ROYAL TRAMP should've been titled ROYAL PAIN. Wei Bo (Chow) is an entertainer in a brothel who makes the mistake of agreeing to help steal The 42 Chapters, a kung fu instruction book of great renown. To get closer to said book, he signs on as a royal bodyguard to The Empress. And only EUNUCHS can be bodyguards for The Empress. He's on the "operating table" about to be castrated before he realizes this. It takes some doing, but he manages to talk his way out of the situation. He's nicknamed "Penis" thereafter. At one point, he goes sneaking around the grounds looking for the book- and looks directly at the camera, as if it were just something insignificant in his line of sight. It's a brief but extremely funny moment that happens in passing. There's even an encounter with the infamous Obai, a white-maned madman of the Bai Mae variety. (During an early battle scene, Obai literally shreds his opponents, using his fingernails to lop the top off of one man's head.) The fight scenes make extensive use of over-the-top wirework, but, this being a comedy, one can't argue with the choice.
Review of Royal Tramp
