Fight Back to School review (1991) Stephen Chow

Stephen Chow (Royal Tramp, Royal Tramp II) stars as an undercover cop whose latest assignment is to pose as a student at a nearby school in order to find out what happened to the missing gun of the captain of the force (Barry Wong, The Killer), which had disappeared during a recent visit to the station by students at the school. The assignment would seem like a minor nuisance for the resourceful Chow, except he finds himself constantly in hot water due to his uncouth demeanor, squabbles with feisty triad gangs, and a crush that he develops on his guidance counselor (Cheung Man, Handsome Siblings).

A major hit at the time of its release in Hong Kong, and a bit of a fan favorite for fans of Stephen Chow, Fight Back to School is, nevertheless, one of his films that haven’t really weathered the test of time in terms of overall quality. Interminably silly, this will no doubt please fans of Stephen Chow, as he cuts loose with his irreverent charm and goofy gags. However, those that aren’t used to his shtick, or who aren’t really in tune with it, will find this a tedious outing, with a scant plot, sophomoric jokes, and tired clichés. Unless you adore everything Stephen Chow, or just energetic comedies of the most absurd variety, there’s not much here to recommend.

-- Followed by Fight Back to School 2 (1992) and Fight Back to School 3 (1993).