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Please don't spend money on this.

Excellent adaptation.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

This 1983 martial arts comedy from Shaw Brothers doesn't deliver much in the way of laughs, and takes a long time to get to the serious kung fu, but once the feet and fists really start flying, it proves to be a whole lot of fun. The first hour or so comprises of dreadfully unfunny situation comedy in which the teacher and students of a Hong Kong martial arts school discover that their new boss is the grandmaster's daughter, Chen Mei Ling (Kara Hui), who uses Western marketing techniques to bring in fresh business. When some of their new students, working girls from a local 'gentlemen's club', use their newfound fighting skills to keep the clients' wandering hands at bay, the owner of the establishment declares war on the martial arts school. Best moment within the first hour: a big breasted woman gets hit in the tits.Fortunately things get much, much better at the 1 hour 6 minute mark, with a great scene in which the good guys use BMX bikes (so '80s) to beat up the baddies, with excellent stunts and creative use of their 2-wheeled vehicles that almost rivals Jackie Chan's bike fu in Project A. There's also a fun set-piece in which cameras flashes are used during a fight in a nightclub, but the best is definitely saved for last with a wonderfully choreographed showdown in a gymnasium, actor/director Liu Chia-liang finally giving kung fu fans something to get excited about, the cast using the exercise equipment (trampoline, rings, weights and balancing beam) in innovative ways to kick ass. Liu Chia-liang performs some great moves, but being a sucker for some monkey style kung fu, I particularly enjoyed Hou Hsiao acrobatic moves (even though he is clearly doubled for some of the work on the parallel bars).6/10. Not an essential '80s kung fu flick, the first hour neither funny nor exciting, but the last half hour ends things on a high note.

THE LADY IS THE BOSS is a natural follow-up to MY YOUNG AUNTIE, reuniting the same actors and casting them in very similar roles. This one has a contemporary setting so it's very much an '80s film, full of disco scenes, BMX riding, Village People lookalikes, gay stereotypes, and very outrageous fashions and make-up styles. Once again Kara Hui plays a skilled martial artist who comes into town to take over the running of a martial arts school, butting heads with old traditionalist Liu Chia-Liang, who also directs.To my surprise, I found this a more enjoyable film than MY YOUNG AUNTIE, which was in itself pretty decent. THE LADY IS THE BOSS has a faster pace and more furious comedy to see it through, alongside an ensemble cast who really deliver the goods in the humour stakes. Sure, much of the comedy is lowbrow, dated, and very Chinese, but that doesn't stop it being amusing. The likes of Wong Yue, Hsiao Hou, and Gordon Liu play the enthusiastic kung fu students, supported by Ku Feng as a businessman and the winning team of Johnny Wang Lung Wei and Sun Chien as the bad guys.This film has a lot of energy to recommend it and the plot keeps twisting and turning so that you work to keep up. There's little action in the first half, but the second lets rip with some imaginative modern-day fight scenes, a battle between BMX riders and thugs on a building site being a highlight. However, nothing prepares you for the wonderful gymnasium climax, which is one of the best I've seen in all of Shaw. Gordon Liu plays up to his Shaolin monk persona, Hsiao Hou does some incredible monkey style kung fu, and Liu Chia-Liang really shows what he's made of; I've never seen him fight like this before. The use of the gym props is especially creative and eye-popping. Add in the naturally skilled Wang Lung Wei and Sun Chien and you have one great showdown.

"The Lady Is The Boss" is kind of a transitional film between the old-school and the contemporary kung fu flicks. The basic theme is tradition, represented by the strict, discipline-demanding martial arts teacher Liu Chia Liang, versus change, represented by the American-raised, headstrong new boss of the school Kara Hui. To the film's credit, neither side is portrayed as entirely good or entirely bad; they both have their pluses and minuses. Like it often happens in this genre, the script is weak and can barely even fill the 90-minute running time. But the comedy is sometimes amusing and the action is often creative (disco dancing, bicycles, photo camera flashes, weights, etc. are used as fighting weapons; they may not all be so practical, but they've rarely - if ever - been used on the screen before). Kara Hui proves once again that she is one of the very best female action stars, and also looks pretty sexy. Everyone in the cast does his or her job well, but that guy who performs the "mad monkey" style at the end (Hsiao Hou, I think) is utterly spectacular! A mostly satisfying film. (**1/2)

now, with most martial arts films before the mid 90's i suspend all deep criticism of plot, acting, and all that other stuff. for what it is i feel this is a highly entertaining film. but you can't go wrong with this director for some great action choreography. it is such a creative piece that is always surprising the viewer with different styles / props / situations for martial arts. also, if you're an avid martial arts fan you'll recognize a lot of faces from a number of interesting shaw brother films (sorry, bad with the names...the disciple from "mad monkey kung fu", the disciple from "36th chamber of shaolin", the disciple from the "masters of shaolin").