Kung Pow: Enter the Fist (2002)

Out of all comedies I know Kung Pow might be one of the most unusual ones. Although Woody Allen already dubbed an Asian movie with his What’s Up Tiger Lilly before Steve Oedekerk did, the latter one took the concept to its extreme. He took the kung fu film Tiger and Crane Fist (also known as Savage Killers), wrote a whole new story for it, added himself to some of the scenes and badly dubbed all the voices himself on purpose. The result is movie unlike any other.

Steve Oedekerk is “The Chosen One”, who is a huge threat to Master Pain (better-known as Betty). Betty already tried to kill him as a baby, but after he escaped after his parents were murdered he was raised by rodents. Now he wants revenge and is searching for Betty. Before he can defeat him he has to make sure he is ready to fight him and he join Master Tang’s martial arts school.

This comedy is filled with bizarre characters, very stupid (visual) jokes and a story which isn’t that special. But those are exactly the reasons why this comedy works so well. The characters all stand out so much that they will leave a lasting impression. There’s Wimp Lo with his squeaky shoes, who has been trained wrongly on purpose thinking when he loses he has actually one (quotes: “I’m bleeding, making me the victor”, “My finger points”). Ling the love interest who will undress randomly and cries in a way you wont forget. The best known bit of the movie is probably the scene in which The Chosen One fights a cow and dodges its milk in Matrix-like bullet time.

If this all sounds way too strange to you than its better to skip Kung Pow, but if you are up to seeing something unique and silly than this is a must see. Oedekerk has put his unique stamp on an old movie. It’s one that’s endlessly quotable (at least among my friends) and easily gets a place in my top 10 favorite comedies ever. I’ve always thought it was a shame that the trailer for the sequel wasn’t real.