER is about as B-rate as it gets in films: character development is limited, the acting is mediocre and there are several filming mistakes. The original Cantonese audio track is also incomplete and has been dubbed over in English. Needless to say, I don’t think I’ve laughed so hard as I have when conversations switch between Chinese and English dialogue.

Despite the film’s over-all poor quality, DRUNKEN MASTER accomplishes the one thing it set out to do: entertain. If you are looking for a light hearted, yet enjoyable film full of Three Stooges-esqe humor you long for, look no further than Jackie Chan’s original comedy. If you want something with substance, I suggest you stop reading this review, loosen your collar and learn to enjoy life, because not liking DRUNKEN MASTER is like not having a soul.