“Wheels on Meals” – A Masterpiece.

Friendship – Image of Thomas and David turning down Sylvia in Wheels on Meals. In their living room, Thomas and David hug each other with one arm as they walk away from Sylvia toward their room. Right before they turn away from Sylvia, they look at each other and simultaneously say “No, Thanks.”. Sylvia had just asked them; “So which one of you is sleeping with me first? It really doesn’t make a difference to me.”

Wheels on Meals… this is when I got really really into Martial Arts movies. There’s a very special theme in this movie, and that’s friendship. It’s a very strong example of what friendship is. from the very beginning of the movie, you’re drawn into the world of two martial artists, Thomas (Jackie Chan) and David (Biao Yuen), who are living together, sleep in the same room, share the same routine, and the same passion for Kung fu. The way these guys train is not ordinary, you can tell by the opening scene as well, they were really going at it during their sparring session. Their story in the movie converges with that of Moby (Sammo Hung), a local detective who’s on the mission to become a great detective, and who’s also Thomas’ and David’s friend from before.

Beside friendship, other themes in the movie include adventure, humor, abandonment, self-reliance, and reliance on others to name a few. In my eyes, this movie is absolutely brilliant. It’s got humor, a meaningful plot with meaningful lessons, a beautiful production, a heck of a talented cast, and over-the-top thrilling fight scenes. If you’re in here wondering what kind of movie Wheels on Meals is, Wheels on Meals is a movie worth watching a handful of times… once by yourself, once with your wifey, and a handful more times depending on how many kids you have and how many years apart they were born from each other. Yes, Wheels on Meals is that good of a movie!

SPOILER ALERT

The reviews we generate on this website contain spoilers… so we have reserved the first paragraphs before this SPOILER ALERT disclaimer section for non-spoiling reviews. You will see this disclaimer on every movie analysis we make.

SPOILER ALERT

A Meaningful Plot with Meaningful Lessons

Let me begin by quickly going over the plot. Two friends that train Kung Fu, Thomas (Jackie Chan) and David (Biao Yuen), own a small business serving up meals to people throughout their town somewhere in Spain. Their days consist of training, working, and wondering who their future girlfriend will be. There are another three story lines next to the two friends’ storyline. That’s the story of Moby, portrayed by Sammo Hung, who’s a detective in the town’s agency. Along with that story, there is the story of Sylvia, portrayed by Lola Forner, who’s been abandoned by her family and is a petty thief who passes as a prostitute, although we don’t really know if she is or not a prostitute.

The fourth story line is the story of Mondale played by Jose Sancho, who’s a duke searching for Sylvia. It turns out that Sylvia is related to Mondale through blood line. Throughout the movie, we get to see how the stories start converging, and each of the individuals in the story learn something new. This movie has a happy ending.

So, let’s go over the themes which I mentioned in the review above. The themes are just as important as the way they’re each explained. You know when you have a good idea and you do a bad job at explaining it, it does not matter how good it is if you cannot explain it to other people correctly. This is because if the end audience fails to grasp the concept you’re delivering then you failed at doing so. Well, this movie does a great job at explaining all the themes I mentioned above.

Friendship

Starting with friendship, just as I mentioned in the review, these two friends do a lot together. Basing off from the fact that they live together, train together, work together… and share the same room, I’d say that’s a well good friendship. These are some attributes of a true friendship, yet, the movie Wheels on Meals goes steps further in order to paint the true meaning of friendship. That painting of an in-depth friendship starts becoming clear when they meet the beautiful Sylvia (Lola Forner) .

They both set sights on her, and the way they handle it is done with such precaution as to not ruin that friendship. I found that mesmerizing, as they knew, but truly truly knew that one slip up could mean the end of their friendship forever. They each take turns at making attempts to gain her affection, being extremely courteous with one another, and being fine with the outcome of losing. This for me was so essential throughout the movie, because it’s something that they do throughout it.

For example, when they first meet her Thomas (Jackie Chan) and David (Biao Yuen), both realize this would be a problem if they both compete for the same woman. Rather than doing that, they show courtesy and give each other opportunities to woe her instead! Who would sacrifice friendship over the opportunity of meeting someone new!?!? Another example of this is when they’re in the apartment with her, they both are naturally attracted to her. However, not for one moment do you see them compete for here in an unhealthy manner that would harm their friendship.

What could seem even more amusing to someone coming from outside the Martial Arts world is the part when Sylvia says aloud “who’s sleeping with me first? It doesn’t really make a difference to me.” In this moment, you can see the diginity and self respect these two men have for themselves and each other. Instead of jumping to what any other person would have jumped to, they look at each other like “this is not right”, and go back to their daily routine.

Along with the friendship between Thomas and David, there’s the bond and friendship that all four main characters formed throughout the story. When they realize that Sylvia is a thieve, they are frustrated with her personality, and don’t get to see her again until after they meet with Moby (Sammo Hung) in the dance club. While they are leaving the dance club, you get to see that as frustrated as they are with her personality, they still speak of the beauty in her. They don’t give up on her, and instead of speaking ill of her, they speak of how beautiful she is.

There is a beautiful transition into their subconscious here, into real reasons why the three of them are attracted to each other. The bond they were forming was one of true friendship. Sylvia trusts them enough to tell them about the men that are after them, and goes back to their apartment after they help her outside of the club to thank them. This is the true essence of a friend. A friend is someone who does not give up on you no matter how broken you might be.

Toward the end of the movie, they really come at a cross roads when their subconscious is broken and becomes actual conciseness. This when Thomas and David are about to stop helping Sylvia, mainly because they’re just tired and beat up, and say aloud “We’ve been helping Sylvia because we thought that she was helpless. But now that we know she’s a count’s daughter…”, and basically start walking away. It’s a sad moment, mainly because these two guys showed superb morality throughout the whole movie and now they’re just about to walk away because they learned she’s someone “important”.

I would say however that this is normal even in the most high morality individuals, after you get your ass kicked for a while, you just get sick and tired of it. So you just try to walk away, almost acting like you don’t care at all…. and it’s funny because this is the same exact moment when their subconscious becomes the conscience. Right at this moment, Moby says “You mean if Sylvia’s an orphan, you can be friends, but not if she’s a count’s daughter?”, and that’s all it took for these two gentlemen to change their minds and start behaving like they were her best friends.

The truth of this is however, that they would not have even needed another person to say something, like Sammo did. Just a simple nudge from nature, a sound from an animal, falling leaves, raindrops, a chilling wind, is more than enough to send goosebumps down your spine and remind you of your true friends. In these moments, there’s nothing you wouldn’t do for them. This moment in the movie, was made that way not to display a lack of character, rather to display the awakening of the subconscious stemming from something as simple as a sentence. In essence, a new friendship was born in that moment. They all realized that they were in it for more than someone of royalty, they were in it for each other. That’s how Wheels on Meals is the perfect portrait of friendship in my eyes.

Adventure

You would love to be in these guys’ shoes. There’s something about a good movie or series that makes you want to actually be the characters for a while. I’m not saying forever, though just for awhile. The adventure of finding new friendship and new reasons to fight for is something every human longs for. Wheels on Meals puts you there in the midst of that adventure. Moments in the movie really depict what it’s like to be out in the world today.

From scheming punks always trying to make your life difficult, to owning your own business in a crowded city, to sharing a room with your training partner, to meeting a girl you fall in love with and have your heart broken and mended, that’s the life worth living. The meaning of this adventure, nonetheless the experience is a message that Wheels on Meals does an excellent job at conveying. This movie tells you to go live that life, because that is a life worth living.

Extraordinary Martial Artists are not extraordinary by chance or luck. These guys take chances and are willing to go out on a limb for what they believe in. Just watching Jackie Chan’s repertoire of Kung Fu moves gets you to see how much he has had to give in order to receive the knowledge he has. Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao, Benny Urquidez, and the rest of the cast certainly had portraying that living a life full adventure for the right reasons is a true life worth living. I hope you can learn that from watching this movie.

Humor

This movie is absolutely hilarious. I’m a pretty serious person, and when something makes me laugh, I truly cherish it. I become grateful for it and humbled by its brilliance. Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao, and the rest of the cast do a spectacular job at delivering humor through most of their movies. Wheels on Meals is upbeat and carries a childish and emergent energy, like riding a wave of good vibrance. From the beginning, when they leave their apartment though the balcony… I mean who the heck does that… and how do you think of that! Scenes like this are all throughout the movie.

Scenes like when Sammo Hung was playing spy and practicing how to lock-pick the door to his own chief detective’s office really catch you off-guard… you feel the tension in the air… yet it manages to pull off a laugh from you by switching up the context. I think that’s part of their brilliance. What about when Jackie and Yuen are washing their work van, then a pretty lady passes by and Yuen throws the bucket of water at the police officer instead of the van? Then Jackie arrives with a cloth for the officer to dry his face with and ends up being the cloth they were using to wash wheels. Hahaha….

There’s another scene that’s pretty funny and totally random. That’s when Sammo finds himself visiting a local restaurant. Person after person he sees at the restaurant he tells them that he should not be drinking, yet he ends up drinking more and more each time. To the audience’s surprise though, these drinks really seem to have no effect on Sammo. Hahaha.

I’ll learn to write more about their style as I go along, as this is just my first movie review and analysis. Like I mentioned though, the humor is accompanied by the up-beat vibe they manage throughout the movie and that really keeps the light beneath your feet, and almost makes you forget these guys are really trying to hurt each other. Another hilarious scene was when they met David’s father at the mental institution…. the guy who think he’s a clock is beyond brilliance.

Abandonment

You know, with all the terrible parenting going on in the world today, Wheels on Meals reminds us that this has been an issue in society for a while now. Given the film was made in 1984, these are problems that were going on even back then. First of all, I do admit that a divorce is nothing out of the ordinary. That comes with a silver lining though, and in my eyes that silver lining is the abandonment of the children along with the marriage. It truly becomes a tragedy when the kids are forgotten and abandoned. Seeing Sylvia having to come so close to have turning to prostitution in order to get by is sad. In the real world, woman possibly come a lot close to this reality that you see in the movie. People should be held responsible for acts like that, and a daughter should never have to suffer such consequences because of her parents.

This is where the movie got emotional. It does a good job at reaching all your emotions. Abandonment sucks. Feeling like no one in the world cares for you is something no human being should ever experience. That’s not the reality however, and up to this day we have uncivilized folks who’d rather visit a strip club to spend time with strippers rather than spend time with their daughters. I’ve always asked myself who’s at fault for this. For one, the state should not allow for stuff like this to be deemed as a norm in society.

For God’s sake, under which Heaven is it ok for your kids to hear/see advertisements about websites like OnlyFans, or your local Strip Clubs? What about mobile apps like Tinder where girls constantly post deliberately sexual enticing pictures of themselves? It only adds fuel to the fire. Needless to mention every disgusting song out there promoting sexual behavior with pretty much anyone? You see, there’s a straight line that can be drawn from these ads and social encouragement to abandonment. If you don’t ever want to be the one who inflicts pain and misery upon your own child, like having them turn to prostitution, then I can only suggest that you stay as far away as you can from this garbage I just mentioned. Here’s a recent research on the effects of prostitution on women.

Back to the movie, Wheels on Meals will teach you that there is such a thing as abandonment and that it really does hurt to be abandoned. However, it will also teach you that there is people out there that really do care, and that in order for them to help you, you also have to give in your two cents, even if it’s a minimal effort. As long as there’s effort, then real friends will never abandon you.

This specific clip, I’m using to portray Sylvia’s abandonment, self-reliance, and self respect. Lola Forner does a wonderful job as Sylvia, explaining how her mother had problems when she was only 14, so she had to recurse to self-reliance in order to survive her abandonment.

Lola Forner while playing Sylvia also does a great job at showing her reliance on others when she comes back to thank them after she was the victim of an attempted kidnap. She knows that David and Thomas meant well by saving her and she can discern that they are different than most. Lola Forner does a wonderful job at depicting the pain and anguish a person in her position goes through when abandoned. And this part of the movie in specific shows what it takes to get the trust of somebody in that position. David and Thomas had to risk their lives by standing up to thugs, and that’s when Sylvia was able to discern, not when they first met and helped her hide, not when they let her sleep in her house… only after they risked their lives for her.

Abandonment has disastrous consequences for its victims. Remember the pain you will inflict on the ones who depend on you when you turn your back on them. Family Members and Friends, even having them a phone call away, reaching out and letting them know that you’re still there through something as silly as a text message helps.

Self-Reliance

The self-reliance shown in this movie goes back to mainly three things. One of them being Sylvia who is always coming up with schemes, to Thomas and David who were able to open up a business together, and obviously to Moby, that no matter how silly and interested in fame they paint his character to be, his is a kind hearted one at core. I picked this theme to talk about because I think it’s important in a world where things don’t always turn up the way we want them to. In that scenario, it is always nice to be able to rely on yourself for survival.

Sylvia being able to survive by herself shows not only self-reliance, it also shows courage. Although I would have really tried going down a different route first other than prostitution, one never really knows the obscurity of this world. No matter how much good one might try to do bring forth, there might always be someone out there who wouldn’t want you to succeed. Even if she was looking for something better to do, she might not have found the opportunity. Some other people might have better answers to this like I mentioned, but that was not the case with the girl in the movie. This could be because of lack of knowledge, parenting, and the norms of her society. Luckily, Sylvia was able to stray away from prostitution, even if it was just by a bit, by stealing. Always learn to rely on yourself, because the world is a dark place, and there is people that don’t want you to succeed.

The team Jackie and Yuen form running the Wheels on Meals business is impeccable. An instance of learning to rely on yourself, this does a good job on explaining to the audience them importance of that. With their amazing van and their delicious food, tell me who would not like to be independent like that? You can do it if you believe in yourself.

Another instance of self-reliance is the measures that Moby (Sammo Hung) goes takes in order to get what he desires. Literally, he does not stop trying to get his mission accomplished throughout the whole movie. Although he does not have much luck going around town asking for what he is looking for, he relies on his instincts in order to do so. Sammo’s character holds the will to not give up. When he is left in charge of the commanding office because his boss owes people some money, he relies solely on himself in order make things happen. You truly have to trust yourself to take responsibility with a position like that.

Reliance on Others

I guess this goes without saying, but it’s the reliance on others that opens the door for new friendships. With our four main characters in this movie relying on each other, it is a theme worth talking about. I suspect it’s a theme we’ll likely see repeat throughout many of the movies we review and analyze here. Being able to open the door to someone in your life takes courage and determination. Thomas and David open the door to Sylvia mostly because they were both searching for a girlfriend but also because they want to help her get away from these people. It takes courage and determination to do so.

The fact that Sylvia opens the door to Jackie, Yuen, and eventually Sammo, is also an example of learning to rely on others. Especially in the position where Sylvia is at in the movie, it really helps to open the door to someone. Opening the door to someone at that point leaves you open to new opportunities. If you are not careful though, they make take advantage of you. Sylvia is smart though, so she doesn’t get taken advantage of easy, and instead she takes advantage of people.

In the end, the four characters learn to rely on each other in order to accomplish what they need.

Our Favorite Moves from Fight Scenes

There were a lot of action and fight scenes. Let me pick three of them and make them my top three.

Thomas (Jackie Chan) Vs. Benny Urquidez – Front flip to evade a kick.

There is this part in this epic fight scene that I caught an eye of in a YouTube short. If you want to see it for yourself, checkout this link:

Jackie Chan vs. Benny Urquidez Wheels on Meals

To be precise the moment which I’m referring to is at the very beginning of that clip. You will see that Jackie evades a kick by doing a font-flip which he then lands crouching and then throws a kick right after. I watched this short over 30 times each time in awe at the flexibility and agility Jackie displays. The kick he throws right after front flip takes a huge amount of effort to pull off. Not only does he pull off the kick, but he also lands in a split right after. What are your thoughts about this scene? Share in the comment section below!

From this clip, one can learn the amount of combinations that there can be in combat. Sometimes while we are sparring or fighting, we think in a very one dimensional manner. This particular kind of movie, gets its viewers into thinking differently in terms of possibilities while fighting. The movie mixes moves that you will see more often in a one-dimensional fight… sidekicks, roundhouse kicks, straight punches, and long hooks.

What we find in this movie however, is the ability to use multi dimensional combat skills.These skills and moves are harder to guess, more deceptive, and easier to underestimate. For example, who the heck would expect a crescent kick after evading a kick with a somersault? These kind of moves are built like this for a particular reason. It’s a particular reason which a lot of people don’t want to understand, or rather won’t put the time and effort into understanding.

In this exhilarating scene, we see two great martial artists perform over the top. This particular clip shows a very peculiar sequence of moves byJackie Chan. First he blocks a punch from Benny the Jet Urquidez… which he answers with a punch again. Jackie Chan misses, then he blocks an outside kick from Benny. The kick Jackie Chan blocks is followed up by Benny the Jet’s kick that Jackie Chan evades completely by doing what I would say is a crouching version front somersault. From the crouching front summersault, Jackie Chan springs up to his feet, still crouched though, and throws an outside crescent kick, which is evaded by Benny the Jet. After the outside crescent kick, Jackie Chan lands on his knee and heel, and uses one of his hands for support. While still in this position on the floor he springs up jumping, and hits Benny the Jet with a monkey kick and a rake punch simultaneously.

Moby (Sammo Hung) vs. Mondale (Jose Sancho) – I have no sword, but I sure as heck can evade.

There are some amazing evasive maneuvers that are used in this fight scene. When Mondale grabs the sword and attacks Moby, who doesn’t have a sword, Moby pulls off some amazing evasive moves.

The moves in this clip astounded me. Sammo Hung evades multiple stabs and slashes from Pepe Sancho. It would be hard to explain the level of mastery it takes to pull this off. Your reflexes have to be working with your previous knowledge of what a sword will do. Sammo Hung demonstrates this fantastically. If you look closely, there are times where he evades without looking, and this can be chance. The fact still remains though that he knows what strike might come next, and knowing this, he’s able to make a decision. To look at an example of this, look at the part where he evades strikes on the floor.

The second part of this that would boggle the ordinary mind is how fast and seamlessly Sammo Hung moves for his body type. Most people that have never seen this before would be in awe. I have seen martial artists with a bigger body structure move this way before so it did not catch me off-guard when I saw Sammo Hung move this way. This was the second movie I saw him in, the first one being “Dragons Forever”. It did not however drip into my mind how especially true this was until I saw this scene from him. The fact that he is a bigger target and can still evade is what made me realize that people live with limits that they set on themselves or that society imposes on them. Sammo Hung breaks this falsehood.

David (Yuen Biao) vs. Mondale’s Henchman (Keith Vitali) – Tea Splash on Face

There’s this part when Biao is fighting Keith Vitali that they both end up sat on different couches. At that moment, they both look at each other like “Man this is a tough fight”, and you can see their thinking about how they’ll beat each other. Fighting is not just about physical attributes however, and I picked this moment because of David’s intellectual characteristic of looking at this surroundings. David instantly jumps on the coffee table and grabs the tea that’s on it splashing it on his opponent’s face and grabbing something else to smash across his head right after.

I have very articulate feelings to put forward this scene. I don’t know if there is such beauty in the world to match what this teaches. Notice please the aggressor in this video, who’s really doing the hurting, who’s pushing on and on. It took me a couple of views to pick up the most meaningful lesson in this whole fight scene with Yuen Biao and Keith Vitali.

There is a point in the fight that Yuen Biao decides to change his strategy, and instead of facing his enemy head on, he starts ihgenuating tactics of evasion, drawing his enemy out and waiting for an opportune moment or for his opponent to make a mistake. Yuen Biao uses his environment’s surroundings in order to get his victory. First he starts by using the table, then he runs to another room and hides behind a table to evade and sneak up on Keith Vitali. After that, we see this amazing scene which I have uploaded here in order to demonstrate the importance of strategies and tactics while fighting. Not every fights needs to be won with head-on combat.