Wheels on Meals (1984)

Two Chinese friends, who operate a food truck in Barcelona, Spain, use their martial arts expertise to help their private investigator friend protect the pickpocket Sylvia, who's been targeted by a ruthless gang.

Director:

Sammo Kam-Bo Hung (as Samo Hung)

Writers:

Edward Tang, Gwing-Gai Lee (as Johnny Lee)

Stars:

Jackie Chan, Biao Yuen, Sammo Kam-Bo Hung

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jackie Chan	...	Thomas
Biao Yuen	...	David
Sammo Kam-Bo Hung	...	Moby (as Samo Hung)
Benny Urquidez	...	Mondale's Henchman
Keith Vitali	...	Mondale's Henchman
Herb Edelman	...	Matt
Lola Forner	...	Sylvia
Susana Sentís	...	Gloria (as Susanna Sentis)
José Sancho	...	Mondale (as Pepe Sancho)
Miguel Palenzuela	...	The Butler (as Luis Palenzuela)
Josep Lluís Fonoll	...	Dino (as J. Fonoll)
Amparo Moreno	...	Susana
Montserrat Julió	...	(as Monserrat Julió)
Luis Monte	...	(as Lluis Monte)
Josep L. Dallester	...	(as Joseph L Dallester)

Storyline

Cousins Thomas and David, owners of a mobile restaurant, team up with their friend Moby, a bumbling private detective, to save the beautiful Sylvia, a pickpocket. Action and humor abound in the streets of Barcelona, culminating with a battle in the castle hideout of the evil gang.

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Plot Keywords:

castle | detective | hand to hand combat | parkour | acrobat | 

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Taglines:

Not since Don Quixote has Spain had so much fun!

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Romance

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese English

Release Date:

17 August 1984 (Hong Kong)

Also Known As:

Million Dollar Heiress

Filming Locations:

Gavà, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

Company Credits

Production Co:

Golden Harvest Company, Laurenfilm

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min 104 min (video)

Sound Mix:

Mono (original release) DTS (DTS HD MASTER AUDIO 5.1 Mix)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The reason that this is titled "Wheels on Meals" instead of "Meals on Wheels" is because of superstition. Golden Harvest had produced two movies beginning with "M", Megaforce (1982) and Ménage à Trois (Better Late Than Never (1983)), both of which were major flops. So the company's executives changed the title hoping this movie would avoid the same problems, which it did.

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Goofs

When two Peugeot's 504 are involved in a chase, one of them is driving on two wheels. The ramp that causes this is visible in the background.

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Quotes

Henchman eating meal in castle: Ok guys, stop playing now and come and have something to eat. Come on.

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Alternate Versions

Five separate audio versions of this movie exist.

• Two Original Cantonese versions, mono and new remastered 5.1 mix.
• The Mandarin version.
• Two English versions: One produced by Golden Harvest with a new score composed by Keith Morrison, and one later produced by Fortune Star featuring the original music score by Tang Siu-lam. The Golden Harvest dub/re-score was also used for the Japanese theatrical cut of the film, titled "Spartan X". (The Golden Harvest dub actually contains the dubbed voices of the real three lead actors themselves: Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao, and Sammo Hung.)

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Connections

Featured in The Art of Action: Martial Arts in Motion Picture (2002)

User Reviews

Classic Slapstick

The basic synopsis of Wheels on Meals is as follows: Jackie Chan and Yuen Baio are two Chinese immigrants who run a mobile snack van business in Barcelona. Sammo Hung, also a chinese immigrant living in Barcelona, works as a very badly dressed PI. Sammo is hired by a dubious looking gentleman in a bowler hat to track down a Spanish girl, who it just so happens is the daughter of Yuen Baios dad's girlfriend. This sets the scene for, amongst other things, a bizarre retro skateboarding sequence, a ludicrous car/van chase and a top class fight at the end.

For me, Wheels on Meals represents the ultimate combination of comedy kung fu and naive slapstick humor. It's worth pointing out that this film isn't as good a Martial Arts flick as some of the earlier works that it's three main stars were involved in (Young Master, Magnificent Butcher, Prodigal Son, etc). However, the main strength of Wheels on Wheels is it's ability to get new mileage out of some very old gags, and it also proves once and for all that unusual hats can be very funny.

I give it nine out of ten.