Bang Bang Formosa (寶島大爆走)

Tan Yan-fei (譚豔妃), an affluent young woman from Shanghai, comes to Taiwan for her graduation trip, leaving her corporate executive father at home to fret about her safety. Upon her arrival, however, she is kidnapped and thrown into the trunk of a car.

Pon (澎仔), a middle-aged cop stationed at Taiwan's southern tip, accidentally discovers her while chasing down auto thieves. After overcoming their initial language barrier and sorting out Tan's identity with the help of colleagues, Pon takes on a mission to escort Tan to the airport to fly back to Shanghai and reunite with her father. Tan, however, brings Pon more trouble than he expects because she is super-excited by everything she sees and is in no hurry to go home. Pon's own daughter, meanwhile, is working abroad as a model in a fashion photo shoot.

With his initial attempt to capture Tan now interrupted, Zhao-ba (趙霸), a godfather with the poise of a Zen master, sends out mass text messages from the Chinese mainland to recipients in Taiwan, placing a bounty on Tan. Eccentricity and hilarity ensue as oglers for the bounty close in on Tan, and as Pon tries to protect her. The prospect of reconnecting the daughter and the father ties the whole yarn together.

Colorful, Memorable Stereotypes Abound

Colorful, hyperbolic characters populate the film. Tan mingles merrily with retired grandmas and grandpas on tour bus excursions. Meanwhile, the following contenders attempt to hunt her down — a French-educated “betel nut gang” lead by merciless femme fatale Sister Mei (梅姐), a brother-and-sister duo working at a shrimp fishing bar (釣蝦場) who have a dream of becoming glam rock stars, a handsome hunk who teaches at a rural school, and eventually Zhao-ba and his two assistants in disguise as local Taiwanese men wearing Hawaiian shirts.

The ensemble acting is solid. Dramatic veteran Pon Chia Chia (澎恰恰) is understated as the dependable leading man, leaving his more obtrusive comedic talents at the door. Tammy Chen Yi-rong (陳怡蓉) captivates as Sister Mei, killing with her seductive gaze. Jiu-kong (九孔) and Serena Fang (房思瑜) bring an eerily protean moral ambiguity to their brother-sister duo. Renee Yuan Xin-yu (苑新雨) brings fluent Shanghainese and a natural grace to her pampered character. Zhao Li-xin (趙立新) gives godfather Zhao-ba a classical, aristocratic air. Johnny Lu Si-ming (路斯明) is given little to do as Ma-hao (馬浩), the handsome wallflower that is salvaged mainly by the self-conscious gags stemming from his capacity as “Prince Charming.”

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