Anh Hùng Của Tôi Thuyết Minh - My Hero Thuyết Minh (1990)

Mystifying combination of a triad saga and wacky comic antics. Stephen Chow stars as a lovable waiter who reads gangster comics and dreams of the heroic bloodshed life. His chance comes when he saves a mob boss and joins the triad. Joining him are Wilson Lam as the Chow Yun-Fat clone, and Ann Bridgewater as the obligatory moll. Even though he's surrounded by cold-hearted criminals and killers, Chow still remains lovable - mostly because he gets to be a triad without killing a single person. Amazingly, he rises up the triad ladder without doing anything truly objectionable, though his buddies do their share of evil things. Eventually, we must come to terms with the reality of the triad life, i.e. it basically sucks. The film's indictment of the triad life would be welcome, if not for the fact that 90% of the film is your standard "being a triad is cool" HK film. Ultimately, the wackiness seems way out-of-place among the blood and bullets. Stephen Chow turns in a charismatic comic performance, but he - and his character - belong in another movie. Like a good one.