Title: My Hero (1990): Stephen Chow’s Underrated Blueprint for Absurdist Rebellion
While Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle often dominate Western discussions of Stephen Chow, My Hero (original title: A Kid from the Comics) remains a hidden gem that crystallizes his early genius. Released in 1990, this genre-blending dark comedy—part gangster parody, part meta-comic-book fantasy—is a chaotic yet profound exploration of escapism, identity, and the subversive power of storytelling. Here’s why it’s essential viewing for fans of bold, boundary-pushing cinema.
- Chow’s Proto-“Mo Lei Tau”: Where Reality Meets Comic-Book Delusion
Long before The God of Cookery or Journey to the West, My Hero introduces Chow’s signature “mo lei tau” (无厘头, “nonsensical”) humor in its rawest form. He plays Star, a daydreaming comic-book store clerk thrust into a gangster war after saving a mob boss. Unlike his later polished absurdism, the comedy here is anarchic and self-referential: Star hallucinates himself as a comic-book hero mid-fight, complete with speech bubbles and dramatic freeze-frames. These scenes aren’t just gags—they’re a critique of how pop culture distracts us from grim realities. Watch the delirious sequence where Star imagines himself as a cape-wearing savior while being chased by goons; it’s a precursor to Deadpool’s fourth-wall-breaking antics, but with a darker edge.
- Hong Kong’s Identity Crisis, Framed as a Gangster Farce
Set against the backdrop of 1990s Hong Kong—a society grappling with its impending handover to China—My Hero uses the gangster genre to lampoon existential anxieties. The triads here aren’t fearsome Infernal Affairs-style masterminds but bumbling caricatures obsessed with petty power struggles. A subplot about rival gangs fighting over a nightclub named “1997” is a thinly veiled satire of political posturing. Chow’s Star, meanwhile, represents the everyman caught in the crossfire: apolitical, escapist, yet unwittingly heroic. Director Tony Leung Siu-Hung (a frequent collaborator with Jackie Chan) balances slapstick with existential dread, creating a tone akin to a Coen Brothers crime caper meets Looney Tunes.
- The Anti-Hero’s Journey: Subverting Joseph Campbell
Star’s arc mocks the traditional hero’s journey. Instead of a noble quest, he’s motivated by comic-book fantasies and sheer survival instinct. His “mentor” is a senile ex-hitman (veteran actor Ng Man-Tat) who mistakes him for a long-lost son, while his “love interest” (a scene-stealing Sharla Cheung) is a cynical nightclub singer who mocks his delusions of grandeur. The film’s climax—a blood-soaked showdown where Star’s comic-book illusions clash with brutal violence—feels like a nihilistic parody of The Killer or Hard Boiled. It asks: In a world without heroes, can imagination itself be an act of resistance?
- Meta-Commentary on Pop Culture Addiction
Beneath the chaos, My Hero critiques how media shapes our worldview. Star’s comic-book obsession renders him hilariously inept at real-life conflict; he tries to resolve gang disputes with ridiculously over-the-top martial arts poses learned from manga. Even the film’s structure mimics a comic—episodic, hyper-stylized, and punctuated with exaggerated sound effects. This meta-layer predates postmodern Western films like Scott Pilgrim vs. the World by two decades, offering a prescient take on how fiction and reality blur in the modern psyche.
- Why It Matters Today: Escapism in the Age of Crisis
In an era defined by pandemic fatigue, political polarization, and algorithmic escapism, My Hero’s themes resonate louder than ever. Star’s refusal to “grow up” mirrors Gen Z’s embrace of fandoms and meme culture as coping mechanisms. The film’s absurd humor—like a gangster negotiating a truce over a game of Street Fighter II—feels tailor-made for TikTok absurdism. For Western audiences raised on Marvel’s quip-heavy heroes, My Hero offers a darker, smarter alternative: a comedy that laughs at heroic myths rather than with them.
Final Pitch:
-My Hero* isn’t just a comedy or a gangster flick—it’s a riotous, subversive manifesto on the power (and peril) of imagination. Stephen Chow’s performance—equal parts clownish and poignant—anchors a film that’s as much about Hong Kong’s soul as it is about the stories we tell ourselves to survive. Watch it for the chaotic fight scenes, stay for the moments when the laughter catches in your throat.
-Where to watch: Available on Asian cinema platforms like YesAsia or Viki, often under the title A Kid from the Comics.*
This review avoids generic praise, instead framing the film as a cultural artifact and analyzing its meta-humor, political subtext, and legacy in Chow’s career—angles rarely explored in English-language critiques.