Cantonese: Sau foo fei lung
Mandarin: Shou hu fei long
English: Skinny Tiger, Fat Dragon

Alternate English Title: Nutty Kickbox Cops

Sammo Hung Kam-po and Karl Maka team up for this amiable outing, which makes prime use of their talents. Known as "The 7-11 Cops" (because they provide 24 hour service), partners Dragon (Hung) and Tiger (Maka) set their sights on some drug traffickers. While trying to arrest a transvestite suspect, they accidentally molest Lai (Carrie Ng Kar-lai), a real woman and another of the criminals, who proceeds to press charges against them. The pair concoct a plan to frame Lai, making her seem to be Tiger's girlfriend, and also end up apprehending the woman's boss, "Prince" Tak (Lung Ming-yan), at the same time. However, they destroy the Deputy Commissioner's wedding reception in the process and are ordered out of HK. After cooling their heels in Singapore, the boys decide to resign from the force and run a Karaoke bar, but fate intervenes when Tak is released on bail and sets out to avenge his humiliation. A pair of transsexual assassins kill Lai and then seek out Tiger and Dragon, but the pair manage to turn the tables on them. Realizing that they and their families will never be at peace until Tak is out of commission, the partners cook up a plan to finish him and his gang once and for all. That will mean a direct confrontation with The Big Boss (Lau Kar-wing, who also directed) and he is every bit Dragon's equal in martial arts.

The storyline follows the buddy cop formula to the letter, the faux female attackers are right out of TWINKLE, TWINKLE LUCKY STARS, Hung reprises his (admittedly excellent) Bruce Lee imitation from ENTER THE FAT DRAGON, and the detour to Singapore brings the proceedings to a screeching halt. Regardless, the movie serves up one terrific, back-breaking action setpiece after another (Hung is a true master with nunchukus) and eventually wins one over completely. The comedy is painless and Maka's timing and endearing mugging enhance some of the less inspired bits. Woo Fung, Tai Po, Gabriel Wong Yat-san, Ngai Hong (his scene has sync sound, oddly enough), Mui Siu-wai, Jessica Wanda Yung Wai-tak (as Tiger's Amazonian girlfriend), and Mark Houghton co-star; Xiong Xinxin/Hung Yan-yan and Ridley Tsui Bo-wah served as the action directors and also have small roles.

Mei Ah #DVD-300 (HK label) Dolby Digital 5.1 & 2.1 Cantonese and Mandarin Language Tracks (both post-synced) Optional Subtitles in English and Chinese (Traditional or Simplified) 9 Chapters Illustrated in the Menu With (Tiny) Stills Letterboxed (1.75:1) Coded for ALL Regions NTSC Format 105 Minutes Contains moderate violence, coarse language, and brief nudity

DVD menu courtesy Mei Ah.

Although this was released before Mei Ah's recent attempt to upgrade their product, the presentation is actually quite good and well above average for this label. Derived from a very clean print source, the image is sharp and colorful, with only mild instability notable on occasion. The audio is slightly scratchy throughout and one should stick with the original mono track. No extras or time coding.

SKINNY TIGER AND FATTY DRAGON is available at Poker Industries.