''Kung Phooey!'' is a 2003

independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, i ...

directed and produced by

Darryl Fong Darryl is an English name, a variant spelling of Darell (disambiguation), Darell. Male variations of this name include: Darlin, Daryl, Darrell, Darryl, Daryll, Darryll, Darrell, Darrel. Female and unisex variations of this name include: Daryl ...

. Fong also co-stars in the movie, alongside Michael Chow and

Colman Domingo Colman Jason Domingo (born November 28, 1969) is an American actor, writer, and director widely known for his performance as Mr. Bones in the Broadway musical '' The Scottsboro Boys'' (2011), and for his role as recovering drug addict Ali on HBO ...

. The movie is about a monk who tries to find a mysterious lost "Fountain of Youth" (an ancient magic peach). He travels to

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, and, with a new band of friends, tries to retrieve the stolen artifact. The movie is an affectionate parody of old

Kung fu film Kung fu film () is a subgenre of martial arts films and Hong Kong action cinema set in the contemporary period and featuring realistic martial arts. It lacks the fantasy elements seen in ''wuxia'', a related martial arts genre that uses historical ...

tropes. For instance, one of the running jokes is about how all the bad guys make " Hi-yah!" sounds. The filming actually took place in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

, poking fun at movies like ''

Rumble in the Bronx ''Rumble in the Bronx'' (Chinese title: 紅番區, ''Hong Faan Kui'' (transl. ''Red Turn District'') is a 1995 American-Hong Kong martial arts film starring Jackie Chan, Anita Mui and Françoise Yip. It was directed by Stanley Tong, with action ...

'' that disguise British Columbia locations to look like cities in the United States.

Plot

The plot follows the quest of Art Chew ( Michael Chow) to retrieve the ancient peach. The movie starts with Art Chew traveling to America, after briefly showing Art's training at the Shur-li

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

, showing many kung-fu clichés such as grabbing the pebble from the master's hand (at which Art succeeds without effort), fighting on

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

s (in this case small potted palms) and "listing" for elements (

Earth, Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (EW&F or EWF) is an American band whose music spans the genres of jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, big band, Latin, and Afro pop. They are among the best-selling bands of all time, with sales of over 90 million re ...

play a funky tune). After the montage is shown, Art meets up with his cousin Wayman (

), a Chinese adult who tries to act American so he isn't embarrassed by stereotypes, and foster cousin Roy Lee (

), an

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

who sincerely believes he is a reincarnation of

Bruce Lee Bruce Lee (; born Lee Jun-fan, ; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a Hong Kong and American martial artist and actor. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy drawing from different combat disciplines that ...

. Not long after Art arrives, Helen Hu ( Joyce Thi Brew), a dealer of

Monosodium glutamate Monosodium glutamate (MSG), also known as sodium glutamate, is the sodium salt of glutamic acid. MSG is found naturally in some foods including tomatoes and cheese in this glutamic acid form. MSG is used in cooking as a flavor enhancer wit ...

(MSG) portrayed with unscrupulous motivations like a

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...

dealer, forces Art's stereotypical Uncle Wong ( Wallace Choy) into buying more MSG. Art intervenes and tries to fight Helen's muscle, the overweight and strong One Ton (perhaps a play on the Chinese

wonton A wonton () is a type of Chinese dumpling commonly found across regional styles of Chinese cuisine. It is also spelled wantan or wuntun in transliteration from Cantonese () and wenden from Shanghainese (). There are many different styles of ...

), the wise cracking "brains" of the outfit Lo Fat, and the Kung-Fu fighter Non Fat. After blocking One Ton's attack, Art reels to attack showing a smiley face on his arm which Lo Fat points out as a symbol of a Shur-li monk and they run away. Art asks his uncle where the Ancient peach is and is told that it is in the restaurant owned by Helen Hu; in a brief humorous spectacle, Art and the others mix the name Hu with the article "who". Art's uncle had sold the restaurant to Hu a few years ago. Art, Wayman and Roy Lee go to Helen's restaurant and are taken to her by a waiter that is badly dubbed because "This is how all Hong Kong actors talk". Helen claims to know nothing about the peach and gets One Ton to escort Art and his friends to leave. On the way out, Roy Lee tries to kick Non Fat but misses and breaks a hole in the wall. After Art and crew are thrown out Lo Fat notices a glowing coming out of the hole in the wall and looks in and finds the ancient peach. Subsequent events include the peach changing hands multiple times and the appearance of a romantic interest, Sue Shi ( Karena Davis), who is later revealed to be an agent of the Shur-li temple.

Production

''Kung Phooey!'' was primarily filmed in

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

and

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, starting in spring 2001. Filming locations included

Oakland Chinatown The Chinatown neighborhood in Oakland, California（), is traditionally Chinese which reflects Oakland's diverse Chinese American, and more broadly Asian American community. It is frequently referred to as "Oakland Chinatown" in order to distingui ...

and

Golden Gate Park Golden Gate Park, located in San Francisco, California, United States, is a large urban park consisting of of public grounds. It is administered by the San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department, which began in 1871 to oversee the development ...

. Fong said he was motivated to create the film after he was continually cast into stereotypical "Asian American" roles: "I was an actor, disgusted with the opportunities for Asian actors. There were no really great parts." Fran Kuzui had signed to direct the project, but she said the film could not be sold without casting more Caucasian actors, so Fong made the film independently.

Release

''Kung Phooey!'' received a limited release at film festivals focusing on Asian American and independent cinema (

VC Filmfest VC may refer to: Military decorations * Victoria Cross, a military decoration awarded by the United Kingdom and also by certain Commonwealth nations ** Victoria Cross for Australia ** Victoria Cross (Canada) ** Victoria Cross for New Zealand * Vic ...

San Francisco Asian American Film Festival CAAMFest, known prior to 2013 as the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival (SFIAAFF), is presented every March in the San Francisco Bay Area in the United States as the nation’s largest showcase for new Asian American and Asia ...

WorldFest Houston The WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival, founded in 1968, is an annual film festival held annually in April in Houston, Texas. Notable festival alumni include John Lee Hancock, who wrote and directed the Oscar-winning film '' The Blind ...

San Diego Asian Film Festival The San Diego Asian Film Festival ( SDAFF) is an annual event organized by Pacific Arts Movement (formerly the San Diego Asian Film Foundation) that takes place every November in San Diego, California. Background SDAFF is the flagship event for ...

) starting in early May 2003. The film was released on DVD and VHS in July 2004.

Reception

Robert Koehler Robert Koehler (November 28, 1850 – April 23, 1917) was a German-born Painting, painter and art teacher who spent most of his career in the United States. Biography Koehler was born in Hamburg; his family spelled their name Köhler until ...

, reviewing for ''Variety'', called it "scrappy foolishness" and noted the "visual jokes pile up like the bad guys but never at the kind of crackling pace this brand of spoof demands" while comparing it to ''

Fear of a Black Hat ''Fear of a Black Hat'' is a 1993 American mockumentary film on the evolution and state of American hip hop music. The film's title is derived from the 1990 Public Enemy album ''Fear of a Black Planet''. First screened at Sundance Film Festival ...

''.

Notes

References

External links

Official Website
* * {{cite web , url=http://www.filminamerica.com/Movies/KungPhooey/ , title=Kung Phooey! , website=Film in America 2003 films 2000s parody films Chinatown, San Francisco 2003 comedy films 2000s martial arts comedy films 2000s English-language films