The Foot Fist WayMovie Reviews

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Avg. Critic Score: 63 out of 100 Generally favorable reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
15 Iffy for 15+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 100
    San Francisco Chronicle | Peter Hartlaub

    The result is a comedy that's low budget in all the right ways - so hilarious, testosterone-charged and yet cringe-inducing to watch that the result is almost exhausting. Read full review

  • 91
    Entertainment Weekly |

    Not short on broad physical humor. But Simmons is a brilliantly detailed grotesque capable of withstanding comparison to his most obvious inspiration, Ricky Gervais' "Office" boss David Brent. Read full review

  • 80
    Los Angeles Times |

    It's all saved by actor Danny McBride, who has created such a distinctive character in Simmons, at once engaging and repulsive, that it's hard not to keep watching even while cringing. Read full review

  • 80
    The New York Times | Nathan Lee

    An itsy-bitsy, ultra-indie, super-silly comedy packing huge laughs and unexpected heart. Read full review

  • 75
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    A refreshingly silly and clever portrait of a strikingly daft and clueless man. Read full review

  • 75
    Rolling Stone | Peter Travers

    This hilarious, high-kicking nonsense cost two cents and looks it -- hell, it was shot in 19 days, but you'll laugh helplessly anyway. Read full review

  • 70
    Variety |

    The character of Fred Simmons is a Cliff Clavin-esque sensei deluxe in The Foot Fist Way, a low-budget, low-flying farce a la "Napoleon Dynamite" or "Jackass: The Movie." Read full review

  • 50
    Boston Globe | Ty Burr

    The film itself suggests a sketch video on Ferrell and McKay's "Funny or Die" website, padded out to the dimensions of a character comedy. Read full review

  • 50
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    Children should not be allowed within a mile of this film, but it will appeal to "Jackass" fans and other devotees of the joyously ignorant. Read full review

  • 30
    Washington Post |

    Fails to generate a real plot, and the awkward moments work better in a context of adolescence. Quirk isn't funny when accompanied by adultery and brutality -- though a couple of lines zing. Read full review

View more reviews for The Foot Fist Way on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says Iffy for 15+ Martial arts "comedy" is crude, mean and unfunny.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that while this low-budget indie comedy is being extensively promoted and pushed by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay (Anchorman, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby), they aren't actually involved in it -- they're just fans. But, like many of the movies they have been involved with, there's extensive, coarse sexual content (implied oral sex, lots of sexual language); broad, slapstick-variety violence (here, mostly in the form of different kinds of fights and beatings); and plenty of swearing and drinking. What's more, main character Fred isn't very sympathetic; he's a bully and a blowhard and a bore, and his unearned arrogance and condescension are creepy, not comedic. The film also has a sneering tone that's hard to shake.
  • Families can talk about why people want to see this movie -- is it because of the movie itself or because Will Ferrell says it's funny? Why is his opinion so influential? Families can also discuss the nature of teaching. Just because someone is in a position of authority, does that mean they deserve that authority or will exercise it wisely? Can you think of examples of good and bad teachers in movies?
The good stuff
  • message true0 Positive messages: The characters are uniformly deluded, self-centered, and foolish -- no role models here. A Hollywood action star acts like a jerk in general, and even main character Fred is a bit of a bully and a blowhard. There's also a shattered marriage, including infidelity and mismatched training fights.
What to watch for
  • violence false3 Violence: Fighting both within the setting of a martial arts studio and beyond it; scuffling, tussling, and "wrassling" characters are severely beaten or administer severe beatings; mismatched training bouts between adults and children -- as well as between fit adults and older adults -- are presented as comedic.
  • sex false3 Sex: Constant sexual language (including "whore," "gang-rape," "hand job," and more); implied oral sex; two characters are seen having sex (while fully clothed).
  • language false5 Language: Constant sexually suggestive language, including "whore," "hand job," "nuts," "butt-f--k," "gang rape," and "screwing." Also "f--k," "piss," "s--t," "nuts," "suck," "retard" (used as an insult), and more.
  • consumerism false0 Consumerism: No brands (except a fictional fish restaurant) mentioned by name.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false3 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Alcohol is consumed extensively, frequently to excess.
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

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