The Foot Fist Way

Until last night, I wasn't that sold on Danny McBride. His style of humor, the redneck with the random Ferrel-esque outbursts, seemed tired and conventional at this point in cinema. The pilot for his new HBO show, East Bound and Down, was hilarious, but his stuck-up, narcissistic, delusional-ass character struck me as something that would get lame after a full, or maybe a half, season. 

I get it. Now having seen the Foot Fist Way, the low-budget indie that got McBride the A-list attention he currently receives, I understand why everyone's on board with this hick douchebag: he's actually half-brilliant. His character in Foot Fist, Tae Kwon Do instructor and 4th degree black belt, Fred Simmons, is a truly original character. He is the king of his castle, the strip-mall karate dojo where he teaches kids and senior citizens alike (and with equal vigor), but respects it enough not to make a mockery of it. In fact, much of the humor of the film comes from Simmons obsession with honor, respect, and the code of conduct of "TDK." He is a gross man, deeply insecure, lecherous, and self-abusive (look at him, he's a fat piece of shit), but the film sells his deep love for karate to the extent that it makes him the most endearing character in the film. You really grow to like this nasty son of a bitch as he deals with his cheating, white-trash wife, the cocky Chuck Norris doppelganger Chuck "The Truck" Wallace, and the pressures of maintaining "self-control," by maintaining his mentor status to his students while not revealing how big of an ass he really is. 

I love how low-key the humor is. In an era where big-budget, star and cameo-laden comedies are all the rage, it was nice to see a hilarious film in which there are no stars, no nudge-nudge in-jokes, and few direct references to other films. The karate theme opens the door for Simmons to give diatribes about JCVD, Seagal, or any other famous martial artist. But alas, aside from a brief Bruce Lee reference and the aforementioned Chuck Norris character, this world is entirely self-contained, while still being completely subversive, with-it, and hilarious. I knew I'd like this movie, but damn, I didn't think I'd like it this much. It is a breath of fresh air in the comedy realm, and makes me hope for great things out of both East Bound and Down and the rest of Mr. McBride's career. He's got a wicked, original sense of humor, and a heart, but damned if he'd ever let that show; what's the point when you can just do an AIDS or rape joke instead?

Oh, and having taken years of Tiger Schulmann's karate, I can attest that director Jody Hill and McBride perfectly capture the lame, half-desperate half-bored nature of such a karate class, and the embarrassingly devout passion the sensei's and senior members possess towards their trade. I recommend it whole-fartedly.