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The Foot Fist Way

A looser, less elegant translation

By BRETT MICHEL | June 4, 2008

2.0 Stars

The Foot Fist Way

Tae kwon do, the Korean martial art loosely translated as “the way of the foot and the fist,” is kicked and punched into an even looser, less elegant translation in director/co-writer/actor Jody Hill’s film, a mean-spirited, scrappy tragicomedy that was shot in 19 days –– and looks it. Still, the presentation fits Fred Simmons (Danny R. McBride), a strip-mall sensei who’s dealt a one-two blow when his loose, less-than-elegant wife (Mary Jane Bostic) cheats on him not once but twice. Despite preaching the tenets of courtesy, self-control, perseverance, integrity, and indomitable spirit (the film’s loosely connected vignettes adopt these principles as title cards), Simmons doesn’t heed his own lessons, least of all when he’s threatening to “shoot my wife’s tits off with a shotgun.” With appearances in the upcoming Pineapple Express and Tropic Thunder, McBride is on a winning streak, but here his loathsome loser might just leave you feeling foot-fisted. 87 minutes | Kendall Square

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