Kung Pow: Enter the Fist (2002)
Directed by Steve Oedekerk
A movie within a movie, created to spoof the martial arts genre. Writer/director Steve Oedekerk uses contemporary characters and splices them into a 1970s kung-fu film, weaving the new and old together. As the main character, The Chosen One, Oedekerk sets off to avenge the deaths of his parents at the hands of kung-fu legend Master Pain. Along the way he encounters some strange characters.
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Made with Jimmy Wang Yu's cooperation (fans will know Jimmy as the director/star of the classic “Master of the Flying Guillotine” and such early Jackie Chan vehicles as “The Killer Meteors” and “Fantasy Mission Force”), “Kung Pow” is very much an affectionate spoof, an homage that pokes fun while confessing fondness--not necessarily a recipe for great comedy, but an approach which the film's small but specific target audience is sure to appreciate.
For this chop-socky farce � the title an obvious reference to the 1973 Bruce Lee classic Enter the Dragon � writer/director/star Steve Oedekerk (he penned the hammy script for Patch Adams) has taken a superfluous 1976 Hong Kong actioner (Tiger & Crane Fists), redubbed it with silly, droll dialogue, and spliced himself into the plot � as the protagonist, of all things.
Combining scenes from The Matrix , Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Enter the Dragon, a whole variety of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan movies, as well as scenes from Twister with a heavy dose of Tom Green humour and fart and poop jokes, Kung Pow! Enter the Fist is 73-minutes too long.
Made with Jimmy Wang Yu's cooperation (fans will know Jimmy as the director/star of the classic “Master of the Flying Guillotine” and such early Jackie Chan vehicles as “The Killer Meteors” and “Fantasy Mission Force”), “Kung Pow” is very much an affectionate spoof, an homage that pokes fun while confessing fondness--not necessarily a recipe for great comedy, but an approach which the film's small but specific target audience is sure to appreciate.
A number of genres have been successfully spoofed ( Galaxy Quest , Blazing Saddles, most Mel Brooks films come to think of it, Scary Movie ) and then there are others that fall flat, like Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid, Not Another Teen Movie and this hunk of junk.
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Beyond retreading and elongating the "Wayne's World" sketch - not to mention copying Woody Allen who basically did the same thing with his 1966 film, "What's Up, Tiger Lily" (which was a re-dubbed version of the Japanese spy caper "Kagi No Kag") - the filmmaker has created one of those vanity projects - in which he also stars -- that he apparently believed was some terrific comedy.
The zany parody of '70s Hong Kong martial arts movies is the brainchild of actor/writer/director/all-around silly guy Steve Oedekerk, writer of such films as “Patch Adams,” the Eddie Murphy remake of “The Nutty Professor” and “Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls,” which he directed.
Only Oedekerk (he also wrote "Patch Adams" and "The Nutty Professor") expands the level of appropriation: re-creating the film's sets at a Mexican location, body-doubling the Hong Kong actors from the original film and adding new characters, scenes and visual effects.
For this chop-socky farce � the title an obvious reference to the 1973 Bruce Lee classic Enter the Dragon � writer/director/star Steve Oedekerk (he penned the hammy script for Patch Adams) has taken a superfluous 1976 Hong Kong actioner (Tiger & Crane Fists), redubbed it with silly, droll dialogue, and spliced himself into the plot � as the protagonist, of all things.
Steve Oedekerk wrote Patch Adams and Nutty Professor II: The Klumps.
Unfortunately, writer/director Steve Oedekerk - the writer of "The Nutty Professor" and "Patch Adams" and director of "Ace Ventura: When Nature calls" - either didn't see that film or learn its lesson of brevity as he's delivered a full-length version of what's essentially the same gag in "Kung Pow! Enter the Fist."
That's all Oedekerk ( Nutty Professor II: The Klumps ), Patch Adams ) has done, although he's also added in live-action fantasy sequences that we as technically challenged teens couldn't without our own film studio.
Combining scenes from The Matrix , Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Enter the Dragon, a whole variety of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan movies, as well as scenes from Twister with a heavy dose of Tom Green humour and fart and poop jokes, Kung Pow! Enter the Fist is 73-minutes too long.
Not all of the gags are kung fu-related--Oedekerk gets some mileage out of the effects tricks he has used in his popular “Thumb” shorts (“Thumb Wars,” “The Blair Thumb,” “Thumbtanic”) by superimposing a human mouth and eyes on his tongue (a character named “Tonguey” in the movie)--but it's merely one gag among many, the best ones being nothing more than inspired moments of bad overdubbing.
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Or parodies of The Matrix and The Lion King.
The spoofs of "The Matrix" and "The Lion King" aren't exactly fresh, but they still manage a good deal of hearty chuckles.
The spoofs of "The Matrix" and "The Lion King" aren't exactly fresh, but they still manage a good deal of hearty chuckles.
Combining scenes from The Matrix , Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Enter the Dragon, a whole variety of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan movies, as well as scenes from Twister with a heavy dose of Tom Green humour and fart and poop jokes, Kung Pow! Enter the Fist is 73-minutes too long.