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Foot Fist Way (The)
R1 - America - Paramount Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Stevie McCleary & Noor Razzak (20th December 2008). |
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The Film
 "The Foot Fist Way" starring MTV's attempt at a new star, Danny McBride. So, second stringers - can they carry the day and lead a film to victory? The short answer? Possibly. The long answer, yeah kind of if they're in a good place and working with material that they're good at. Which, at times, is exactly what Danny McBride does here. That being said, there are some flat moments. Yes, 'flat moments' isn't a sports metaphor. I don't watch sports. Was just trying it out a bit...which pretty much seems to be what they're doing with most of the film. If you're a fan of things such as "The Office" (2005-Present) and in fact anything that plays on awkward moments of human misery, then you should at least give this movie a try. Rent it out, or watch it when a friend buys it. Or perhaps give it to someone as a Christmas present and then make an excuse to go to their house to watch it. That way they can't quickly sell it cause they will feel terrible when you show up expecting to find it in pride of place in their collection. Which nicely segues into the golden moments of "The Foot Fist Way." The best parts of this movie are when the characters are showing things that are just painful to watch. An old woman getting knocked out by a TKD student with anger issues is priceless. The awkward dinner with Fred Simmons (Danny McBride), his wife (Mary Jane Bostic), and his wife's new workmates is also a spectacular showcase of brilliantly written redneck ignorance. Also Jody Hill's turn as the super weird best friend Mike McAlister is sheer inspired awesome. I'll ignore the fact that it's the director doing a waaaaay more than cameo role and just say that he was an inspired choice. The whole dynamic of the film would have been poorer without him. So it's a shame to see such golden moments hidden in, essentially, such a dry terrible plodding excuse for a film. There were points at which I couldn't actually look at the screen it was so awkward. Didn't make it as genius as "The Office" (both UK and US versions) or "Extras" (2005-Present) though. Really hated the antagonist, which was good. But kinda saw the whole thing coming. You just don't get a guy who looks like Danny McBride married to someone who looks like Mary Jane Bostic without the tediously inevitable infidelity (heck, it's even on the back of the DVD case). But wait! There was her coming back to him! She's changed! No she hasn't. That, coupled with McBride's search for his TKD idol is pretty much the plot of the film. Which is pretty bare and leads into it's main problem; "The Foot Fist Way" tries to be too many things. It fits pretty well into the genre of comedy that the aforementioned "The Office" and its ilk have created. But it still tries to have a serious side to it. And it really doesn't pull it off that well. If it had gone for the awkwardly ridiculous it would have fantastic. If it had pulled the comedy out it would have been mediocre but I wouldn't have had such a problem with it. But it was trying to be too much. It oversteps its brief. Its unfortunate.The film is shot in the current trendy 'documentary style' and the camera movements were the same sort of jerky stuff we see in home videos. It kinda worked for the film. Kinda. It didn't make the movie more engaging to watch that’s for sure, but suited what they were aiming for. On the whole the movie is ok if your a fan of the genre. It’s not amazing, or ground breaking. There are some horrifying pedophilic overtones which I do not feel qualified to fully explore here... I mean honestly, hanging out with a 9 year-old and a 15 year-old and discussing your marital issues with them while constantly referring to how you're grooming them? Really Danny? Really? Kiddy fiddling is what it takes now? Anyway, let us dwell no more on that. It's a pity things like that are there, because it takes some of the shine of some of the good fighting choreography throughout (old woman fight!). As I said in the beginning, see this if you like the genre. Don't expect too much from it. I mean, the case states the 'best thing of its kind since "Napolean Dynamite" (2004)...so that pretty much pigeonholes it, for better or worse. The second stringer has a long way to go before he...makes the starting team for the big game? I think that's the appropriate metaphorical waffle. He's got a ways to go but there is promise there. A few more games off the bench and I think we will see McBride shine...perhaps. Or he'll end up as a low-rent Will Farrell, endlessly portraying the exact same character, more or less, in everything he does.
Video
Presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen, the image is average at best. The image is clean and clear, colors look good but I felt the image was a little flat. Detail holds up well and the overall image is pretty good for such a low budget film. There's no dirt or specks, which is common for a recent release, there were no real compression related issues such as artefacts, no edge-enhancement or other flaws.
Audio
Two audio tracks are included in English and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 surround. This film is a comedy, which doesn't rely on any over-the-top action moments, so the audio track is fairly basic. Dialogue is primarily the tracks strength; it's clear and distortion free. The music cues are well placed and make great use of the surround channels but really that's about it. It's not particularly aggressive, active or has much depth but it works for the film and does the job. Optional subtitles are included in English, French and Spanish.
Extras
Paramount has included an audio commentary, a featurette, bloopers, additional scenes, alternate ending and some bonus trailers. Below is a closer look at these supplements. First up is the feature-length audio commentary with director Jody Hill, actor Danny McBride and production designer Randy Gambill. This is pretty much a couple of friends hanging out and enjoying themselves, bringing both information and enthusiasm to the track. There’s a natural chemistry regarding discussing the movie, with McBride doing a good job keeping everyone on topic. It’s an enjoyable commentary for those who like the film. "Behind-the-Scenes" featurette is next and runs for 25 minutes 12 seconds, and is basically black and white disjointed footage montage that has no dialogue and a strange and trippy musical backing. It’s a very odd feature that would have been amusing, or at least bearable, at a length of five minutes. This is not the case and it doesn’t really serve much of a purpose at all, sadly. It may be some form of joke, but it’s hard to tell. Two bloopers are featured here and run for 2 minutes 12 seconds, and have the standard ‘actor can’t get through the scene without laughing’ moments. There are 20 of these deleted/extended scenes strung together and run for 30 minutes 58 seconds and all without any proper editing done to them, so they’re quite rough. Nice additions to the film but are very much just more of the same interactions between the characters. Shows off a bit more of their improvisation though, which is always a nice bonus. Alternate ending entitled “Fred Murders Suzie” is next and runs for 1 minute 10 seconds, the title of this ending pretty much gives it away. It’s strange, and a little shocking, but suits the characters. Either ending would have been fine really. Finally there are bonus trailers that are presented in a reel that runs for 10 minutes 7 seconds and they include: - "Kenny vs Spenny Season 1" - "South Park: The Complete 11th Season" - "Defiance" - "The Love Guru" - "American Teen"
Overall
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