The Golden Child (1986)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Director:

Michael Ritchie

Writer:

Dennis Feldman (written by)

Release Date:

12 December 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Fantasy | Mystery

Tagline:

Eddie Murphy Is The Chosen One

Plot:

A private detective specializing in missing children is charged with the task of finding a special child that dark forces want to eliminate.

Plot Keywords:

Demon | Detective | Chosen One | Mysticism | Young Boy

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

J.L. Reate	...	The Golden Child
Eddie Murphy	...	Chandler Jarrell
Charles Dance	...	Sardo Numspa
Charlotte Lewis	...	Kee Nang
Victor Wong	...	The Old Man
Randall 'Tex' Cobb	...	Til
James Hong	...	Doctor Hong
Shakti Chen	...	Kala (as Shakti)
Tau Logo	...	Yu
Tiger Chung Lee	...	Khan
Pons Maar	...	Fu
Peter Kwong	...	Tommy Tong
Wally Taylor	...	Detective Boggs
Eric Douglas	...	Yellow Dragon
Charles Levin	...	TV Host

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:PG (TV rating) | Netherlands:12 | Iceland:14 | South Korea:15 | Australia:M | Finland:K-14 | Ireland:12 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:PG-13 | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Eddie Murphy Productions

Trivia:

Originally intended as a serious adventure drama with Mel Gibson in the lead role. After Gibson turned the film down and Eddie Murphy replaced him, the script was rewritten as a partial comedy.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Chandler and Kee Nang are ambushed at home after bringing the dagger back to America, Kee Nang twice utilizes a series of backward handsprings (once for evasion, and once for the protection of Chandler.) The first time, a white leotard is visible beneath her blue nightshirt; the second time, a pair of white bikini briefs are seen.

Quotes:

Kee Nang: Gompa, I have ruined myself with the American. He is a fool.
The Old Man: But he's brave.
Kee Nang: He is irresponsible.
The Old Man: But he's generous.
Kee Nang: He thinks of nothing but protecting his own feelings.
The Old Man: But if you touch his heart, there's nothing he wouldn't do for you.
Kee Nang: He believes in nothing.
The Old Man: Yet, still he does what is right.
Kee Nang: He is a callous, thoughtless, undisciplined fool.
The Old Man: [chuckles] Yes. I, too, like him very much. It's very hard not to.

Movie Connections:

References "Finder of Lost Loves" (1984)

Soundtrack:

ANOTHER DAY'S LIFE

Wonderful Film and so very underrated!

I loved this movie. I totally disagree with some (negative) critiques that I've read over the years. This was a great vehicle for Eddie Murphy! He appeared to have a great time with his part as Chandler Jarrell and he should never care about what the critics say, if he had fun doing it – and most of his audience enjoyed it! And, it WAS fun to watch as it combined some great fantasy tension with Mr. Murphy's great comedic style. You have to keep in mind that 'Golden Child' is a 'fantasy' film – just an imaginative work of magic and wonder amidst the 'real' world. During the time this film was released, I was working in a video rental store. This was one of the most popular with all our customers. Every single time, we put this one up on our monitor, ALL the copies we had went out fast with wait-list requests that kept it on the queue for months! Everyone who rented it loved it! I was the resident film critic and all my regular customers would ask my opinion before they rented – this was one of my favorites and I knew the taste of my customers so I highly recommended this one to most of them. I really feel that this film is a Sleeper – it may not have done too well at the box office – due to very poor marketing – but it hit a high in the video rental and purchase market later! (YES, I did buy this film for my own video library!). I adored the little boy who played the 'Golden Child' – J. L. Reate - but after looking at his profile in IMDb, I noticed that he never did any more films. That is sad, because he definitely had an on-screen aura and could have continued with a film career. I also adored Victor Wong, who played the Old Man (I LOVED him in his part as 'Egg Shen' in 'Big Trouble in Little China' - 1986). At any rate, this was a great film. The only drawbacks that didn't seem to fit with the theme were some of the parts that got a bit more 'adult' in nature – such as 'Chandler's rather sexual remarks about the serpent lady that was presented to him as a silhouette. It was funny, but it still was out of sync. OK, so there were a few suggestive gratuitous scenes – those were put in for the mind-set of the day perhaps. This was still an adventurous and escapist type of film which we do need today to get away from all the hard core reality and depressing fluff that we are hit with from Hollywood. Now that's Entertainment!