The Foot Fist Way: Movie Review
Will Ferrell Endorses Director Jody Hill's Karate Comedy
The Viral Ad on Conan
In late February of 2008, the Conan O’Brien show was treated to a tae kwon doe instructor who seemed to have this angry flair with him, where he tried to break fake boards and demanded retakes. Viewers who chanced upon this event were unsure what it was about; that is, they were, until a movie came out called "The Foot Fist Way," which not only featured this unlikable antihero they saw on TV, but also portrayed his trials to become top dog. Not surprisingly, it was produced through a crew sponsored by one of the guests for the show that night, Will Ferrell. Was the movie really that funny, though?
The Plot
Fred Simmons (played by Danny R. McBridge), is an antihero at best. He lives large as a "successful" tae kwon doe instructor in a suburban part of Midwestern America. There, he peddles street performances to attract membership to his dojo. When Fred isn’t bragging about his art, he is busy not listening to his wife Mary Jane Bostic (Suzie Simmons) who seems to be a rough fit with his own life. That is why when he finds out that she was cheating on him that he starts to lose it. Along the way, he soons finds redemption in the form of Chuck “The Truck” Wallace(Ben Best), a martial arts “legend” and starred in his own series of action b-films. Chuck, who actually has even more of an ego than Fred, seems unimpressed by the large Fred Simmons, but eventually accepts him, screws up his life even further and… the rest should all look quite familiar.
Funny Ha-Ha or Funny Wrong?
The humor in the movie is kind of off-put. Granted, the movie tries to be funny and it has its share of expositions and unconventional humor. Fred’s two assistants, perhaps the two most pathetic characters of his entire “dojo” seem to play as straight men half of the time to the otherwise ridiculous attitude of Fred, but hold out on their own in a few scenes, including what may be the funniest fight scene you will see this year. The fact that the movie is so shoddily done accentuates the humor with cheap cuts and transitions that look not so much seamless as chopped up and repasted.
What perhaps strikes the biggest blow for this movie is how low-key the events in the movie really are. Essentially, this film is a comedy based on what may be some of the most minor victories portrayed in comedy since Seinfeld. When everything comes full circle, there is an obvious tone that things have changed, but there is really no satisfaction in the end other than knowing that there was a string of funny (and potentially unfunny) scenes.
Unless you are prepared for this strange sort of low-budget cheesiness and an awkward humor that can be off-putting for people who enjoy that sort of thing, it can be really difficult to appreciate this movie if you are expecting a more traditional comedy. In truth, it is not too much unlike the comedy shows featured on Cartoon Network’s adult-oriented Adult Swim where awkward humor and inept protagonists rule the day. Perhaps they should have considered running with this idea as one of those 15-30 minute series.
You Might Like it For:
- Mocking humor
- Cheap effects
- The fact it is a low-budget Independent film
