by Drew Hunt
Today’s comedy heavyweights, from Adam Sandler to Will Ferrell and all in between, seem to have at least one common persona they hang their comedic hats on: that of the Man Child. The likes of Billy Madison, Ron Burgundy, and Derek Zoolander have all, for better or worse left their juvenile marks on the face of comedy. However, it’s the actors that portrayed them that have reaped the benefits, becoming blockbuster heavyweights by emulating the most infantile facets of their personalities.
Ready to join the ranks is one Danny McBride.
In his film The Foot Fist Way, written by himself and co-stars Ben Best and Jody Hill, and also directed by Hill, McBride plays Fred Simmons, a tae kwon do instructor and master of oblivion. As the teacher of his class, he demands the respect of each of his pupils, and surprisingly receives it. He has complete control of the room, effectively giving him a large ego but failing to provide any kind of common sense. Not surprisingly, outside of the dojo, Simmons is hardly in control, and as his personal life begins to crumble, we see the rough exterior behind the belt begin to fade as well.
We also see Danny McBride assert himself as a Master of the Man Child, portraying Simmons with all the conviction and sincerity of a seasoned vet. Shot for dirt cheap and filmed in a verite fashion, The Foot Fist Way has the look of a low-budget student film but the feel of million dollar farce, fully anchored on the performance of McBride, Hill, and Best, playing a slicked-blonde, goth tae kwon do master and a celebrity martial arts star, respectively.
Make no mistake – the movie is filled with sidesplitting one-liners: some of them all-timers. The kind you’ll be reciting for years.
And yet, the film remains entirely character driven and relies little on shtick. In a film set mostly in a martial arts dojo, there’s a tasteful lack of physical humor: of course, there’s a hard whack here and swat to the groin there, but you’re never beaten over the head with the absurdity of martial arts. Instead, the film stays rooted in its cerebral execution, with Simmons operating on an appealingly vulgar, David Brent-like level (that’s the British version of one Michael Scott, for those not in the know). The movie can only be described as “subtly over the top”, with each line hitting on a low-key note, but causing some high-octane laughs. It’s no wonder that Will Ferrell and Adam McKay scooped it up as quickly as they could – it’s the kind of film studio execs spend millions on and give even larger budgets. Here, the filmmakers get by solely on laughs and talent.
Unless The Foot Fist Way catches on in a Napoleon Dynamite-like fashion (which it very well could, given the MTV distribution and Ferrell and McKay co-sign), it is destined to become a cult hit – one that builds and builds with time until it becomes stuff of legend. We could very well have a future classic on our hands.
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Saturday, June 14, 2008.
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