There are so many things I want for Christmas.
A collection of Prince albums. New U-Kiss album. A scholarship. Buckets and buckets full of $1 million dollars to pay for my student loans (you hear that, Sump'N Claus?) I have so many things I want this Christmas, but the one thing I really need this year that starts with a question:
Where Is Jackie Chan?
That's right. The Jackie Chan. The Jackie Chan who starred in many iconic films such as Shanghai Noon, Rush Hour trilogy, and Police Story trilogy. The Jackie Chan who does his own stunts to a point where he almost died from one of them. Yes, I'm talking about that Jackie Chan. The world hasn't been graced by this legendary action star since he received a Lifetime Achievement Oscar Award at the 8th Annual Governors Awards ceremony back in November.
And his last starring film from this year was Skiptrace. If you count Kung Fu Panda 3 as his recent film, sure let's go with that. However all these films hasn't answered my question: where is Jackie Chan?
Sure, I may have watched a certain skit from SNL and got inspired to write this article.
I can't help it, okay. When I first saw his animated series, Jackie Chan Adventures, and watched Rush Hour 2 with my father, it was my second time seeing an Asian person on TV since Mulan. I didn't care if he only knew kung fu. As a hero, he was funny and had a sense of what was right and wrong--someone I wanted to be. Jackie Chan made me excited about expressing myself as an Asian American woman. It made me proud that somebody who look like me could make it in real life, not just in anime or Disney.
I miss seeing my favorite actor on screen whether he is kicking someone's butt in 80 Days or saving New York in a tuxedo. I miss seeing a movie of him being a silly spy while babysitting his girlfriend's kids or spitting fire after accidentally drinking oil because he is a drunk kung fu fighter. I also miss hearing his music especially his full-length albums and soundtrack songs (you all didn't know he has a music career, did you? Now you know.) I mean, it wasn't enough when he formed his first K-Pop group and attending Asian award shows like MAMA awards. So for this Christmas I want Jackie Chan to come back to the silver screen. I don't care if he comes back to being an action star or revamp himself as a professional actor. I want Jackie Chan to swing open Hollywood's door and shout, "Surprise, motherf**kers. You didn't expect to see me back, did ya?" I want to see Jackie Chan marching through movie screen and own every line as an awesome protagonist, not only as that one Asian guy who can do kung fu. Not to mistaken kung fu as karate especially if Jackie Chan is teaching someone kung fu in China (I'm looking at you, 2010's The Karate Kid.)
Okay, maybe I exaggerated a little on how many movies he has lined up based on his Wikipedia page. He has couple of movies coming up next year and, maybe, a third installment to Shanghai Noon. But hey, I'm just glad one of my favorite actors is coming back.
Now that I know, sort of, where Jackie Chan is, I can't wait to grab my popcorn and watch another great (including some I know aren't great but I still love watching them) movie by the one and only Jackie Chan.
If only he comes back with a new album...
