Kung Phooey!

I just rented Kung Phooey. Did I like it? I normally return movies I rent the next day so that I can get an early return credit, instead of keeping them for the full rental period. I rent 2-3 movies a week and I've only kept 2 movies past the first day. Kung Phooey was one of them. I wound up watching it almost daily. The comedy worked on all levels. From stuff my kids laughed at (and me, too), to higher brow stuff that had me rolling on the floor. I especially like the scene with the Jean Claude-esque character. I find myself quoting their fight scene at random moments throughout the day. Many 'indie' films tend to be 'serious' and wind up being melodramatic. I haven't seen many indie comedies, much less ones that made me laugh as much as this film. Come to think of it, most big-budget Hollywood comedies don't make me laugh as much as this film. Great work all around!

Despite the title, Kung Phooey! is really not so much a spoof targeting kung-fu movies as it is a spoof on cultural stereotypes of Asian Americans, particularly Asian-American males. It does take shots at the kung-fu film genre, but it is limited by its budget, and the action scenes, while well-executed considering the limitations, are few and far between. While Kung Phooey! hits a few of the obvious bases in its parodies of martial-arts films, it mostly spoofs them in ways that purposefully examine how they inform popular conceptions of Asians. While the film seeks to hide its social satire within its media/pop culture parodies, its social satire is far too unsubtle to stay below the surface. That's not necessarily a bad thing, since spoofs like this aren't about subtlety anyway, and this cultural perspective is the strongest thing Kung Phooey! has going for it. Besides, it's nice to see a film that has a message of ethnic pride but doesn't use it as an excuse to get overly serious and self-important--and parody is the perfect genre for achieving this. The message is made quite clear, but it never hits you over the head in that obnoxious, self-righteous kind of way.

As a kung-fu spoof, the film is a bit lacking, but taken as a satirical response to media portrayals of Asian Americans, it's much stronger. Some jokes play better than others, but overall, it's a satisfying ride--especially for Asian-American audiences who have been thinking these things for a long time, and can now see them acknowledged on screen.

"Kung Phooey!" is a great comedy spoof, and you will find it particularly enjoyable if you liked movies such as "The Naked Gun" and "Airplane", and of course, also if you like Kung Fu movies.

The story in "Kung Phooey!" was entertaining and had lots of nice touches to it, as there was references all over the place. And just like "Airplane" and "The Naked Gun" they were making fun of just about everything and even themselves.

The jokes are funny and just as stupid as in other spoof movies of the same type, and that is just what makes the movie so much fun. Nothing is holy here, they make fun of all and everything.

As for the action, yes there is action in the movie, it is a Kung Fu spoof after all, then I will say that it was actually quite good. Sure there was poking fun of this as well, but there was some good enough martial arts in the movie as well.

The people they had cast for the roles were doing good jobs, and the names of the characters was just hilarious. I loved that touch.

I was thoroughly entertained by "Kung Phooey!", but of course I do enjoy Kung Fu and comedies. If you like neither of these, I wouldn't recommend you watching "Kung Phooey!" because you will find it pointless.

Let the quest for the ancient peach begin!

I stumbled upon Kung Phooey at a local video store that tends to cater towards the indies and not so much of the mainstream. I was pleasantly surprised to see that a low-budget film could have such a good look to it. The cover just looked too silly for me to pass up. Sure, it's filled with cheap gags and goofy character imitations, but it is a slapstick spoof and that's exactly what I was expecting. Kung Phooey was a huge step up over the extremely disappointing Kung Pow: Enter the Fist. I seemed to notice some familiar faces in the cast too. Not sure why it's rated R...there didn't seem to be anything inappropriate. I watched it with my two kids and they loved it!

This is a very enjoyable movie that may not be very deep but definitely achieves getting a few laughs. The jokes are continuous and many do hit the right chord. It's fast paced, silly, and quirky and ends up making a very entertaining spoof. It goes against many stereotypes by spoofing everything. I was watching it with my family and they all enjoyed it. It is a fine movie for kids (despite the ridiculous R rating) and it is also fun for adults.

Bottom line: If you like light-hearted slapstick spoofs - give Kung Phooey a try. *** out of ****