Wheels on Meals

I’m not the first one to make this point, nor will I do so the most elegantly, but I think it’s fair to say that a lot of classic Hong Kong cinema is coloured by a certain claustrophobia that comes out of Hong Kong itself. You can look at a movie like Police Story, which is in many ways a tonally light entertainment, yet gets an undeniable charge out of its setting, especially in its raw, intense climax. But when you take these movies out of that setting, and all of its urban flavour and political and historical baggage, the energy definitely changes. You can look at Armour of God, which was shot throughout Europe and has a certain slackness when compared to the other movies in Jackie Chan’s ridiculous directorial hot streak at the time. (Obviously, the near fatal injuries he suffered during the production played a part in that too.) You can definitely see that quality in Wheels on Meals, which has a pleasing leisurely quality that comes out of its Barcelona setting.

I understand that Sammo Hung had run into difficulties shooting earlier movies in Hong Kong, and found the Spanish officials in contrast to be much more accommodating, and that sense of freedom definitely colours the movie. This is in terms of the proceedings themselves, with several elaborate action sequences shot on location). But it’s also in terms of the overall atmosphere, with the action and comedy sequences having a sense of spontaneity that mixes appealingly with their laser-precise execution. The movie has a certain travelogue quality that results anytime you make a movie in a picturesque setting, but on a deeper level has a feeling of true escapism. Wouldn’t it be neat if you too went on a vacation to Spain and got caught up in an adventure like our heroes? The flimsiness of the plot becomes an asset, as it plays into that “choose your own adventure” quality, and Sammo’s character sums up the stakes most succinctly when explaining why some men tried to kidnap the female lead.

And in that sense, Hung’s knack for maximum visual impact explains the wardrobe. Every single outfit in this movie worn by someone other than an extra manages to clash, not only with the setting (the bright pastel colours pop against the earthen hues of the Spanish architecture), but also with each other (there’s a motorcycle gang who clearly do not shop at the same place). The movie is rarely not pleasing to look at, even if the outfits worn by the characters would be retina-searing in other circumstances. You’ll be taking a lot of great photos on this vacation.

That sense of visual impact and use of colour also plays beautifully into the action scenes. Listen, I’m not a technical expert, and I can’t explain fully why Hung’s precision in his editing and camera moves makes for great action, but I can tell you that when a hideous yellow van starts careening through the streets of Barcelona and knocking away the villain’s automobiles like bumper cars, it’s hard to keep your eyes off the screen. (The van is shown earlier to be extremely high tech for a foodservice operation, a quality that not only comes in handy during the chase, but also accounts for what I assume was the entirety of the special effects budget with its fancy computer display.) Hung must have had a pretty sweet deal with Mitsubishi, as three of his movies managed to make their boxiest, most brightly coloured models integral parts of great action scenes.

Of course, when you put Jackie, Sammo and Yuen Biao (sorry, no first name basis for this fella, the other two get their first names as actors and last names as directors) in a movie together AND have one of the villains played by Benny “The Jet” Urquidez, you’re going to have more than your share of amazing physical feats. The legendary fight between Jackie and Benny the Jet is famous for a moment when the latter does a kick so fast it blows out a bunch of candles with the resulting gust of wind. But that scene is also exciting because of the way it starts to savour every gesture, every move that Jackie makes. (The introduction of slow motion in the tail end of the fight is an astute choice.) Jackie in his own movies has a certain self-deprecating presence (the aforementioned Police Story has him frequently embarrassed in all manner of ways, including girlfriend troubles, a court hearing gone sour and even dog doo on his shoe), but Hung tends to play him as kind of cool, and this fight seems genuinely in awe of him. It’s telling that the opening montage shows Jackie and Yuen Biao working out, capturing their physiques lovingly, as if to tell us that even though a lot of what follows will be fun and games, these guys are undeniably amazing physical performers. Sammo makes himself comparatively goofier through his performance, like his clumsy contributions to the climactic plan, swinging in through a window and kicking Jackie in the face in the process.

He also cheats by giving himself a ridiculous perm, but I guess the other guys get to be goofy as well, and all is fair in love and war.

And of course, as far as amazing physical feats go, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention their female co-star Lola Forner. Forner not only provides the impetus for the plot (a thief with a heart of gold who is also kinda, sorta a princess; don’t think about it too hard), and proves to be a capable comic performer who plays off the boys nicely, but also seems to perpetually have her hair caught in a slight breeze. Listen, blowing out candles with your kick is pretty awesome, but is it really more impressive than having your hair always fluttering in the wind, no matter where you are or what’s happening around you? The jury’s still out.