Kung Phooey!

I practice martial arts (Ok, I practice - I didn't say I was good!). This movie was funnier than I expected, and is mercifully short(only 87 minutes). It doesn't take itself seriously - there are scenes where characters discuss being characters. The plot is whisper-thin, but who watches these things for the plot? Having said that, I still laughed out loud in several spots, and the martial arts scenes were quite good (and legit. Some of these were taken seriously or at least lovingly). The movie did a great job spoofing the genre - but if you don't like martial arts films, you just won't appreciate this film.

Basically, the level of humor is broad. If you liked Hot Shots Part Deux, you'd probably enjoy this movie.

"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!

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 ****

Kung Phooey was a light hearted spoof with a lot of very funny scenes. It was not too vulgar or crude but had some moments. The flow of the film was pretty good. The interaction between the characters seemed natural. It was rather witty but not all together original as most spoofs are not. I thought part of the charm in this film was the lack of acting skill by the stereo typed characters. I think this just added to the humor. Face it this is not a big budget film. The plot and delivery are both funny. I would recommend this movie if you need a laugh. I was surprised by the rating. I would not let kids under 13 see the movie Kung Phooey.

This is an amusing film, and I have seen it twice and am willing to see it again; but I can't recommend it.

The film is an attempt to develop a type of absurdist, parodic comedy made famous by the Zucker-Abrams-Proft team ("Airplane!") within the context of the martial arts genre. There are indeed funny bits throughout the film - but unfortunately they're just not funny enough.

The obvious on-screen reason for this is pacing - it's not a slow or boring film; but if some reviewers express that opinion, it's because there's a flaw here that is even worse, for comedy - the timing of the gags is frequently way off. In the title sequence, for instance, we see the protagonist walking across a sand-dune ala Kane in "Kung Fu"; gags intervene twice, once with a toy dune-buggy zipping by from out of nowhere, the second time a woman in a bikini dives for a volleyball save. The dune-buggy shows up too late by about two comic beats (it should nearly clip the heel of the protagonist, who in the actual film has almost already walked off screen). The volleyball babe shows up about a beat too early - SHE nearly clips the protagonist's heel (when she should be behind him by at least two steps).

The primary behind-camera reason for such mistakes is money; this is a really low budget film, and it's clear that they could only afford one take for most scenes. That's actually very hard to do right, and requires either actors who have their lines and staging down pat, or a really inventive director who can waltz the camera around the actors to gloss over any of their defects, and who can work wonders in an editing room. This film has neither of those counter-balancing accessories. So when a scene goes flat, we're stuck with it.

So, while a lot of this movie brings a smile to my face, I can't say I actually laughed out-loud, and it's clear director Fong wants me to. Hopefully, when Fong gets the budget he needs, he can make the film this ought to have been.