Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

The best way to describe Kung Pow is odd in every aspect. Sometimes that’s good, sometimes bad, but you have to have a high threshold of weirdness to like it (which I do, by the way).

Having worked some in TV and as a video editor I was particularly intrigued by the creation method. Steve Oedekerk took footage from an old Chinese kung fu movie and edited it to make a completely different movie. He shot some new scenes and replaced all the dialogue, sound effects, and music. Then the real kicker, he composited into that footage new elements including himself as the new main character, a Taco Bell bag, and more. It’s not seamless, but I laughed so much that I overlooked the flaws.

Plot? What plot? Chosen One wants revenge on Evil Betty for killing his family. That’s about it. After all, too much plot would choke the comedy. That’s all the movie is, just 1 joke after another. It’s more Weird Al type humor than Friends. You get a song about Lemur sounds, a Kung Fu cow, Master Pain changing his name to Betty, and plenty of great gags. The best is Wimp Lo who has been trained wrong by his master as a joke. His face to your fist style doesn’t seem to do him much good. Not all the jokes work, Ling’s annoying sounds battle with Betty is almost too annoying to watch, for example, but I laughed more than I groaned.

The whole movie is one big special effect (I think it actually set a new record). I mean it, nearly every shot has a composite of images, a CG cow or baby, a tongue with a face, or something else. To be so low budget and effects intensive they are not bad, but they don’t have the realism of movies like Star Wars.

I was impressed with the composer, Robert Folk. I would have expected stock music or, at best, passable synthesizer backgrounds. Instead the music is unique, creative, and good enough that I would consider buying the soundtrack if it were available. There are plenty of Matrix-style techno, classic rock, and Oriental influences, with some pop tunes like Black Betty and Baby Got Back thrown in for good measure.

The movie is so abnormal it’s hard to answer all the potential questions you may have. The acting doesn’t really apply since nearly every character is a project rather than one person’s ability. Just for the main characters it took 3 people to play Chosen One (Jimmy Wang Yu playing the original part, using the guy that plays Wimp Lo in a few scenes, with Steve being composited in and redubbing the voice), 4 people to play Ling, and a whopping 5 people to play Betty. The story is unimportant, character development not needed; the whole thing boils down to whether or not Steve can deliver a punchline.

I’ve been a fan of musical parodies since I was very young growing up with Weird Al. I’ve been a fan of his UHF movie, Spaceballs, and others and have been wanting a Martial Arts spoof since becoming such a big Jackie Chan fan. So I was predisposed to liking Kung Pow, which, by the way, I liked better the second time around. You need to keep that in mind when looking at my rating. If you dislike any of what I just named, you’re not likely to enjoy this movie.

Content:
There is a little bit of bad language, some unrealistic violence, and some sexual humor. Nothing real bad. However, at least one deleted scene is highly questionable. It alone had to be removed to lower the R rating. It’s a sexual joke in which Chosen One uses an unlikely appendage as a weapon.

DVD:
I got a lot more out of this DVD than I expected. There is more creativity just in the menu than some of the more popular movies have on the whole release. But I’m getting ahead of myself. We’ll start with the common stuff. The case is plastic although the window plastic on mine was wrinkled up badly. The sleeve is standard and the insert is a card with the chapters listed.

Since it is made primarily from an old movie and the rest was made to match, the video quality lacks. The audio is clean but there isn’t anything I thought was impressive from a surround sound viewpoint. The Cow scene is pretty good with stuff flying around and all.

The interface is fun. It’s hosted by a 2D Chosen One and Betty who talk to you and fight. They appear at various places throughout the DVD. Different menus have sound bites from the movie that are usually a crack-up.

Steve Oedekerk and Paul Marshal treat us to a commentary. It’s a good mix of comedy and actual information with a few annoying moments. Steve acts too hyper sometimes.

There are 2 other alternate audio tracks. One is called What Are They Really Saying. Kung Pow actually has 3 dialogue tracks, 1 from the original movie, 1 that is the new actors saying their lines on the set, and 1 that is the final dialogue replacement that you hear in the movie. What Are They Really Saying lets you here the 2 original audio tracks. It’s kind of interesting and occasionally funny, but unless you speak Cantonese you can’t understand the Chinese parts, and the original English dialogue is nonsensical.

The other track is the Book on Tape Version. It’s some guy that sounds like a Shakespearean actor reciting all the lines. Sounds odd, doesn’t it? I told you everything on the release was. There’s a really funny line if you listen all the way through the credits.

There are 21 Deleted and Alternate scenes. Some are great, some lame (thank goodness they were deleted!) They range from barely over 30 seconds to several minutes. There is probably close to 10 minutes of Chosen One being tortured by and battling Chew Fat Lip. You might want to note that one of these scenes (part 2 of CF Lip) was removed from the movie because it resulted in an R rating. One of the scenes is an Easter Egg accessed by going to the Special Features menu, highlighting More, and moving up.

The Cow Fight animatic is pretty good. It’s a cartoon version of the fight with a lot more stuff that didn’t make the cut.

There are 2 visual effects clips. They are before and after shots (such as a scene of Jimmy Wang Yu then the same scene with Steve). They are put together kind of like a music video, and are so good I would love to have had more. There is a humorous intro for the set.

There is a Behind the Scenes clip. It’s mostly a TV promo but is very funny.

There is a short clip of the Willy Dance outtakes. It’s funny, but maybe not for kids. Go to the Cut Scenes menu, highlight The Evil Council Loves Tacos, and move right.

There are 3 galleries: Film Frames (still shots from the movie), Cast (showing us most of the main characters), and Behind the Scenes (you know, behind the scenes type stuff). They all have captions and tend to be pretty funny. The problem is that when you get into a gallery there is no button to return, you have to use your DVD controls and will probably have to navigate back to view the next gallery.

Tonguey Scenes is a presentation of all the scenes Tonguey appears in. It’s OK, I guess, but it’s just repeated material.

There are 3 Fox promos. It looks like they were used during and after TV shows (one refers to Malcolm in the Middle being up next). They are short and silly, not all that funny so much as just… odd. (Ha! I bet you didn’t expect me to say that! Did you?)

There are some Press Notes if you feel like reading. They tell you all you could want to know about the movie.

A section of bios covers 5 people. They do not include a filmography as most do, but are fairly well written pieces about their subjects.

There is a very short clip from Thumb Wars. Just something to make you say, “Huh?”

There is a theatrical trailer and a preview of Super Troopers.

Finally to end it all, Chosen One and Betty in their 2D clipart forms deliver a farewell message to DVD viewers. I bet you can’t guess what I’m going to say about it. That’s right, it’s odd.

So there you have it. In the creativity department it gets a 5. Nothing is done in the standard ways. A lot of effort was put into creating entertaining menus, unique promos, and lots of extra scenes. Take away the comedy and the movie stinks real bad, a 2 at best, add the comedy back and it jumps up again. I know I’m in the minority of people that would give this movie a high rating, but this is one of my favorite movies to put in if I want some mindless comedy when my eyes are tired. I’ll doze on the couch while it plays which I can’t do as easily with deep or violent movies. So even though it’s a generous rating I give it 4* for pure entertainment and originality.

And remember…
“I'm bleeding, making me the victor.”


Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for Groups
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older