Hey all. Capone in Chicago here.

I don't know exactly what to say about this film that seems have taken every writer on AICN by storm. It certainly made me laugh hard more than a couple times. Its lead, Danny McBride, is without a doubt a comedy star in the making. If for no other reason, the film exists as the ultimate showreel for his talents. But I don't really think I can get on board The Foot Fist Way love train just yet. I realize this puts me in the position of being scarily out of synch not only with my coworkers but also with some of my favorite comic actors of the day who all seem to have taken this little film under their collective wing and declared it some kind of minor masterpiece. Will Ferrrell and his partner Adam McKay even went so far as to place their names on the movie to secure it a nationwide release. The film has the making of one of the great modern midnight movies. I can clearly see a group of drunk college kids heading to their local movie house to watch the latest show possible of this film about a pudgy martial arts instructor Fred Simmons (McBride), his habitually unfaithful wife (Mary Jane Bostic) and his school full of stone-faced students of all ages.

Simmons is the ultimate douche bag, content to rest on the laurels of a years-old Tae Kwon Do championship title, and thinking he is God's gift to martial arts, women and his students. But he's also a fairly likable because no matter how much confidence he exudes in front of others, he's still not above standing before the mirror and calling himself every name in the book in some kind of a verbal self-flagellation ritual that seems to result in a beefing up of self worth. Plus his wife shits on him, and he stupidly always takes her back. Fred also gets the chance to meet his Hollywood action hero Chuck "The Truck" Wallace (Ben Best, one of the film's writers along with McBride and director Jody Hill, who also costars in the film), and is sadly disappointed in meeting his idol. THE FOOT FIST WAY's grainy look and excessive use of slow motion during some of the practice sessions at the school give the film a '70s amateur feel that is really fun, but the film itself is filled with large gaps of unfunny bits, aimless riffing and flat acting, which, I'll admit, is not always a bad thing and sometimes adds to the humor of the work.

Ultimately, however, my reaction when the film ended was, "Is that it?" It was hard to believe that this was the film I'd been hearing about for months (in some cases years) from others. I realize this sounds like something of a condemnation of the movie, which it isn't. THE FOOT FIST WAY had me giggling to myself quite a few times, and the general uncomfortable tone of the film (similar to the tone in something like "The Office") is one that I can't get enough of. As I said, McBride absolutely passes the audition with flying colors, and I can't wait to see if he maintains this level of quality humor in PINEAPPLE EXPRESS and TROPIC THUNDER later this summer. The film is actually very good; it didn't shake my shingles the way it seems to have with others. The big laughs are powerful stuff, but the rest of it is decidedly average. Not only are there better movies in theaters right now, but there are better comedies worth your $10-plus.

Capone
capone@aintitcoolmail.com