Wheels on Meals

Wheels on Meals
File:WheelsOnMeals DVDcover.jpg
Directed by	Sammo Hung
Written by	Edward Tang Johnny Lee Samo Hung
Produced by	Raymond Chow
Starring	Jackie Chan Sammo Hung Yuen Biao Lola Forner Benny Urquidez Herb Edelman Keith Vitali
Distributed by	Golden Harvest
Release date	1984 (Hong Kong)
Running time	100 minutes
Language	Cantonese

Wheels on Meals (Kwai tsan tseh) is a 1984 Hong Kong action film directed by Sammo Hung, starring Hung, Jackie Chan and Yuen Biao. In some releases, the film was released under alternative titles including Spartan X, Weapon X, Spanish Connection and Million Dollar Heiress.

The three action star brothers, Chan, Yuen and Hung, are longtime friends and had been Peking Opera School colleaugues in their youth. The release of Wheels on Meals came in the midst of their most prolific period working together. The three men had acted together on Chan's Project A and the first of Hung's original Lucky Stars trilogy, Winners and Sinners in 1983. Wheels on Meals was released in 1984, and a year later they were reunited twice more for the Lucky Stars semi-sequels My Lucky Stars and Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Stars. This was something of a golden period for Hong Kong cinema-goers, as three of the nation's most loved action stars performed together on screen. Wheels on Meals also features cameo appearances from fellow Luck Stars, Richard Ng and John Shum as mental patients in the hospital attended by David's father.

Plot

Thomas (Jackie Chan) and David (Yuen Biao) are cousins who run a fast food van in Barcelona, Spain. The food is delivered by Thomas, who rushes round the square on a skateboard. After fending off a biker gang, they meet beautiful pickpocket, Sylvia (Lola Forner) who asks them to hide her in their van to avoid the police. Thomas and David are enamoured by her, but after allowing her to stay in their apartment that night, they wake to find Sylvia and their money gone. The next day, they bump into Moby (Sammo Hung), a bumbling private investigator who is also tracking Sylvia.

Trivia

• The film's name was actually supposed to be more sensibly titled Meals on Wheels. However, superstitious Golden Harvest executives demanded the name change because their two previous films with English titles began with the letter 'M' - Megaforce and Menage A Trois - and both were box office flops.
• The video game Kung Fu Master was based on this film.
• This film was the first of two films which paired star Jackie Chan against former professional kickboxing champion Benny Urquidez (the other being Dragons Forever). Their fight in this film is typically regarded as one of the greatest on-screen martial arts fights ever performed.
• Co-star Lola Forner also appeared in the Jackie Chan film Armour of God.
• Unlike the majority of Chan's later films, the standard releases of Wheels on Meals does not contain the usual outtakes (bloopers and stunts gone wrong) over the final credits. However, a VHS release of the film did exist in the mid-1980's under the title Spartan X, which includes the outtakes intact.
• Reportedly, Jackie Chan became incredibly frustrated during the filming of his climactic fight with Benny Urquidez, as Urquidez continually kicked and hit Chan for real. This could be attributed to Urquidez's lack of experience in "movie fighting" at the time, considering that normally when he fought it was in full-contact matches.
• At one point in the final Chan/Urquidez battle, a spin-kick by Urquidez is so fast that the wind from it blows out a series of candles. This is shown onscreen, with no cuts or trick photography.
• During Sammo Hung's showdown with the film's main villain, as is not uncommon in Hong Kong action films, a Chinese double stood in for the Caucasian actor playing the villain, because the Caucasian actor was untrained and unable to perform the complex sword and fighting moves. The switch is badly effected by having the Caucasian don a fencing mask early into the fight.

Box Office

Wheels on Meals grossed HK $21,465,013 in its Hong Kong theatrical run.