The Foot Fist Way (2006)

Comic actor Danny McBride (LAND OF THE LOST) makes his leading debut in this cult comedy hit that irreverently takes aim at the martial arts culture in America and delivers a punishing spin kick of humorously awkward situational comedy akin to THE OFFICE with surprisingly accurate depictions of taekwondo training, demonstrations and sparring.

Completed in 2006 as a low-budget indie film featuring a mostly non-professional cast of North Carolina locals, THE FIST FOOT WAY made a big impression at Sundance and went on to become a cult hit in Hollywood where it received the support of Will Ferrell and Adam McKay. Its comic slant, however, has little to do with the overbearing and canned comedy of films like TALLADEGA NIGHTS and ANCHORMAN. McBride’s portrayal of an overconfident, socially blind taekwondo instructor who runs headlong into one uncomfortable situation after another plays out more like Ricky Gervais’ excellent British and American TV series, THE OFFICE with shades of Wes Anderson (RUSHMORE).

What’s more intriguing is that the film comes closer to revealing real martial arts in America than most of the so-called martial arts movies made here. McBride spouts out real taekwondo philosophy and we’re shown authentic training and fighting moves that are mostly unfiltered representations of average, everyday martial artists apart from a few situations designed for laughs. Making that possible is the fact that co-writer and director Jody Hill grew up studying taekwondo and drew a lot of his inspiration from this background, as well as on the martial arts celebrities and MA culture of the 1970s.

In the film, McBride is Fred Simmons, a self-centered taekwondo instructor who really is a talented 4th-degree black belt but he’s frequently rude, insensitive and likes to wear his accomplishments on his sleeve, notably for his one-time tournament win and for being a self-described “master of the demo.” His road trip with an eccentric friend and fellow master, played by director Jody Hill, and two senior students to see martial arts action star Chuck “The Truck” Wallace (Ben Best) becomes a catharsis for Fred after he suffers an emotional breakdown following the discovery that his wife is cheating on him. Despite learning that his idol is a drug addict and an even more self-serving ass than he is, Fred convinces Wallace to make an appearance at an upcoming promotion test for his school after a raucous night of partying with the film star. Wallace makes good on his promise but when Fred discovers the star having sex with his wife, Fred decides to prove who the better man is, first in a private no-rules match and finally in a public demonstration of board and cement block breaking.

Chuck “The Truck” Wallace is seemingly meant to represent virtually every white American martial arts movie star of the 1970s and ’80s and not in a flattering way. The name is an obvious amalgam of Chuck Norris and Bill “Superfoot” Wallace. The character’s excessively egotistical personality and party-till-you-drop attitude certainly doesn’t represent all of the top American martial arts stars but there are enough stories floating around about some of them to suggest “The Truck” is representative of the bad behavior and machismo exhibited by at least a few martial arts celebrities.

Interestingly, in a recent interview Hill mentioned that he had originally wanted Michael Dudikoff to play Wallace but the AMERICAN NINJA star didn’t even return his call. After getting spooked by a reclusive and aggressive martial artist living in a trailer park that they had hoped to try out, Hill and his associates decided to give the role to co-writer Ben Best, who actually delivers a solid performance.

The film’s anchor is Danny McBride, whose natural acting ability and confident screen presence in a supporting role in ALL THE PRETTY GIRLS convinced Hill to build a movie around him. Like Gervais in the original British version of THE OFFICE, McBride is the centerpiece of THE FIST FOOT WAY. His crass behavior and self importance is so convincing that it makes the movie seem more like a documentary than a fictional comedy. McBride also does what few actors can, he portrays a complete bastard who is still likable. It seems inconceivable that his students would endure his ego and yet it’s plausible because most of his students are followers, often lacking in confidence.

The beauty of the script is how it subtlety weaves in subplots concerning Fred’s students and their martial arts training without losing focus on the comedy surrounding Fred and his growing antagonism with his wife and Wallace. One student lacks confidence until he learns on his own to overcome it. Another strives to be Fred’s second in command but lacks the ability to command the respect of his peers until he finds his voice. Yet another student uses taekwando as nothing but a way to vent his anger and in spite of his brute strength and aggressiveness in sparring, this lack of proper focus comes back to hurt him when it comes time to be tested in forms. All the while, Fred is aware of the faults in his students but is shown making his own mistakes in training them. Like real life, the master-student relationship and training in this film is imperfect yet Hill conveys that no matter how mixed up people’s lives are, if they apply themselves and stay the course they’re more likely to succeed, on personal and public levels.

Hill’s biggest gaffe may have been casting himself in the role of Mike McAlister. Where everyone else seems a natural fit for their characters, Hill tries too hard to play a slightly creepy, super-serious martial artist with a sexual fetish only hinted at. Unlike most of his co-stars he comes across as a caricature, still entertaining but as someone who would perhaps fit in better among the cast members of classic Canadian sketch comedy show THE KIDS IN THE HALL. I also didn’t care for the Wes Anderson-style party montage with stylized, hipster camera work. Like Hill’s character, it’s too much of a cliché, whereas most of the film is far more creative.

Production-wise, THE FIST FOOT WAY is spot on. The film was no doubt made for peanuts but Hill uses everything at his disposal to his advantage and that alone is the mark of a good filmmaker. Even the small-scale venue where Chuck “The Truck” Wallace puts on his little show to a small audience of eager fans seems somehow appropriate. The suggestion is that Wallace is like one of many B-movie martial arts stars who have a small but loyal fanbase, largely made up of people who also count themselves as martial arts enthusiasts. It’s something that many martial arts movie fans would appreciate but general audiences probably would not.

Although it definitely reveals a rarely seen element of the martial arts community in film, THE FIST FOOT WAY is first and foremost a slice-of-life comedy, a frequently crude and offensive comedy that shows people at their worst and makes light of it while not going too overboard. This is where the film ultimately succeeds because the writers tap into enough reality that there is little need to use contrived or canned humor, which is more often what we see in Hollywood. Richard Pryor proved that the best humor comes from looking at real life in all of its frequent unpleasantness. This film isn’t anywhere near as outright or consistently funny as a Pryor monologue but it shares some of the same spirit, a raw, unpretentiousness too often unseen in feature film these days. It’s not surprising that Will Ferrell and his writing/directing partner Adam McKay got behind this film. With a flawlessly authentic character portrayal from Danny McBride, it possesses a strong dose of comedic genius sorely missing from Ferrell’s films. I say flawless because Fred comes very close to matching someone I once knew personally. I can guarantee that there are people in this world, martial artists or otherwise, very much like Fred Simmons and just like the character, it’s possible to like them and be annoyed by them at the same time because what makes them compelling is also what makes them sometimes intolerable.

A word of caution for potential viewers is that the film contains some very blatantly offensive language, sexual references, and drug and alcohol-related scenes involving minors. I want to point this out knowing that while a lot of martial arts movie fans are accustomed to all manner of simulated violence, they may not care for other objectionable content not usually associated with martial arts films. Viewers accustomed to the likes of SUPERBAD and PINEAPPLE EXPRESS will be in friendly territory.