The Foot Fist Way
July 10, 2008 at 12:56 p.m.
Photo Courtesy of Paramount Vantage
The literal English translation of the Korean martial art Tae Kwon Do is “the foot fist way." It's simultaneously a bit goofy in English and a bit profound, the perfect title for a grainy, bare-minimum budget, out-of-its-mind comedy armed only with the wit of unknown actors and writers and the blessings of comedy giants Will Ferrell and Adam McKay (Talladega Nights, Anchorman).
This quirky, occasionally brilliant train wreck of a film centers on the life of Fred Simmons (newcomer Danny McBride), an oblivious and less-than-competent Tae Kwon Do instructor with an ego the size of Barry Bonds's. The minimal plot surrounds him training his two apprentices, meeting his Chuck Norris-like idol (fellow writer Ben Best), and attempting to save his frayed marriage.
While inconsistent, the talent in this group of writers and actors does begin to emerge. First-time writer and director Jody Hill is a master of the cringe-worthy, is-he-really-saying-or-doing-that-horribly-reprehensible-thing humor that propels television programs like The Office and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. McBride’s commitment to the role in all its god-awful requirements (beating the snot out of a small child, telling a recently-widowed woman she’s “making things awkward”) and ability to generate laughs from said requirements is as astounding as it is discomforting.
The pacing, ultimately, is The Foot Fist Way’s biggest problem, and even a runtime of 85 minutes feels a bit much here. The material seems better suited for smaller chunks (the film itself is divided into five segments, each named for a different tenet of Tae Kwon Do). Had it been a Web short or miniseries on Ferrell and McKay’s comedy Web site, FunnyOrDie.com, it would have easily been a sensation.
Strains to meet the demands of a full-length film aside, there is promise in The Foot Fist Way’s team. Hill has the timing and audacity of McKay and could make equally great films with a bit more practice, and McBride sure as hell isn’t going anywhere. In Tae Kwon Do terms, the film and its crew are at a blue belt—great comic skill, but just a tad shy of true mastery of the art. — Lindsay Eanet
VVV – Make the matinee.
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