First hitting Hong Kong theaters with 1986’s action comedy Naughty Boys (扭計雜牌軍), filmmaker Wellson Chin Sing-Wai’s follow up is that of the female-led The Inspector Wears Skirts (霸王花), released as Top Squad in the U.S., has Sibelle Hu (The Seventh Curse; My Lucky Stars) in the lead role and Cynthia Rothrock (Yes, Madam!) in a supporting one. The concept, written by Cheng Kam-Fu (Contract Killer) and Abe Kwong, is a Police Academy-style (1984) action comedy in which the antics are frequent and the action elevated. Now, thanks to 88 Films, The Inspector Wears Skirts is receiving a brand-new 2K restoration with audio commentary and two featurettes that will certainly make fans of this five-film deep series delighted.
After a protective detail job goes south due to the bumbling of the male officers, it’s decided that an all-female unit of officers, dubbed SKIRTS, will be created with training instruction overseen by Instructor Wu (Hu). Though each member of the two-team unit is highly successful on their own merits, in order to succeed in their SKIRTS training, they’ll need to pull together. But when they find themselves frequently distracted by their male counterparts training nearby and battling with each other, even Wu’s tough tactics don’t seem enough to keep them focused. Can they become the fighting force Hong Kong needs when a crack squad is needed or will all the jokes and jabs about SKIRTS come true?
The comparison to Police Academy is an apt one, even if it creates a bit of a misconception on the film itself. Yes, it’s set at a police academy in which there is strife between cadets and instructor; yes, there is sexual tension between members of the opposite sex; and yes, there’s a culminating action sequence which requires everyone to come together in order to save the day. Police Academy did have its share of misogyny and includes enough nudity and material to warrant the R-rating. Conversely, Inspector is far more wholesome, with the misogyny placed out front to be chided, mocked, and, in at least two scenes, be the recipient of a beat down (one within the confines of training and the other vengeance). The “battle of the sexes” is only part of the humor with the rest coming from the interpersonal conflicts of the characters. One great moment is when the audience meets Sandra Ng Kwun-Yu’s (Gorgeous) cadet Amy as she joins other cadets in a classroom and, in the process of trying to make friends, talks about the ways she and her fellow cadets tormented their past instructors. She then turns to introduce herself to another young lady in the room and it’s Instructor Wu. Throughout the film, Wellson uses Amy as a punchline, having her serve as the catalyst for a variety of physical comedy jokes that come at the expense of Amy’s pride. Wellson also utilizes the fact that men frequently undervalue the contributions of the women, thereby creating opportunities to show off not only how capable the cadets are, but also how far both parties of the binary gender divide have to go in order to be productive partners in the workplace. That the final confrontation comes down to how well the men’s instructor, Kan (Stanley Sui-Fan Fung), can embarrass himself in order to save the day is a beautiful way to bring that point home.
Now, let’s get into the package and restoration.
Thanks to MVD Entertainment Group, I have a retail copy of the new edition to provide a brief walkthrough. As usual with 88 Films, their O-Ring slipcover both mimics the artwork of the outliner and is sturdy as hell. They describe it in the press notes as “double walled” and it makes sense. There’s a market out there for slipcover collectors (I don’t understand it, but play on, players) and whether that’s you or not, the O-Ring is made of solid stuff that will protect the inner plastic case. Inside the disc case is a single disc on the right and both a foldout poster (with new and original art) and 32-page booklet. The booklet features the U.S. release title with Rothrock on the cover with the original title at the top of the inside. Based on the film stills throughout the booklet that include Top Squad markings, my presumption is that these are old marketing materials that just so happen to feature that title versus an active choice to diminish the Hong Kong roots. The included essay from Paul Bramhall explores Inspector from the perspective of its influence and its contribution to the “Girls with Guns” genre that was kicked off by Royal Warriors (1986), the first in the thematically-connected In the Line of Duty series. Bramhall also provides some context for the film through the lens of Jackie Chan’s influence, given that this is one of his first producing gigs. There are several individuals in this film who have come through either working with Chan (My Lucky Stars) or Sammo Hung (My Lucky Stars), so one shouldn’t be surprised to hear either name come up when discussing Inspector.
Oddly, there’s no restoration information in the booklet, so there’s no clear way to know how the restoration was created other than what the press release says, “… from the original negatives.” What is clear is that this is a solid restoration, there is no noticeable grime or dirt, the frames are clear with good grain, natural colors, and strong balance with the audio. As with other 88 Films restorations, there’s nothing here suggestive of a poorly made on-disc presentation.
Speaking of on-disc, there’s a feature-length commentary track from frequent contributor Frank Djeng (In the Line of Duty collection), a brand-new 16-minute interview with Rothrock (who regales us with stories of how she joined the project and more), a brand-new 16-minute interview with Wellson (structured as a Q&A), and the English-language opening and closing titles included with the U.S. release, as well as region-appropriate trailers. There’s not much on here in terms of girth, but for fans of Hong Kong cinema looking to watch a niche film which may not have much in the way of stored materials, this may be a situation of be happy with what you have.
The further I get into exploring Asian cinema, whether it’s Hong Kong, Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Hawaiian, or any other represented people, the more I realize just how much American cinema owes to those performers and filmmakers. We quite literally wouldn’t have the John Wick series without them, so if you’re big on watching Chad Stahelski and Keanu Reeves devise ways to beat up or kill opponents, then you really need to get down with what filmmakers like Hung, Chan, and Wellson were doing back in the ‘90s, ‘80s, ‘70s, and before. Do I think that The Inspector Wears Skirts is a great film? No, but it’s a solid action comedy that puts female actors into action-based characters in a time when too few women were considered for such roles. Nowadays, everyone knows Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All at Once), as they should, but not enough recognize the contributions of Hu, Rothrock, Kwun-Yu, and other members of the Inspectors cast who had great roles before this and after. That’s why restorations like this from a boutique like 88 Films matter.
Side note: Fans of Skirts, don’t forget: The Inspector Wears Skirts 2 is getting a physical release from 88 Films in 2024.
The Inspector Wears Skirts Special Features:
- Double Walled O-Ring featuring new artwork by Sean Longmore
- Limited Edition 32 Page Booklet Notes by Paul Bramhall
- Double-sided foldout poster featuring New and Classic Poster Art
- Brand New 2K Restoration in 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio from the original negatives
- High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray™ presentation
- Original Cantonese Mono with English Subtitles
- English Mono Dub
- Audio Commentary with Frank Djeng
- Shooting Her Shot – An Interview with Cynthia Rothrock (16:46)
- The Director Wears Pants – An Interview with Director Wellson Chin (16:03)
- ”Top Squad” English Opening and Closing Titles
- Hong Kong Trailer
- English Trailer
- Stills Gallery
- Reversible cover with new artwork by Sean Longmore and original HK Poster Art
Available on Blu-ray December 26th, 2023.
For more information, head to the official 88 Films The Inspector Wears Skirts webpage.
To purchase, head to the official MVD Entertainment Group The Inspector Wears Skirts webpage.
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Categories: Home Release, Home Video, Recommendation, Reviews
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