Wheels on Meals (1984)

Thanks for the memories!

As Good As It Gets

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Another winner from the prolific Jackie Chan, not as slick or as big budget as his later productions like POLICE STORY but still packing a mean punch in terms of martial arts sequences. This time, the reliable Sammo Hung directs the film as well as co-starring as an idiotic and bumbling private eye who ends up helping hero Chan and his partner Yuen Biao in saving a beautiful heiress - as played by the genuinely charming Lola Forner - from a gang of thugs.Once again the plot is trivial stuff in which the trio of Chan, Biao, and Hung are up to all kinds of slapstick shenanigans, whether engaging in typically ill-fated battles with hired goons or making trouble between themselves. The emphasis in this low-budget film is on the comedy, and you get it in spades. This time around the inmates of a mental asylum (including the always-good-to-see Richard Ng and John Shem) are the basis for some crazy humour and our three unlikely heroes add a Three Stooges-style manic humour to their scenes. In fact I'd argue that this is the closest the three stars get to paying homage to the old ensemble comedy productions of the '30s.For a change, this present-set production was made in Spain, which offers up some nice locations which are highlighted in a lengthy car/van chase which offers up some excellent slow-motion stunts and typically unlikely comedy antics involving flying cars. The pacing is fast and furious and never lets up, even during the slow spots in the story where nothing much is happening, and the script is consistently funny.The various fight and action scenes are a delight to watch and make fine use of props like motorbikes, tables, skateboards, chairs, and the usual. After a few minor battles with the bad guys, things pick up for the excellent finale in the castle in which our heroic trio find themselves up against two powerful thugs and a fencing champion. The resulting battles are frenetic, stylish, and occasionally awesome to behold, benefiting from the presence of real-life champions Benny 'The Jet' Urquidez and Keith Vitali to add to the super-fast realism of the action. In fact the battle between Chan and Urquidez is one of the fastest and best I've seen on film, full stop, not even surpassed by their rematch in DRAGONS FOREVER. Although not one of Chan's top movies, this can best be described as a solid addition to his filmography, with three winning turns from the leads. Instantly disposable, but fun with it!

"Wheels On Meals" is actually a great fun Jackie Chan movie, despite it being from 1984, it is still fun to watch today.The story is about Thomas (played by Jackie Chan) and David (played by Yuen Biao) who are running a mobile fast-food service in Spain, when they happen to come across beautiful Sylvia (played by Lola Forner). She is being chased by a group of people, and the two restaurant vendors find themselves in a plot like none other. Hired to find Sylvia and bring her back is aspiring detective Moby (played by Sammo Hung).Of course you have the trademark slapstick comedy action as in most Jackie Chan movies, but also a funny story (again another trademark of his) and the amazingly choreographed martial arts and action sequences.I got the CineAsia / Hong Kong Legends collector's edition, and the extra material is well worth getting this version for alone. The movie contains both the Cantonese language track and a poorly dubbed English language track. I really don't understand the fetish about dubbing foreign movies into English, subtitles is your friend here!One thing that I did find odd though, was that everyone spoke Cantonese in Spain, even all the local Spainards. That was just hilarious and stupid at the same time. But hey, it just added to the charm of the movie."Wheels On Meals" is entertaining and fun, not to mention fast-paced and full of action; everything you'd expect from a Jackie Chan movie. And it is a well deserving movie in any DVD collection for fans of Hong Kong cinema and Jackie Chan's movies.

It's a hard toss-up for me trying to decide Jackie Chan's best film. It's a narrow thought process for me as it comes down to Dragons Forever and the weirdly titled "Wheels on Meals". Both films feature the amazing trio of Jackie, Sammo Hung, and Yuen Biao...'brothers' since their early days and all film stars in their own right. But the comedy in Wheels on Meals works the best and the action scenes are amazing, with Biao really strutting his mobility.The plot is thin: Jackie and Biao are cousins who works a 'gut-truck' in Spain. Sammo is an acquaintance who takes over his employer's private detective agency when his boss goes on the run. Someone hires Sammo to find a beautiful girl (Lola Forner - also seen in Armour of God) whom Jackie and Biao have already had the pleasure of meeting. She's a pickpocket and the daughter of Biao's dad's girlfriend (the dad and the mom met at the local insane asylum. What love!). Anyway it seems that Silvia is being chased by mobsters so she can't claim a lot of money that should be coming to her. Bad guys give chase, Jackie and Biao help her, and Sammo runs in to try to get his way.The three have been in a number of films together (Project A being the other film that features the three as equals) but even with the not-so great plot you'll be surprised at how well the acting is, how the jokes are still funny even while you are reading them (and don't go for something dubbed, the film is much better in Chinese), and how great the kung-fu scenes are. You'll be surprised by Jackie and Biao's skills on a skateboard and while the Jackie Vs. Benny the Jet fight scene in Dragons Forever might be a bit better, you still HAVE one in this movie.For amazing comedy, action, and great kung-fu, that is directed by the pudgy Sammo, and taking the three men out of Hong Kong a la Way of the Dragon - this is the film for you. Fans of Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao, and Sammo Hung will be hard pressed to find something better, though Dragons Forever comes very, very close.

I had high expectations for this movie. I heard that this movie has the best fight scene ever made. But when I watched it, I was quite disappointed. The finale where Jackie takes on Benny Urquidez, has been said to be the best fight, but it turn out to be a plain kick and punch fight. Yuen Biao was pretty impressive in his final fight where he somersaults around the room before finishing his opponent. The plot was also quite boring. Definitely not Jackie's Best movie.