Rosa - Romantic Comedy with the Occasional Dustup

Jul

11

Rosa - Romantic Comedy with the Occasional Dustup

≡ Category: Action, Comedy, Hong Kong, Martial Arts, Movie Reviews By Country, Recommended |
≅ Written by: Michael Kydonieus

Country: Hong Kong
Genre: Action/ Comedy/ Martial Arts
Director: Joe Cheung
Year: 1986

Rating:

TRASH CINEMA RECOMMENDED MOVIE

Rosa starts and ends strong, but the middle is kind of flabby.

The action revolves around the title character, who was once the mistress of a mobster who has taken incriminating photos of the financial books of a triad kingpin and is trying to blackmail him. Also in pursuit of the negatives is Inspector Tien (the reliably amusing Paul Chun). He assigns ‘Little Monster’ (Yuen Biao) and Lei Kung (Lowell Lo) to follow Rosa, in hopes of tracking down the negatives. Of course, the gangsters try to recover the negatives. That’s all there really is to the plot.

Most of the movie is taken up with social comedy and slapstick, and that’s really the problem. I’ve found that in Hong Kong movies, most of the time, comedy can work, but only if it is generously interspersed with action and situations with some genuine menace.

The beginning of the movie handles this balance perfectly. Inspector Tien is preparing to capture a criminal as a photo opportunity, with the press in attendance, but he wants to make sure the gangster doesn’t have any weapons. Tien sends in ‘Little Monster’ to do his dirty work for him, but it doesn’t quite work out as planned. This scene is tense and very funny. Lei Kung also manages to get on Inspector Tien’s bad side by inadvertently inducing his very pregnant wife’s labor.

The next thing you know, Tien’s their boss. The scene in which he takes revenge by having his subordinates recreate a crime scene is a hoot.

Up until this point, the movie is in balance.

Unfortunately, once ‘Little Monster’ and Lei Kung start developing a friendship with Rosa and Lei’s sister, the film starts to feel routine and uninspired. Sure, there’s the occasional welcome dustup, expertly choreographed by Yuen Biao, Yuen Wah, and Lam Ching-Ying and vigorously performed by such greats as Yuen Biao, Dick Wei, and Kara Hui, but as the Keystone Cops style romantic shenanigans started to dominate the second act, I felt myself getting bored.

Rosa redeems itself, as many Hong Kong flicks do, with a rousing final fight. For casual fans who are interested in martial arts, I would recommend keeping the fast forward button handy. For rabid fans of Golden Age of Hong Kong flicks (1985-1995), Rosa is worth a watch. The first 20 minutes or so are very funny, and the action, when it comes, is inventive and hard-hitting. Just don’t expect a masterpiece.