Cop Shop Babes (HK 2001)

Rating: **
Review Date: 6/15/03
Cast: Eason Chan, Lan Hiu Fung, Lilian Ho, Lam Wai-Ling, Li Shan Shan, Carina Lau, Fu Tin Wing, Cathy Tsui, Yuen King Dan, Wong Jing

Pretty dreadful - especially if you're allergic to Hong Kong comedies like I am. This film utilizes the same female police squad formula as the "Inspectors Wear Skirts" (1988) series, except that it lacks the one crucial element that made those films palatable - action sequences. Madam Liu (Carina Lau) is in charge of a group of highly skilled female officers known as the "Cop Shop Babes," and their latest case involves tracking down a mad bomber named Fireball. Bumbling idiots Beer and Satay (Eason Chan and Lan Hiu Fung) somehow manage to get transferred to work with the Cop Shop Babes and they naturally spend all of their time trying to woo the girls. Oh please make it stop... Then to add insult to injury, schlockmeister Wong Jing shows up as an asylum inmate who likes to bite people and just happens to be an expert in firearms and bomb disarmament. Oh, the pain... The girls eventually get their man, and the guys manage to get the girls. Or something. Does anyone care?

As you would expect from this kind of comedy genre drek, the women are all quite lovely and while they're not the greatest actresses, they stumble through the mundane script with as much class as they can muster. One actress in particular, Li Shan Shan, is absolutely ravishing, and succeeds in stealing the show with her fiery intensity and glamour girl looks. She also sees more action than the rest of the group, which isn't saying much, but it's a nice perk. Cathy Tsui also delivers a quintessential picturesque gun pose which is quite a thing to see. Other than seeing these two ladies flaunt their guns, there's absolutely no reason to watch this stale and predictable attempt at police humor.