Love on Delivery – Vinegar Syndrome Archive (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Hong Kong, 1994
Director: Lee Lik-Chi
Writer: Vincent Kok
Cast: Stephen Chow, Christy Chung, Ng Man-tat, Ben Lam, Philip Chan, Joe Cheng, Jacky Cheung, Joey Leung, Billy Chow, Paul Chun, Vincent Kok 

Release Date: August 20th, 2024
Approximate Running Time: 100 Minutes 33 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Cantonese
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $44.98

"Ho Kam Ngan, a lowly food delivery boy, falls madly in love with a beautiful woman named Lily. The only problem is, a brutish Judo instructor named Black Bear (who also has eyes for Lily) embarrasses Ngan in front of her by making him look like a coward. Vowing to win over Lily's affection, Ngan begins learning martial arts from a supposed kung-fu master who is secretly just scamming Ngan out of his money. To make matters worse, Lily's old boyfriend returns and challenges Ngan to a martial arts tournament to prove who is the better man. Believing he is actually learning real kung-fu, Ngan accepts the fight and now must defend his honor to prove he is worthy of Lily's love." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.25/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "Newly scanned & restored in 2K from its 35mm original camera negative".

Love on Delivery comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 34 GB

Feature: 27.5 GB

In the last 20 minutes, debris and other imperfections are more prominent; that said, the bulk of the source looks great. Flesh tones look healthy, colors look correct, image clarity and compression are solid, and black levels are strong. 

Audio: 4.5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in Cantonese with removable English subtitles. The audio sounds clean, clear, balanced, and robust when it should.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a video essay by film historian and author Grady Hendrix titled Hong Kong's Greatest Comedian (20 minutes 18 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with non-removable English subtitles for film clips), a video essay by author and podcaster Mike White titled The Collaborations of Stephen Chow & Lik-Chi Lee (14 minutes 45 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with director Lee Lik-Chi titled A Day on the Gold Coast with Lee Lik-Chi (20 minutes 33 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Cantonese with removable English subtitles), an audio commentary martial arts film historian Frank Djeng and film producer F.J. DeSanto, reversible cover art, a bottom loading VHS inspired slipcase, and a 24-page booklet with an essay titled Love on Delivery written by Nick Newman.

Summary:

Lee Lik-Chi directed Love on Delivery. He's most known for his collaborations with Stephen Chow. Their notable collaborations are The Magnificent Scoundrels, Flirting Scholar, From Beijing with Love, and King of Comedy.

The narrative revolves around a cowardly delivery boy who gains courage by dressing up like Garfleid.

Love on Delivery is considered a transitional film for Stephen Chow; in his previous films he was heroic and had superior fighting skills. This time around, he’s an ordinary man who lacks courage and confidence. When forced into a fight, he doesn't prepare, knowing he'll be unable to get ready in time. Instead, his martial arts teacher has him work on defensive moves to prolong the fight.

When one thinks of a martial arts protagonist, you don't expect to see them spending more time getting beaten up than displaying his fighting skills. Fortunately, the lack of focus on martial arts set pieces is not a negative, since Love on Delivery shifts its focus towards psychail comedy bits. The humor comes from absurd, exaggerated moments that resemble a live-action cartoon. Notable moments include a scene that parodies The Terminator: a character accidentally gets dog shit on his hands, and a martial arts move from falling down a flight of stairs.

Once again, Stephen Chow is in fine form, as he steals every moment he’s in. His comedic timing is flawless, and his onscreen chemistry with Ng Man-tat is Love on Delivery’s greatest asset. Another performance of note is Christy Chung’s (The Medallion) portrayal of Lily, the woman who the protagonist falls in love with. The most surprising aspect of her performance are the moments where she’s on the receiving end of the psychical humor.

Despite taking a familiar formula, an underdog who overcomes insurmountable odds, Love on Delivery ultimately succeeds because of its outside of the box approach. And nowhere is this clearer than when it comes to its anti-training sequences, where the protagonist does nothing to improve himself. And though the fight sequences are well executed, they always take a backseat to the humor. Ultimately, Love on Delivery is peak Stephen Chow, making it a must-see for fans of Stephen Chow.

Love on Delivery gets an excellent release from Eureka Video that comes with a strong audio/video presentation and informative extras, highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer