Fuck Yeah!!! Please tell me I am not the only one who saw this 1992 gem of a film? I don’t want to say that you missed out on a phenomenal film and all, but you did if you haven’t seen this movie. Listen, we all look up to someone, this movie just shows that one kids really, really, really, looks up to Chuck Norris. I mean, who doesn’t look up to the guy? He is Chuck Norris after all. While this movie is exactly like The Karate Kid (not the Will Smith kid version), it still has some terribly redeeming qualities to it, mainly Chuck Norris and Danica McKellar (oh Winnie Cooper).
Barry Gabrewski (Jonathan Brandis) is an asthmatic schoolboy who can’t participate in sports, much to the delight of a bullying classmate (John Buchanan) and his sadistic gym teacher (Richard Moll). Miserably unhappy, Barry escapes into a world of fantasy, where he imagines himself the tough, karate-proficient sidekick of action movie hero Chuck Norris. Trying to turn his dreams into reality, Barry visits dojo master Kelly Stone (Joe Piscopo), but Stone only mocks his aspirations. A supportive teacher introduces Barry to her uncle, Mr. Lee (Mako), a cook and martial arts teacher who takes Barry under his wing and teaches him the secrets of karate prowess. When Barry becomes good enough to enter a tournament, he needs a fourth athlete to complete his team, and who should be in the stands making a publicity appearance but the real-life Norris, who steps in to fight side-by-side with the plucky teen. Sidekicks was directed by Norris’s brother and frequent collaborator Aaron Norris. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
So first, this is really a Chuck Norris movie. Aaron Norris directed this film and he is the brother of Chuck Norris, so of course this movie is all about Chuck and not some asthmatic, wimpy kid. Second, why the hell does Barry dream about being a sidekick? It’s great and all that he is able to retreat into his own little world where he is a charismatic, strong individual, but even in his dreams he is still second to Chuck Norris. What the fuck?! I don’t dream about being Robin, the sidekick to Batman. I want to be Batman. So already, I don’t like this kid as he puts himself down even in his dream. What a loser.
Anyways, the movie is a paint by numbers Karate Kid film, high school jock/nerd film, and hero story. Actually, not so much a hero story rather than a story about Chuck Norris showing up to a karate tournament and partnering with some kid to whoop ass. I mean the payoff of the dreams and film has to happen so yeah, whatever. Sidekicks is the sort of film that is easy to digest, fun to watch (young or old) and capturing the essence of what it is like to be a picked on kid in high school, fueling your goal of learning martial arts from an old Asian man, you know like in real life. I kind of wish my life was like that in high school, mainly because Winnie Cooper herself is the love interest in this film and I love me some Danica McKellar.
Sidekicks is a pure 90s film, one filled with cheesy Chuck Norris action scenes, typical bully mentality and lots of fucking mullets. Joe Piscopo rocks one hell of a hockey helmet mullet as the rival dojo master. Jonathan Brandis did a good job in acting though, having a good growth and development as a character in a film that is a bit light on the story and borrows far too much from The Karate Kid. But overall, Sidekicks is entertaining and enjoyable to watch. Oh I remember now, I choose this movie so I could post a picture of Danica McKellar. Enjoy folks.
*drool*
