Dragon Dynasty brings us “The Legend of Fong Sai Yuk,” 1993’s pairing of Jet Li and director Corey Yuen, and it’s an absolute delight for aficionados of classic HK movies. This is one of those back-in-the-day pictures that made people like myself a rabid kung fu movie addict. Intensely lensed martial arts mayhem, sweet and goofy romance, slapstick comedy, gender-bending hi jinx, political conflict…it’s just got it all. It’s fun. These days, movies featuring martial arts or superhero-style action are supposed to be all dark and dramatic. Not this one, sorry. It was made during a time when fun was still in style. Ridiculously over the top and unashamed, it’s a crowd-pleasing popcorn masterpiece. This film, along with “Fist of Legend” or “Swordsman II,” is definitely a Jet Li fan favorite. Sigh. Anyway…

Li stars as Fong Sai Yuk, a happy-go-lucky mama’s boy who also happens to be a kung fu master. Sai Yuk’s mom (Josephine Siao) is also a kung fu master.
But Sai Yuk’s dad? Heh. It’s dad’s involvement in the anti-Ching Red Flower Society that draws the ire of the ruling Manchu and brings them loads of trouble, so it’s cross-dressing mother and her good-natured son to the rescue. Way to go, dad.

Sai Yuk meets a girl named Ting Ting, and they are attracted to each other, but neither knows the other’s true identity. The town’s local big shot, Tiger Lui, stages a kung fu contest, with the winner receiving his daughter Ting Ting in marriage. But when Ting Ting runs away, her maid is used as an emergency stand-in. Sai Yuk enters the contest and could win the match easily but he sees the substitute daughter (ugh!) and decides to intentionally lose. Mom, in an effort to regain her family’s respect, dresses as a man and saves the day only to attract the attention of Tiger’s wife. Oops. And topping it all off is Sai Yuk’s father’s involvement in the anti-Manchu movement, so now everyone has to deal with the Emperor’s vicious governor (Vincent Zhao) who’s out to destroy the Red Flower Society.

So yeah, things get a little complicated. It’s a symphony of mistaken identity, misrepresentation, miscommunication, misinterpretation…classic stuff for HK kung fu comedy. It’s farcical, like “Three’s Company” or “The Importance of Being Earnest” only with repeated strikes to the chest and kicks to the head.

Oh, and by the way, if you wanted to see Jet Li in drag, here it is. Li and Siao make quite a nice comedy duo. I really liked their banter together and the fact that they (mom and son) both get into trouble equally with their schemes and tricks. After getting in trouble, Sai Yuk’s mom stands sheepishly before her husband and melodramatically proclaims “I should be blamed. I am no good as a wife. I don’t know how to teach my son. I can’t face your ancestors. Let me die! Let me die! Don’t stop me!” as she tries to half-heartedly threaten suicide, to which Sai Yuk cries out “Don’t! Mom! It’s your second time today!”

“The Legend of Fong Sai Yuk” includes a feature-length commentary track and a couple of interviews. Dragon Dynasty deserves praise for bringing some of the best Asian films to America, and I guess the rumor is that DD is also bringing us the sequel, “Fong Sai Yuk II.” While their releases have slowed considerably lately, “Fong Sai Yuk” is a definite day-one buy for guys like me. If you’re unfamiliar with it and like kung fu with some great comedy, please check this one out!