There are so many films released in Hong Kong in the ’80s and early ’90s that could be considered influential to the action genre. There are various different reasons, but they innovated the way action scenes could be shot, even putting women in lead roles tackling action scenes just as hard or even harder than most men. Films like Yes Madam (1985), Righting Wrongs (1986), and Lady Whirlwind (1972) are prime examples and continue to be admired by fans. While not quite on the same level, The Inspector Wears Skirts (1988) and its three sequels definitely fall into the same category.
88 Films and its 88 Asia Collection is bringing the first film in the series to special edition Blu-ray. It stars Sibelle Hu and Cynthia Rothrock, with Jackie Chan lending a hand behind the scenes as a producer.
Madam Wu (Sibelle Hu) is given the opportunity to train a group of recruits for a special all-women unit called SKIRTS. She has a rag-tag group of young officers and has to train them to be the best of the best. Alongside them is an all-male unit that seems to think they’re more qualified, but Madam Wu isn’t just some woman. She’s one of the best on the force. If this is true, her crew will follow her lead and make the Hong Kong P.D. proud, especially when faced with their first assignment.
The Inspector Wears Skirts opens with an action scene worthy of a finale before moving into humor. Much of the film plays like a female version of Police Academy (1984) without the raunchy humor. It’s a mixed bag of jokes that sometimes leaves you scratching your head, wondering what just happened. There’s a strange scene at a roller rink where the guys’ squad and gals’ squad pair off, with a song and dance number happening in the middle of the rink. This leads to the guys and ladies fighting and splitting off. It’s weird, made me laugh, and just fun.
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The plot is kind of all over the place, with certain situations arising just to pull off a joke. Then, out of nowhere, the squads have to team up to stop jewel thieves at a fashion show, and the action kicks back in. There are only two major fight sequences but they’re super impressive, crazy stunts, and are wonderfully choreographed.
The film also co-stars the legendary Cynthia Rothrock, who was a trailblazer for women in martial arts action cinema. She appears in the opening scene the reappears in the end to help the girls finish their training and lend a hand to catch the thieves. She’s always a pleasure and marvel to watch and, even with a minimal amount of screen time, still manages to impress.
The disc is loaded with brand new features like a limited edition booklet, limited slipcover, commentary by film historian Frank Djeng, an interview with Rothrock, an interview with director Wellson Chin, the English opening and closing credit sequence for Top Squad, multiple trailers, still gallery, and more.
While not quite as quintessential viewing as some Hong Kong titles, it’s still easy to see why The Inspector Wears Skirts is a classic. Who doesn’t love a zany comedy with bombastic, ground-breaking action?
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