Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Stars Reviews

Unlike the tenuous connection between WINNERS & SINNERS (1983) and MY LUCKY STARS (1985), the first two in the LUCKY STARS ensemble series, TWINKLE TWINKLE LUCKY STARS is a direct sequel to the latter film, with the same actors playing the same characters in the same situations telling the same jokes. An action-comedy with too little of the former and too little quality in the latter, it's a dull and tiresome story seasoned with some terrific fighting. The motley gang of housemates known as the Lucky Stars are vacationing in Pattaya, Thailand. While the rest of the guys leer at girls on the beach, Fastbuck (Sammo Hung) reluctantly joins Inspector Barbara Wu (Sibelle Hu) to meet informer Melvin Ma (Melvin Wong), but they're too late to prevent a trio of killers from gunning the man down. With his dying breath, the informer tells Barbara of a letter he sent to his friend Chichi (Rosamund Kwan) in Hong Kong. Back in Hong Kong, while waiting for the letter to arrive, Barbara puts Chichi and her roommate Johnny (John Shum) into protective custody--at the home of the Lucky Stars. The guys spend all their time trying to grope Chichi or trick her out of her clothes, before joining her and Johnny in an acting troupe. The trio of killers has meanwhile come to Hong Kong also, and after assassinating a witness who is under the protection of cops Muscles (Jackie Chan) and Ricky (Yuen Biao), they go after Ma's letter. In a curious set of circumstances, one of the killers (Yasuaki Kurata) sets up his sniper rifle in a public toilet across from Chichi's apartment, only to be interrupted by Chichi, whose acting troupe happens to be rehearsing in the same building. Soon Muscles and Ricky show up unexpectedly, followed by the other two killers. Everyone picks a fighting partner, but when Muscles is wounded, it's up to Fastbuck to step in and help finish off the bad guys. The soundtrack makes use of stolen James Bond riffs, while the comedy recycles the lowest of Three Stooges routines. Considerably more slapstick than its predecessors, the film meanders through various unrelated subplots including lame voodoo comedy, and Sibelle Hu declaring for no apparent reason that she doesn't really like Hung and was only using him in the previous film--a plot thread that appears to be leading somewhere but is simply dropped. Miu Kiu Wai is the newest Lucky Star, playing essentially the same self-styled Casanova character as his "cousin" Pretty Herb from the earlier films (who makes a token appearance). Also appearing briefly is popstar Andy Lau in an early fighting role as Chan and Yuen's kung fu cop partner. His sole scene has nothing to do with the rest of the film, but is virtually the only action in the first hour, and terrifically choreographed action at that, as the trio decimate a warehouse full of villains. Michelle Yeoh pops up in a cameo as a judo instructor who tussles with Hung, and appears again in the last shot of the film, a veritable parade of walk-ons from some of Hong Kong's high and mighty. John Shum from the first film returns as a new character with the same characteristics, and in addition to recycling situations from the earlier films, TWINKLE TWINKLE LUCKY STARS recycles bad guys, once again casting Dick Wei and Chung Fat in key fighting roles. The last fifteen minutes are absolutely inspired, featuring some of Hung's most celebrated fighting, including dueling with tennis racquets against a Yasuaki Kurata--armed with steel sais (sort of like bigger, meaner barbecue skewers). A four-star finish to an otherwise one-and-a-half star movie. (Violence, sexual situations.)