Mix some “Bad Santa,” with a splash of “Napoleon Dynamite” and shake it up with a whole lot of whoop a*s and you’ve got one of the funniest martial arts movies since “They Call Me Bruce?”
Tae Kwon Do instructor Mr. Simmons is kind of a gruff, pompous turd to begin with, verbally assaulting his students, who range from children to the elderly, all the while maintaining his cocky posture as King of his martial arts studio. But when he finds out his wife’s been giving out handjobs at her work, Mr. Simmons trainwrecks and becomes a drunken mess, hitting on his female students and smacking around the others. To take his mind off his troubles, Simmons decides to take a couple of his students, as well as a dangerously martial arts obsessed buddy of his, to see a live demonstration by his hero Chuck ““The Truck”” Wallace. Upon meeting, and eventually partying, with the Tae Kwon Do star, Simmons discovers him to be a drunken, drug crazed prima dona, but invites him to attend his studio’s testing day regardless. So eventually we have two raging egos battling each other to the horror of Simmons’ students. “”The Foot Fist Way”” is like full contact comedy.
This is a really small film, shot in 19 days, and it’s a little rough around the edges, but it’s got a huge comic heart that’s undeniable. Most notable is Danny McBride’s performance as the brutal Mr. Simmons. This is one of those classic characters you could watch all day and never grow tired of. And Ben Best is hilarious as Chuck “”The Truck”” Wallace, an obvious Chuck Norris clone. If you like funny and if you like martial arts, then ““The Foot Fist Way”” is going to be right up your alley.
