- Year: 1977
- Starring: Evan Kim, Master Bong Soo Han
- Directed by: John Landis
Dr. Klahn (Master Bong Soo Han) is building a secret army of great magnitude on his private island. Of course, you have his gratitude. Seeking to bust up Klahn’s operation, the British intelligence sends in martial arts expert Loo (Evan Kim) to compete in a tournament. Sound familiar? If you’ve ever seen ENTER THE DRAGON, then you can immediately connect with the material. If you’ve never seen ENTER THE DRAGON, then WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING AT THIS SITE!?!
The main “feature” of the hilarious anthology KENTUCKY FRIED MOVIE, this Jim Abrahams/Zucker brothers (AIRPLANE, NAKED GUN) penned send up of martial arts films hit the ball out of the park on the first swing. It is the definitive kung fu and Bruce Lee parody. This is the all-time champ. The segment runs roughly a half hour and the jokes hit faster than a fistful of fury. And the best thing about these jokes is that they are funny!
Losers like Steve Oedekerk keep trying to top this (and fail so hard), but they should just give it up. Who can forget the classic lines like, “This is Buttkiss, Klahn's bodyguard - he is tough and ruthless. This is Kwong, Klahn's chauffeur - he is rough and toothless.” Or the hilarious Elmer Fudd-esque routine of “What wuz dat? Dis iz not a chawade. We need total concen-tway-tion.” And the three guards on the game show. You know the ones: Hung Well, Long Wang and Enormous Genitals. And this may be the only kung fu parody never to have a dubbing joke in it! I could go on and on but I suggest rather than just reading about it, you watch it!
Korean born Evan Kim is dead-on in his Bruce Lee impersonation. On the DVD’s audio commentary, the filmmakers talk about how they saw hundreds of guys for the part of Loo and Kim was literally the last one. He was a student at USC at the time and won the role immediately with his skills and an absolutely perfect Bruce Lee voice impersonation. He is truly a gift from God. Master Bong Soo Han ain’t no slouch either! His take on Han from ENTER THE DRAGON is hysterical. He gets all the mannerisms down and he is quite the ladies man with that interchangeable hand.
So there you have it. If you haven’t seen this, then I suggest you run, do not walk, to your local video store and get it. In the meantime, I will leave you with this brilliant exchange that spoofs the famous scene in ENTER THE DRAGON:
Loo: And who are they?
Dr. Klahn: Refuse, found in waterfront bars.
Loo: Shanghaied?
Dr. Klahn: Just lost drunken men who don't know where they are and no longer care.
Prisoner #1: Where are we?
Prisoner #2: I don't care!
Loo: And these?
Dr. Klahn: These are lost drunken men who don't know where they are, but do care! And these are men who know where they are and care, but don't drink.
Prisoner #3: I don't know who I am?
Prisoner #4: And I don't drink!
Dr. Klahn: Guards! Do you care?
Prisoner #5: No.
Dr. Klahn: Put this man in cell #1, and give him a drink.
Guard: What do you drink?
Prisoner #5: I don't care.
Reviewed by William.
Hey, wait there's more! This Keith here and decided that A FISTFUL OF YEN is so great I had to add a couple more classic screen caps for your viewing pleasure.
