King Kung Fu

It blows my mind how people can generally slate movies like this...

If you rent or buy a movie with the title "King Kung Fu" that should be a good implication that this movie shouldn't be taken seriously.

I mean, you're going to watch a film about a Gorilla who knows Kung Fu, you should know by now that it's hardly gonna be Oscar nominated material.

Films like these should be praised not knocked. It's a no nonsense approach to the consumer, it lets you know exactly what the films about straight from the title.

This is one of those films that.. say you're lying in bed, late at night, watching TV, channel flicking and you came across this movie, you'd sit though it and maybe fall for its charms of being absolutely daft.

Believe me, I've seen a lot worse than "King Kung Fu" and would pick this movie ahead of some of the over budgeted movies we see today and have in recent years.

If it wasn't for films like "King Kung Fu" our memory's of B-movie nostalgia would not exist.

So...

Long Live Nostalgia!

This is not a Hollywood blockbuster; in fact it's a B movie for sure. But I've always been a fan of classic b monster movies like Godzilla and stuff. This movie is hilarious and I have to say I really enjoyed it, being that the movie was set in my hometown might have been a contributing factor though.

This movie is pure spoof. If you like King Kong, Kung Fu, slapstick comedy and B Movies than I'd say this is right up your alley. As I said I'm from Wichita, where this movie was shot, and one thing I can tell you, I'm familiar with like 95 percent of the locations that were shot in this movie.

I didn't realize how much the skyline of Wichita had changed since the 1970s. There was a decent amount of buildings missing. Because the weren't built yet. I know one of them that was missing was the Epic Center, the city's tallest building, whereas in this movie, it's the Holiday Inn, which is no longer a Holiday Inn; but rather an Apartment Complex on Douglas Street.

Anyway, give it a watch. B movies are so bad they're good so you should like this. Another good B movie that is so bad it's good is "Feeders" from 1996. Check it out.

My review was written in June 1990 after watching the movie on King Gemini video cassette.

This Wichitamade oddity is old-fashioned spoof recommended to fans of cornpone humor. G-rated opus was completed in 1987 and is awaiting distribution.

Filmmaker Lance Hayes shows a genuine affection for old movies, his main homage here being to the 1933 classic "King Kong". Strained storyline has China sending to America a gorilla trained in the martial arts as part of a cultural exchange program. He escapes from captivity, takes a liking to pretty blonde Maxine Gray (as "Rae Fey") and ascends the town's tallest building, a Holiday Inn.

This puerile entertainment is easy to watch though out of step with today's sensational approach. Targets of satire range from the David Carradine "Kung Fu" tv series (the ape is called Jungle Jumper instead of Weed Hopper), tv newscasts and John Wayne movies. Tom Leahy does an okay Duke impression, but looks more like Leo V. Gordon than the targeted superstar.

Bumbling comedy team of Tim McGill and Billy Schwartz gets some laughs, though their costuming and styling makes film look like an early '70s production, Gray manages to provide some alluring pulchritude without threatening pic's G tag.

Finale features extremely poor stop-motion animation to simulate the gorilla's fall from the roof onto a helicopter. John Balee wearing the apesuit is unimpressive.

This movie was made 33 years ago so it was not going to have great visuals like what we are used to today in more modern movies. The film has its funny moments but most of its just so slapstick that its not funny. Its hard to describe the humor of the film. Over acting is one of the funniest things to watch over and over again. B-movies sometimes are funny and this one is one of those types of films. There are lots of other factors that contribute to the film be watchable but it is something that you have to be in the mood to watch. I'm not sure if King Kong Fu was supposed to a comedy or a action flick. Its an odd combination of about three different movie genres.

As the producer of King Kung Fu, I marvel at the comments about this being "Worst Film Ever". For the correct information, please know that KKF actually played in 11 theaters around the country. Also while standing in the lobby of two theaters the audience laughed their tails off during the film. They then commented that it was "corny". It has been sold to Japan, Taiwan, and Poland. It was shot on 43 locations and has over 40 speaking parts. It was shot in SimianScope. King Kung Fu is the unforgettable story of a Chinese gorilla who knows Karate. After beating up his master (a Kung Fu Master)he is shipped to the U.S. as a gift by the embarrassed master. On the way to New York, he is put on display in Wichita, Kansas where two out of work reporters set him free with plans to "capture" him and get jobs. Police Captain J.W. Duke,(who resembles a certain Western Movie star)and his first officer Pilgrim, get involved in the city wide chase along with Rae Fey and a host of others. The gorilla and the girl end up on top of the tallest building in Wichita, a Holiday Inn. It is full of clichés, spoofs, and a cast of truly memorable characters for a lot of viewing fun. If you laugh at the opening titles when it says "Filmed in SimianScope" then you'll laugh all the way thru the movie. We started in 1974 and released the movie in 1987. (ran out of money several times)If you can accept the fact that it is a guy in a gorilla suit (who by the way does not talk) you can enjoy the film. (a stream of consciousness voice does not mean the gorilla talks). Hey, it's a G rated movie. It was one of two released in 1987. The other one was a Benjie Movie. Take a chance. Bob Walterscheid