The Stewardess (2002)
Ken Ma (Sam Lee) gets lucky one night (or so he thinks) when he meets the beautiful airline stewardess, Apple (San San Lee). After what Ken thinks is a one night stand, Apple takes charge and brings him to meet her father who just happens to be the notorious Dragon, leader of the Triad gang. Dragon threatens Ken with castration if he doesn’t stay faithful to Apple. Despite constant surveillance under not only his new girlfriend but from the Triads as well, Ken actually manages to cheat on Apple with another airline stewardess, this time a Japanese one named Yurei (played by Seina Kasugai). Of course, Apple finds out about Ken’s indiscretion and tells her father. Thinking his situation can’t get any worse Ken quickly realizes that the Triads and the spiteful Apple are the least of his worries. Now, Armed with a butcher knife, a meat cleaver, and a sharpened toy airplane, the seemingly unstoppable and very psychotic Yurei is hot on his heels.
This hilarious horror comedy from director Tak-Sam Leong happens to be one of my favorites. The plot is constructed just enough to keep the laughs coming and would have been disastrous had it been meant to be a serious horror film. Every time something remotely creepy or serious happens it only takes a moment before the wackiness returns ten fold. Director Leong Tak Sam uses time-lapse photography, slow motion, split-screen, freeze-frame, and digital effects to convey its story, which is completely ridiculous and satirical from the first frame to its tongue in cheek ending.
The cast is completely at home in this comedy. Miss Hong Kong 1996, San San Lee (My Left Eye Sees Ghosts) plays the bitchy Apple almost too well as she treats Ken like a slave from the first moment of their relationship. Yiu-Cheng Lai (Human Pork Chop) is hilarious as Ken Ma’s sleazy friend, George, and whose best scene is when he goes home with the most unattractive girl at the bar. Even Suet Lam (Tsui Hark’s Vampire Hunters, The God of Cookery) makes the most of his small part as Uncle Fatty, the Triads best but laziest torturer and coercer, with some great moments of improvisational comedy.
Seina Kasugai’s Yurei is a very interesting character. Obviously new to film acting, the gorgeous Kasugai does her best to portray a complete lunatic with only brief moments of seriousness. It would be an understatement to say that she overdoes her role because I suspect that was what was asked of her. Yurei cackles, giggles, screams, and gibbers through her scenes more and more maniacally as the film reaches its conclusion. This may get on some viewers’ nerves but in a film that’s already nuts, she isn’t out of place at all in my book. Kasugai even manages to tone things down during the few effectively creepy moments the film has to offer.
The real star of the film is the super talented Sam Lee (who played Crazy Bee in Bio Zombie). This odd looking fellow is a great comic actor that makes every scene he’s in completely memorable. Ken is such a jackass that you can’t help but root for him. The montage after he finally manages to cheat on Apple is incredible. The whole film turns into a bad beer commercial and Lee doesn’t miss a beat. He keeps getting himself into more and more trouble and you’ll ask yourself “How many times can this guy get the crap beat out of him in one movie?”
The Stewardess is an awesome comedy and a pretty crappy horror movie but I think that’s the point. There is no nudity and very little gore but this very entertaining flick isn’t hurt by any of that one bit. Sam Lee’s performance alone is worth the watch. The DVDs of this film have been difficult to obtain since there were some legal issues concerning its release but I can’t stress enough that the folks that go the extra distance to find this flick will be in for a treat. Oh yeah, and you’ll get enough gangster nipple twisting to last you a lifetime.