The Foot Fist Way

by Zach Oat September 28, 2008 11:13 PM
The Foot Fist Way

There's a reason the words "Napoleon Dynamite" are the second-biggest words on the box for the DVD of The Foot Fist Way. If you take Diedrich Bader's Zubaz-wearing martial arts instructor from Dynamite, turn him loose with a cast of mostly nonprofessional actors and keep the camera on him for an hour and a half, you pretty much get this film. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Danny McBride (Pineapple Express, Tropic Thunder) is a great comedic find as Taekwan-Do instructor Fred Simmons, and is pretty fun to watch do anything -- especially beating up kids. Luckily, he does that for a large part of the film and a significant portion of the DVD's numerous extras.

Commentary Track
McBride, director Jody Hill (who also plays Mike) and production designer Randy Gambill comment on the film and provide some of the great trivia that you can only get from a low-budget movie. For instance: which friend of the director owned the dojo they used, when the director's mom shows up in frame as an extra, which friend of the director's father loaned them his Ferrari, etc. You also find out how the band Pyramid got to do all of the music for the movie (Ben Best, who plays martial arts legend Chuck "The Truck" Wallace, is a member). Also, you get to hear the clicking of lighters at the beginning as the commentators blaze up.

Behind the Scenes Featurette
Not really a featurette so much as an artsy music video for the band Pyramid. The black-and-white behind-the-scenes footage -- with no sound, only some somber music - makes it seem like the entire cast and crew were killed in a horrible accident after the movie was completed, and this is some kind of memorial video.

Bloopers
In a refreshing change, the blooper reel consists of two scenes that were ruined by laughter, one where Fred talks to Mike on the phone and one where Fred and Mike meet Chuck the Truck for the first time. Refreshing, but not necessarily worth watching.

Additional Scenes
There are 20 alternate or extended scenes, three from the awkward first-act dinner scene alone. A few scenes present a different arc for Fred's wife Suzie, where we see her continue to live with Fred for a while after the HJ incident, ultimately leaving after he spies on her with Henry. And rather than being introduced in his demo at Fred's dojo, the mysterious Mike is first seen in an underground fight club, where he brutally snaps a man's neck before taking a phone call from Fred. A couple of new characters are introduced, as well: a neighborhood kid with a ninja costume and a minibike that Fred has a rivalry with, and a student with a small bladder who pees himself, causing Fred to show a more sympathetic side.

Alternate Ending: Fred Murders Suzie
Um... this is exactly what it sounds like. I guess they figured that America wasn't ready for the comedic murder of an unfaithful spouse. It was pretty funny, though -- possibly funnier than the actual ending. But wrong. So very wrong.

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