Dress Off for Life (1984)
Reviewed by: Frank Lakatos on 2005-12-09
Summary: Chan Wai Man's best acting performance
Chan Wai Man plays a boxer who over trained and became impotent because of it. His wife left him because of that and he has lost a match and his fame. He is now reduced to a sex maniac angry at women, and ends up raping and killing them, including an escort who just happened to be at a shootout where Chan kills the cop that is after him. This is Chan Wai Man's best movie as an actor. He showcases his natural acting talent through portraying such a frustrated and lost character. He does it with sheer intensity and anguish, and because he is a real kickboxer, his performance is authentic. The movie is poorly made, though, and the miscast of the Shaw Brother's lead Wong Yu as the cop revenging his partner's death doesn't help either. Wang doesn't fit the role of a tough cop. The ending is well done, with Chan displaying varying types of damatic and psychotic emotions. There is one scene to mention, where a real kickboxing match with Chan Wai Man is used as a flashback scene, and man he hits the sh;t out of this fighter with a right and knocks the kickboxer square out. Shows you why Chan has an undefeated kickboxing record. Incidently and ironically, Chan plays a kickboxer who could use some impotence in the sex filled Ninja Holocaust(1983/85). Chan Wai Man is very stylish in this movie, wearing a nice chain and bracelet. This review comes from viewing the Ocean Shores VCD, which is full screen and cropped, with ocassional freeze ups and pixelation break ups. Recommended. ***(for Chan Wai Man's performance, not the entire movie)/*****