Sidekicks

This movie was just great! Jonathan Brandis was a great actor and will be sadly missed by all of his friends and fans... This movie was about an teenage boy with asthma always getting into trouble because of his vivid fantasies and daydreams of Chuck Norris teaming up with him to rescue his teacher. In order to help the boy (Jonathan Brandis) overcome his daydreaming and his asthma, his teacher's restaurant owning uncle takes the boy under his wing to teach him healing and strengthening techniques.He does so well that the uncle signs him into a martial arts competition.As a surprise, the mentor sees Chuck Norris at the competition and Chuck Norris introduces himself to the boy.In the end he teams up with his the boy to compete in the martial arts competition. A Great Film!

This movie is a good one for Jonathan Brandis. His acting is good, and so is the way he plays his part. This movie really brings out the way Chuck Norris deals with kids in his movies. He spends the movie as an imaginary friend to Brandis, who is finding junior high life hard. "Norris" teaches him discipline and how to deal with bullies.

This is definitely not the usual Chuck Norris movie, as you can see from the cover. In his other movies, he usually plays some kind of heavy duty hitman with lots of weapons and sometimes armor. This time he has none of that. He is just a low-key character, and even when he finally fights Joe Piscopo in the end, he acts like he is just trying to show Brandis how its done.

This is intended to be sort of a martial arts drama for kids, but it is in fact one of the best unintentional comedies ever. Most really bad movies are just bad and will bore you and make you not want to watch anymore, but Sidekicks is entertaining throughout. Mako, the martial arts instructor, and Joe Piscopo, the evil rival dojo owner, are clearly in on the joke and really ham it up. Brandis and Norris generally play it straight, although I'd have to honestly wonder if Chuck knows how cheesy the stuff is, I'd imagine not, having made Walker Texas Ranger.

I will not spoil the ending, but it fits perfectly with the movie. Watch this one with a group of friends and/or on an intoxicating substance for best effect. Chuck fans and children will also love this, but don't expect a good movie or a plot and dialogue that make sense.

Joe however you spell his last name is funny. I mean real funny. I love the part where he plays these fantasy bad guys. The best part is where he makes a fool out of himself when he fights Chuck in a tournament. The other part I get a laugh out of is the biker and the hot Chinese soup. Well the rest, of it is a bit sappy, but oh well.

I had the pleasure of being a crowd scene extra during the filming of the tournament scenes. Some excellent martial arts technicians showed up to demonstrate their skills.

The movie has been compared to The Karate Kid, but it stands on its own legs. Good acting throughout and a good storyline. I got a kick out of the scenes filmed at Lamar High School - my alma mater.