Review: Drunken Master

Jackie Chan stars as the ne’er do well son of a martial arts teacher, who thinks his son doesn’t have the discipline necessary. So he sends him to see Beggar So (Yuen Siu-tien), to properly teach him kung-fu. Although outwardly appearing to be an old beggar (as the name would suggest), Beggar So is in fact a skilled hard taskmaster. Through Beggar So, he will learn to master the ‘Drunken Style’ of kung-fu necessary to defeat the villainous Thunder Leg (a moustachioed Hwang Jang-Lee). Dean Shek is a constant scene-stealer as the tormenting, slimy Professor Kai-Hsien.

 

I figured if I kept watching enough Jackie Chan movies I’d eventually come across one I really liked. So it is that this 1978 flick from director/co-fight choreographer Yuen Woo-ping (who also directed another fine Jackie Chan effort, “Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow”) is by far the best Jackie Chan flick I’ve seen so far. It’s not only the most amusing I’ve found a Chan film to be, but it’s also the only Chan movie I’ve seen so far where I’ve felt he came across as a legit martial artist, not a Peking Opera star with a Buster Keaton fetish. That’s all there, too but thankfully not as frequently as in other Chan films, and the opening 15 minutes in particular is action-packed.

 

I’m also thankful that unlike the later “Legend of Drunken Master”, Chan only uses the dopey ‘Drunken Style’ in the last 15 minutes and it’s never as goofy as in that film. The final fight is great stuff, even with Chan acting drunk and occasionally impersonating a woman. There’s also a fun fight earlier on where Chan gets his arse handed to him by a female fighter. He deserves it, repeatedly calling her a bitch. He also does a somersault after getting slapped by his father, which is funny too, as are his father’s cruel punishment methods. Talk about over-the-top. The comedic highlight is probably the performance by Dean Shek as a slimy little turd who is always looking for an excuse to torment Chan. He’s an hilarious scene stealer. Hwang Jang Lee is also pretty hilarious as chief villain Thunder Leg, looking like an Asian Sonny Bono. He is, however, quite clearly also a damn good fighter. The character of Beggar So, played by Yuen Siu-tien is fun too, with Yuen Siu-tien being directed by his own father here. Some will feel the film slows down for too long in the middle for the training sequence, but I at least liked this training section, it’s both interesting and amusing.

 

If you only see one Jackie Chan movie in your lifetime, make it this one. Scripted by Lung Hsiao (Director Yuen Woo-ping’s subsequent “Dance of the Drunk Mantis”, which may be the greatest film title of all-time), I really don’t have any complaints here at all about this film. The fights are good, the comedy mostly works, it’s a lot of fun.

 

Rating: B