‘You can’t turn him into Chow Yun-fat in one go.’ Stephen Chow’s Fight Back to School hero

Known for lowbrow comedies and playing the underdog, Chow was successfully recast as a suave hero, playing a cop undercover as a schoolboy

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Stephen Chow Sing-chi in a still from Fight Back to School (1991). The comedy star had a “heroic” image makeover for this film and its sequel, and all three films were a showcase for his comedic genius. Photo: Win’s Movie Production & I/E Co. Ltd

Published: 4:15am, 15 Dec 2024Updated: 8:58pm, 19 Dec 2024

In 1991, when Stephen Chow Sing-chi’s Fight Back to School was released, everyone was talking about the “heroic” image makeover for the star of mo lei tau slapstick comedies.

Chow kept his suave new image for the film’s sequel, before reverting to a more typical zany style for part three.

Here we dive deep into Chow’s Fight Back to School trilogy.

1. Fight Back to School (1991)

This Wong Jing-produced film has a nutty premise that works extremely well – make Chow a cop and then send him on an undercover mission inside a school, not as a teacher but as a pupil, school uniform and all. The result is a brilliant showcase for the star’s unique comic skills.

“This Back to School comedy is not only the brightest Stephen Chow picture since All for the Winner, but one of the best films in an as-yet cinematically lacklustre 1991,” wrote Post reviewer Paul Fonoroff. “Fight Back to School crosses the generation gap in generating laughs.”

The story is lean, and features many comic diversions. Chow plays a cop who fails his test for the SDU – the Hong Kong police’s Special Duties Unit. To avoid being discharged, he takes an undercover assignment in a school to find his superior’s missing gun, which has been stolen by a student. The stakes become higher when Chow discovers that triads have infiltrated the school.

The brilliant set-up leads to numerous hilarious situations, including one where Chow has to secretly call the police department for answers during an exam on Chinese history – if he fails he will have to leave the school, and the crime will not be solved.