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Starring
:
Alfred
Cheung
Chingamy
Yau
Aaron
Kwok
Chan
Hui Man
Cheung
Man
Ng
Man Tat
Gabriel
Wong
Yen
Shi Kwan
Barry
Wong
Producer
:
Wong
Jing
Director
:
Wong
Jing
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TRUANT
HEROES (1992)
A.K.A.
- Truant Hero
Reviewed
by Andrew Saroch
A
cowardly policeman (Cheung) is demoted after a particularly
craven showing during a hostage negotiation and forced to go
undercover as a teacher in a Hong Kong school. An unknown
student has incriminating evidence about a Taiwanese kingpin
and the reluctant hero needs to find it before a band of hired
assassins do. As if his new assignment isn't humiliating
enough, he is also unceremoniously dumped by his beautiful,
but domineering girlfriend Hing (Yau), leaving his already
feeble dignity in shatters. The heartbroken cop finds the
abrasive reality of school life difficult to adjust to and
regularly has run-ins with local uber-idol Ace (Kwok), but
when Hing is also sent into the school as an undercover
student, things get progressively out of hand. Thankfully the
haggard investigator is offered precious salve by an
attractive fellow teacher (Man) who helps relate to his unruly
charges.
Wong
Jing is either a master of interpreting the zeitgeist of Hong
Kong film-making or a petty plagiarist, but his ability to
churn out an imitation of a popular hit while the cinema seats
are still warm evokes a begrudging admiration. With an obvious
zeal to cash-in on the smash hit 'Fight Back To
School', Wong
Jing presented audiences with 'Truant Heroes' - a film that even
press gangs many of the same cast members into service here.
There
is a significant difference with this production though: there
is actually some entertainment to be derived from 'Truant Heroes'
and it exists on its own strengths rather than being
completely reliant on its influences. Much of the minor
achievement is down to the exotic menagerie of characters on
offer here; we have a gloriously dippy hero, the shrewish
ex-girlfriend, an Aaron Kwok at his floppy-haired zenith and a
villainous Yen Shi Kwan clearly inspired by his turn in 'Once
Upon A Time In China'. Add to this collection Chan Hui Man as
an ex-triad forced to work at the school to work off his
community service (a highly unlikely idea, but one that gives
him a chance to lampoon his hard man image) and it's
impossible not to be charmed by this nutty spectacle.
As
Chow Sing Chi was the pivot for 'Fight Back To School', the
underrated Alfred Cheung is undoubtedly the star here. Like an
elongated Ronnie Corbett, Cheung is perennially the dopey
everyman thrust into situations he is ill-prepared for,
retaining the same screen persona for pretty much every film
he stars in. He may never be stretched as an actor, but that's
certainly not a criticism as Cheung has an enviable comic
timing that ignites most of the films he appears in. One look
at our gormless hero vying for Cheung Man's affection while
the oafish Chan Hui Man character mutters threats in the
background is an obvious, yet delicious comic conceit. He's
also arguable a more sympathetic protagonist than Chow Sing
Sing, the posturing hero of 'Fight Back To School'.
As
with much that Wong Jing touches though, 'Truant Heroes' is not
without its unrefined moments. The usual smattering of bad
taste is present and, though it is thankfully subdued before
it can completely take over, loses the film a 1/2 star
overall. His need to take standard comedic set-ups and
overblow them in a way that aggravates, shows a director who
often lets such boring skills as restraint fall by the
wayside. In the end, there's enough quality in other areas to
partially forgive these annoying Jingisms, but it grates
nonetheless. If you can get past this, 'Truant Heroes' is a
comedy that exists in its own little cosmos, a place where an
ungainly anti-hero as played by Alfred Cheung is the object of
affection for two delectable actresses in the shape of
Chingamy Yau and Cheung Man - it is very much a product of a
certain country in a certain heady era.
Rating:
  
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