Fight Back to School

Fight Back to School is a sometimes childish, but very funny movie that all ages can enjoy. Perhaps it can be compared to the Naked Gun, but less silly and more focused. The story concerns an officer named Star Chow who must go undercover as a student to recover a stolen gun. Not the brightest of people in terms of math and science, you can probably guess the type of comedy that follows. Much of the comedy looks like it belongs in a cartoon show, but it is all very well done and never seems out of place. In one scene, while taking a history exam, Star tries to cheat by using his cell phone to call his partner outside for answers. His partner calls the department and the comedy begins. The most "capable" of officers are called into a room in the department and frantically seach for the exam answers as Star's partner outside throws a banana up behind the class window to inform him that the answer is "b". This is the type of comedy that basically runs throughout the film, so if it's the kind that makes you laugh, perhaps you should give it a look. I saw this film many years ago on a small screen TV during a trip, so I had forgotten most of it. Recently I watch the DVD, and recommend it to Hong Kong movie fans looking for some comedy. There's a bit of everything, even some kung fu action.

Star Chow is about to be kicked out of the Royal Hong Kong Police's elite Special Duties Unit (SDU). But a senior officer decides to give him one last chance: Star must go undercover as a student at the Edinburgh High School in Hong Kong to recover the senior officer's missing revolver.

Another Quality HK comedy starring Stephen Chow, who has to go back to school undercover as a student so he can find his senior officer's "kind" pistol - kind because he uses its nozzle to scratch his back - and ends up having a difficult time in school as he soon becomes known as an awful student, but as predicted he wins his fellow students over with his charm. The jokes are quite funny, Chow and Tat make a formidable comic team, and Man Cheung gets the temperatures soaring. There's some action, mainly in the beginning and the end. Chow is quite a nifty fighter. Things, however, can get tiring towards the end, but overall a very good comedy with a killer gag scene where Chow calls Tat for answers to his exam and the whole police team help him out.

Stephen Chow gives slapstick a whole other meaning. Like many of his movies he provides a humor that is very visual and easy to understand. So very accessible for a large (international) audience. In "Fighting back to school" there are some jokes that require knowledge of the Cantonese language. But because these jokes are accompanied by some visual sketch you do get what it all is about. While "Fighting Back to School" is a pure comedy there is just enough action to keep those fans happy. It is well know fact that Stephen Chow is a huge fan of Bruce Lee. He also tries to show it in many of his movies. In "Fighting back..." there are some scenes which are a obvious tribute to the Master. I couldn't discover any direct parodies on certain movies. But it is my guess that "Fightin back..." is some sort of take on teen high school movies produced in Hollywood. But who cares ,it doesn't matter because Stephen Chow movies are fun. Just watch it!

The usual amusing Hong Kong martial arts/comedy from Stephen Chow. As with many of his other films (All for the Winner, God of Gamblers 2)- his "uncle tat" is also present. I don't find him that amusing, but I guess Stephen needs a straight man.

The usual amusing antics, fight scenes and physical comedy ensue.

One of the funniest moments I've seen in a film (and I don't usually like crass humor) was when Stephen is forced to chew the "gum" (actually a condom) and manages to blow a bubble! Don't miss the outtakes from this scene in the closing credits.

P.S. This seems to have been filmed during the Gulf War and I found it interesting that Stephen Chow would be wearing a Saddam Hussein tshirt in the film. Was this to express solidarity with Iraq against the (first) US invasion? Was this supposed to be an ironic comment the way some kids think it's funny to wear a Charles Manson shirt?

Stephen Chow is a gung ho SWAT member who always saves the captives.... although his team members don't always survive in the training exercise. Now, however, he has a chance for a big promotion: recover the retiring Police commissioner Barry Wong's gun from whichever high school student stole it by going undercover with the help of already undercover Man-Tat Ng; his cover is he's the janitor with Parkinson. There's also pretty teacher Man Cheung, who wants to help the new, wayward student, fellow pupil Gabriel Wong, who organizzes a gang around Chow, and a gun-smuggling operation for him to sort out.

There's a 22 Jump Street vibe her,e with Chow finding it rather difficult to fit in, and not just because he can't do trigonometry. While the story develops in an efficient fashion, there are plenty of comedy set-pieces, ending up in a burlesque of all those hall-of-mirror sequences that have infested the movies since Orson Welles first brought them to the movies' notice.