The Last Dragon (1985)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Michael Schultz

Writer:

Louis Venosta (writer)

Release Date:

22 March 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Drama | Music

Tagline:

He's a martial arts master who refuses to fight. He's a Bruce Lee fan who's so sure he's Oriental that he eats popcorn with chopsticks. his friends think he's too serious. His family thinks he's crazy. His enemies think he's no challenges. But she knows he's THE LAST DRAGON.

Plot:

A young man searches for the "master" to obtain the final level of martial arts mastery known as the glow...

Plot Keywords:

Martial Arts | Kung Fu Classic | Pizzeria | Warrior | Movie Theater

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 2 nominations

Cast

Taimak	...	Leroy Green
Vanity	...	Laura Charles
Christopher Murney	...	Eddie Arkadian
Julius Carry	...	Sho'nuff / The Shogun of Harlem (as Julius J. Carry III)
Faith Prince	...	Angela Viracco
Leo O'Brien	...	Richie Green
Mike Starr	...	Rock
Jim Moody	...	Daddy Green
Glen Eaton	...	Johnny Yu
Ernie Reyes Jr.	...	Tai
Roger Campbell	...	Announcer
Esther Marrow	...	Mama Green
Keshia Knight Pulliam	...	Sophie Green (as Keshia Knight)
Jamal Mason	...	Roy
B.J. Barie	...	Jackie

Also Known As:

Berry Gordy's The Last Dragon

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:12 | South Korea:15 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (cut) | USA:PG-13 | Netherlands:AL

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Delphi III Productions

Trivia:

Under pressure from the studio, in an effort to cut two million dollars out of the budget, director Michael Schultz and screenwriter Louis Venosta sat up in a hotel room all night rewriting the script. When Venosta fell asleep on the hotel bed, Schultz decided to delete 40 pages of the script. When Venosta awoke that morning, the pair spent the day recreating that material.

Quotes:

[during the fight in the movie theatre]
Transvestite: Don't hurt that face, baby!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Venture Bros.: Assassinanny 911 (#2.3)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Inside You

When I say "Who's the master?" - you say... Sho Nuff!

It is in Julius Carry's 'Sho Nuff' character that The Last Dragon finds its biggest laughs. Here is a towering, mean, cartoon character come to life. Better yet is the fact that Carry, spouting lines that would make even the most jaded comedy fan laugh, plays the material 100% straight, as do the rest of the cast in their respective parts.

The Last Dragon is an action/kung fu/comedy film that knows it's a farce but at the same time has the characters play everything dead straight. This works because we laugh at the outlandish plot and characters who, behind the fourth wall, would probably get along well with inmates at an insane asylum.

Tiamak stars as Leroy "Bruce Leroy" Green, a quiet, timid martial artist obsessed with Bruce Lee pictures and obtaining a special level called The Glow, where his spirit takes over the mind's job, in turn creating an awesome force to be reckoned with. But Leroy believes not in using his martial arts for fighting, but for inner peace and strength. And then there's Sho Nuff, the self-proclaimed Shogun of Harlem, who towers over nearly everyone at about 6 feet 5 inches, has wild, afro-like hair, and wears ungodly clothing one might find if MC Hammer invaded a sports store.

Sho Nuff's favorite past times are wandering into packed movie theatres and challenging people to deadly duels because, well, he is just a weird guy, who has an even weirder posse to back him up and to lick his boots at every other step.

Naturally, Sho Nuff has wanted to fight Leroy for some time, and there are several moments in the film where he attempts to gain a rise out of the young martial artist but with no luck. Throw into this mix a night club VJ, a crooked mafia-type with Cyndi Lauper's cousin for a girlfriend, and you've got the makings of an `80s classic.

I love this movie. Tiamak is perfect in the lead as Leroy because he always looks as if he's about to break into a fit of child-like giggles. Vanity is Vanity. Blah. And Leroy's friend, Johnny Yu (Glen Eaton), nearly steals the movie as a martial arts student whose theory of fighting has to be heard for a laugh. But alas, it's Sho Nuff who steals the entire movie. When he's on screen, you can't help but laugh, despite the character playing EVERYTHING straight, and you gaze forth in wonderment - thinking to yourself that maybe beneath that hulking, cartoonish exterior, Carry was laughing inside but never let it show on the outside. Good acting there.

It's silly, over-the-top, jam-packed with `80s nostalgia, and is, above all, very entertaining, with an exciting climax and a wonderful showdown between Sho Nuff and Leroy...

Do I recommend the movie? Sho Nuff!