Release Date:
01/25/2002
Kung Pow: Enter the Fist is destined to be a late-night dorm room cult classic. Following the logic that hundreds of stupid jokes thrown at the audience is as good as one or two really funny ones, Kung Pow manages to hit the mark on a few occassions, which is more than the trailer leads you to expect.
There are no solid gut laughs, but enough chuckles to keep you interestedthere are even a few good Why am I laughing at this? moments thrown in for good measure. Our only complaint is that we wish director-star Steve Oedekerk had picked a less obvious target. While the technique of mixing an actual kung fu movie with newly shot antics works really well (the best since Steve Martins film noir spoof Dead Men Dont Wear Plaid), there just arent any original karate parody ideas left. You cant help but think that all of this has been done before (even the original Police Academy had a bad-dubbing joke). And, for the love of all that is holy, please, please, please let the cow scene be the final nail in the coffin of all Matrix parodies. Regardless, Kung Pow is pretty good check your brain at the door entertainment.
There are no solid gut laughs, but enough chuckles to keep you interestedthere are even a few good Why am I laughing at this? moments thrown in for good measure. Our only complaint is that we wish director-star Steve Oedekerk had picked a less obvious target. While the technique of mixing an actual kung fu movie with newly shot antics works really well (the best since Steve Martins film noir spoof Dead Men Dont Wear Plaid), there just arent any original karate parody ideas left. You cant help but think that all of this has been done before (even the original Police Academy had a bad-dubbing joke). And, for the love of all that is holy, please, please, please let the cow scene be the final nail in the coffin of all Matrix parodies. Regardless, Kung Pow is pretty good check your brain at the door entertainment.