Bullet Points: Shaolin Drunk Monkey
I was first introduced to the comedic Kung Fu stylings of Elton Chong in 1980’s Fist of Golden Monkey. Chong made for a good goofy underdog in that one, so when I found 1981’s Shaolin Drunk Monkey (also starring Elton Chong) streaming on Tubi, I figured it was worth giving it a shot based on my prior experience…
- Hot Open: When a movie begins with the line, “You old bastard, you can’t hide any longer!” followed by some “repurposed” Death Wish II music by Jimmy Page, followed by another “bastard” and then a fight between the accused bastard, The Old Beggar (Mike Wong, Duel of the Tough) and the villain of the film, Silver Eagle (Eagle Han, The Fearless Hyena), you are off to a great start in my book! This opening scene sold me on the entire movie (quite literally) because I went to Amazon and clicked “BUY NOW” so I could have a physical copy of the movie in my growing Kung Fu movie library.
- Shaolin Temple Blues: Cue the opening credits and that is where we get our first look at Mo (Elton Chong, Fist of Golden Monkey), a cook working at the Shaolin Temple. But Mo doesn’t just want to be a cook at the Shaolin Temple, he wants to be one of the monks… however he seems to be the only one. Mo finds himself getting in trouble on more than one occasion when he takes a break from his kitchen duties and scopes out the monks in training, mimicking their moves. We also learn, via flashback, that Silver Eagle killed Mo’s family years earlier. Ironically, the Silver Eagle is about to strike close to home again, as Silver Eagle and his crew attack the Shaolin Temple in the dark of night. Chu shows up in the aftermath to hear her father’s dying words. I guess Chu’s grandfather was supposed to be the Abbot, but honestly Shaolin Drunk Monkey had the sorriest excuse for a Shaolin Temple and Shaolin monks that I can recall seeing. Anyway, Chu’s grandfather tells her to go find her uncle, the only man who will know how to defeat Silver Eagle. Mo overhears the conversation and with his own personal reasons for wanting to defeat Silver Eagle, he follows Chu on her quest.
- Lost and Found: Along the way, Mo loses track of Chu but he does bump into an old beggar, and not just any old beggar, THE Old Beggar from the start of the movie… and while he doesn’t know it at the time, Mo has also found his teacher (and Chu’s uncle). Mo and the Old Beggar have the sort of student/teacher relationship that has been depicted many times before, with Mo being put through his paces and getting his chops busted by the Old Beggar at every available opportunity. Mo finds himself getting water for the Old Beggar’s bath, the Old Beggar also has a chair contraption set up that allows him to eat in unique fashion, while building up Mo’s strength. There are plenty of training scenes and plenty of chances for Mo to use the skills he is learning with random fights basically every time he leaves the Old Beggar’s home and goes into town or goes out to fetch more pails of water.
- Undercover: While Chu had no luck finding her uncle, she did manage to infiltrate Silver Eagle’s home… Silver Eagle thought he was getting a new lover, what he ended up getting was stabbed by Chu! Chu wounded Silver Eagle, but did not kill him and fortunately for her, she did manage to get away. After her unsuccessful attempt at revenge, Chu bumps into Mo and finds out Mo has been training with her uncle. There’s one more extended training segment before Mo… and eventually Chu and the Old Beggar go three on one with Silver Eagle and all his fan and mirror tricks!
I already mentioned the lack of the traditional Shaolin elements in Shaolin Drunk Monkey. There were also no monkeys or even any noticeable monkey style, although I guess Elton Chong is known for bringing plenty of monkey business to his Kung Fu outings. The Old Beggar’s red nose could be a sign that at one time he was a drunk, but he didn’t seem to be hitting the sauce in the movie. In other words, the name of the movie really has jack shit to do with the actual movie, which may also be an Elton Chong thing. As a big Mike Wong fan, he was a difference maker for me while watching Shaolin Drunk Monkey and elevated the movie in my eyes. Although I do have to question if playing old man characters with red noses is a Mike Wong thing.
One of my things, is to wrap up a review with some Bonus Bullet Points…
- AKA: Shaolin Drunk Monkey is also known as The Shaolin Chief Cook.
- Bastard Count: As I mentioned at the start of my review, the “bastards” got rolling early in Shaolin Drunk Monkey and when it was all said and done, I counted a total of six “bastards”.
- Out of Context Quote: “Come over here and blow.”
- Directed By: Shaolin Drunk Monkey was directed by the infamous, Godfrey Ho.
- If You Ever: …wanted to see Elton Chong check out the dong of Mike Wong, then Shaolin Drunk Monkey is the movie for you.
