The Foot Fist Way (Paramount Vantage)
By Candace Kavanagh
The Foot Fist Way (opened June 6 throughout San Diego) is a film about a Tae Kwan Do teacher played by Danny McBride who goes through life in denial about how much of a loser he is. This movie got my hopes up. I had seen the commercials and laughed at all the charming stupidity. Unfortunately, this movie's charm existed only in the minute of the commercial. The Foot Fist Way uses similar humor as a recent hit, Napoleon Dynamite . Stupidity being the mother of all laughs. Unfortunately, this tactic doesn't hold my attention for an hour and a half. Any charm quickly evaporated as I realized how horrible McBride's character was. At least with most stupid comedies you can fall in love with the protagonist, but in The Foot Fist Way we're stuck hating this man to no end -- unless you count the credits of the movie. I found myself wishing that the movie was shown through the eyes of Henry, one of the smaller characters, but the only one who actually got me cheering for him because of his shyness and having an actual evolution during the film. What I liked most about Henry was that he was the exact opposite of the main character, who was static and a villain towards poor Henry. But instead we're stuck watching this horribly annoying, horribly abusive man. If I wouldn't hang out with this man why in the world would I want to see an hour and a half movie about him.
I give The Foot Fist Way (rated R for strong language and some sexual content) credit for at least being realistic. I have seen many of these types of people in the halls at school and on the streets. It is true that this film seems to be an actual documentary of a section of our community. But I can't give this movie my approval due to it's choice of what to reveal. The actors were great, but their characters were evil and most of the time mean-spirited, making this film an uninspiring experience.
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Candace Kavanagh
just graduated from Mount Miguel High School. She spends her life absorbing celluloid images. She loves every type of film from so-called "chick flicks" such as My Fair Lady and Legally Blonde, to mind bending thrillers like Mulholland Drive and Hard Candy -- with every zombie movie, action flick, musical, and comedy in between.
