| Title: |
The Foot Fist Way |
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| Publisher's site: |
Momentum Pictures |
c |
| IMDB score |
6.4/10 |
3551 voters |
| IMDB link |
Internet Movie Database |
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| Amazon link: |
The Foot Fist Way |
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| Date: |
2008 |
c |
| Available formats: |
Movie - DVD from Jan 2009 |
Pal, NTSC |
| Director |
Jody Hill |
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| Starring: |
Danny R. McBride, Ben Best |
Mary Jane Bostic |
The Foot Fist Way
"The story of a man who teaches people how to kick other people in the face"
With a tagline like that, how could you not want to watch this comedy about a martial arts instructor's pitiful life?
It follows the exploits of Tae Kwon Do instructor Fred Simmons (although he is also described as a karate instructor during the film). Fred works to recruit new students by putting on small demos in which his top students perform kata and he seals the deal with half-baked breaking demos.
Fred is married to a tramp of a wife who openly disrespects him in front of his students, and the film follows him as he tries to cope with her string of infidelities.
Fred also idolises action movie martial artist, Chuck “The truck” Wallace, and after meeting him at a martial arts expo, persuades Chuck to sit on the panel at his next grading. Chuck does not turn out to be all that Fred would have hoped for.
This is a strange film – at times insightful, and at others woefully lacking in martial knowledge. It plays up many of the very worst stereotypes of a bad martial arts instructor – Fred is foul mouthed, abusive to his students, shows inappropriate sexual attention to his females, and he’s completely deluded and ego centric. Both he and Chuck are parodies of martial artists, with neither having the kind of elegant, polished martial arts more commonly seen in movies. In many ways, it's about the hypocricy that pervades much of the martial arts world, where instructors preach one thing and practice another.
Early on in the film, Fred is doing a breaking demonstration using his elbow to smash three thick paving slabs. He talks up his break to the watching potential customers, and then smashes down with his elbow only breaking two of the three slabs, and letting out a pathetic whimper. Without missing a beat, he stands up and starts canvassing for members. It’s this strange contrast that runs throughout the films – after all, hey two slabs is no small feat, but it just falls short of the greatness Fred believes he has. It's ironic that the two leads had no martial arts experience, and refused to complete even the three weeks of training that the director had them signed up for, quitting after just three lessons.
Another funny moment happens when an adult student is dojo sparring against a boy called Henry, who is about 16. The adult has huge anger issues, and he beats the living crap out of the kid. Fred orders the man to back off (way too late), and says in front of the whole class “Don’t you know Henry has poor self esteem?” It’s like Fred has an idea that a martial arts instructor should care for his students’ welfare, but he has no idea how to accomplish it, and he has none of the compassion or basic courtesy to achieve it.
Fred is a self-obsessed middle-aged macho man who is at times painfully aware of how ridiculous he is. The strange thing is, he does seem to genuinely care about his students, and they seem to genuinely respect him.
This is a bizarre film that you can really love and hate at the same time. It’s not a classic, but it will have you laughing hysterically, and cringing – often at the same time. It may be a stereotype, but everyone will recognise at least some of the characteristics in martial artists they know.
The language and situations are extremely adult throughout, so this is definitely not one for the kids.
