The Foot Fist Way – DVD Review

Character actors and supporting players have a knack for stealing scenes. For the moment you could make the case that Danny McBride is a hot commodity in movie comedies, since the funnyman has popped up in this summer’s Tropic Thunder and Pineapple Express. He may look like the schulbs that get paired with the beautiful, hot actresses on network sitcoms (round and rotund with nary a clue), but such a look is perfect for a comedy that’s destined to become a cult hit on DVD.

McBride and some of his friends from the North Carolina School of the Arts, Jody Hill and Ben Best, shot The Foot Fist Way in nineteen days in Concore, NC while maxing out their credit cards to the sum of $70,000. With bad production values distribution seemed like a pipe dream; it played at festivals in Los Angeles and Sundance in 2006, then began making the rounds between friends. It’s a good thing McBride knows Will Ferrell and Adam McKay then, because the low-budget comedy made them laugh…a lot. So much so, they persuaded Paramount Vantage to acquire the film.

In it, McBride plays Tae Kwon Do instructor Fred Simmons, a martial artist with a strip-mall studio in some Podunk town, who teaches students of all ages and types the principles of the famed martial art. He bills himself as the “King of the Demo,” breaking pieces of wood and bricks out in the parking lot, while trying to persuade parents to sign up their kids. At home, he lives with his trashy wife Suzie (Mary Jane Bostic), whom Fred later discovers has been having an affair with her new boss. The bombshell destroys Fred’s world, spinning his life out of control, and causes him to take his anger out on his students and hit on some of the females.

That’s just a taste of The Foot Fist Way. There’s a whole other subplot involving Fred taking a road trip with his two star pupils and best friend Mike (director Jody Hill). They go to a martial arts exhibition so Fred can meet his idol, Chuck “The Truck” Wallace (co-writer Ben Best), a fourth-degree black belt and matinee star of Bama Slamma! Some of the best laughs come from this sequence with the Tae Kwon Do entourage partying in Wallace’s upstairs hotel suite.

Hill’s debut is an awkward comedy and is embarrassing to watch at times. We laugh at the pathetic Fred Simmons, but also cringe when an elderly woman gets punched in the face. Kind of like driving by a car accident on the side of the road: you can’t help but look. The overall story is off-putting and without merit and is in no way meant to be a serious attempt at humor. Yet somehow I can’t stop thinking about this B-grade comedy. (I saw it theaters during a short engagement back in June.) It’s uneven structure assaults you with its strung-together manner—going from Fred’s failures to the road trip to the climatic face-off at the end. You almost have to give it a try for its sophomoric sense of humor and shoestring production. It’s dumb but will surely find its core audience on DVD.

Before describing the extras, I have to take issue with the New York Times quote on the front cover that calls this “the best of its kind since Napoleon Dynamite.” What kind? Just because they are low-budget comedies does not mean they’re comparable. Come on, a “Liger” versus “The Truck”—no contest. Besides, this feature offers strong language over tater tots. Vote this Pedro! Paramount should have gone with Roger Ebert’s quote (who hated the movie) and printed this instead: Children should not be allowed within a mile of this film. More convincing I’d say.

The lowly production values really show with the anamorphic transfer, highlighted by a soft image that lacks a visual pop. Dull colors and a little dirt and grain prove that $70,000 just doesn’t cut it. The 5.1 track is also lacking quality. The dialogue is center-channel focused and Pyramid’s musical score, ushering back ‘80s synth rock, is the only sound that’s enhanced by rear and side speakers. But considering the comedy overall, it doesn’t need a big, loud audio presentation. Still, I have to say that the musical score by Pyramid makes me remember Stan Bush’s contributions to the original Transformers animated movie.

Checking the extras we start with the feature-length audio commentary with McBride, Hill, and Production Designer Randy Gambill. Strange that Best wasn’t involved. Nevertheless, the trio seems unconcerned by Best’s absence; they’re having too much enjoying themselves. Very laid back nature to the conversation, as they talk about the production—pointing out various locales and cameos by friends and family—and action that’s happening on screen at the moment.

Next up is probably the most unnecessary extra. If not unnecessary, definitely mislabeled. The 25-minute behind-the-scenes featurette does not explore the production values. It’s not an exploration of anything. What it is is twenty-five minutes of on-set footage sepia-toned with a head-trippy soundtrack. Three minutes of this, um, ” musical montage of shots,” would have been enough, but twenty-five minutes of shots is just overkill.

The rest of the extras are a collection of bloopers and additional scenes. The two minutes and change of blooper footage are from two scenes where McBride and Hill get the giggles and struggle to get through the dialogue. The twenty deleted scenes clock in over thirty minutes, and I must admit this is one of the rare instances where many should have remained in the film. That also goes for the alternate ending, which is such a cathartic experience for Fred.

And for studio promotional kicks, Paramount has included a selection of previews: the Kenny vs. Spenny: Vol. 1 DVD release, South Park’s Imaginationland DVD release, and trailers for Defiance and the American Teen doc, with The Love Guru placed in between. Go figure.

The Foot Fist Way is an uneven movie, and definitely not a feel-good time. While this may be distracting to some, I had no problem putting my brain on autopilot the two times I’ve watched it. Full of sophomoric humor and awkward situations and irredeemable characters, the comedy, I believe, will gain a cult following. The DVD sounds and looks like a $70,000 should, and it has an okay collection of extras; though the only one you’re likely to revisit are the deleted scenes. The long and short: Danny McBride may never be a leading man in a huge Hollywood comedy, but at least he can say he put his best foot forward with this homemade, B-movie comedy.
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Paramount Pictures presents The Foot Fist Way. Directed by Jody Hill. Starring Danny McBride, Jody Hill and Ben Best. Written by McBride, Hill and Best. Running time: 82 minutes. Rated R. Released on DVD: September 23, 2008. Available at Amazon.com.