Sidekicks (1992)

Barry is an asthmatic kid having trouble in life. He lives with his father, a computer programmer, in Texas. Barry is struggling to get by in life, dealing with his rough school life, ... See full summary »

Director:

Aaron Norris

Writers:

Lou Illar (story), Galen Thompson (screenplay),

Stars:

Beau Bridges, Jonathan Brandis, Mako

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Beau Bridges	...	Jerry Gabrewski
Jonathan Brandis	...	Barry Gabrewski
Mako	...	Mr. Lee
Julia Nickson	...	Noreen Chan (as Julia Nickson-Soul)
Joe Piscopo	...	Kelly Stone
Danica McKellar	...	Lauren
John Buchanan	...	Randy Cellini
Richard Moll	...	Horn
Gerrit Graham	...	Mapes
Dennis Burkley	...	Hank
Chuck Norris	...	Chuck Norris
Dennis Letts	...	Man with Dog
Christy Martin	...	Female Student
David Born	...	Businessman
Lawrence Joe	...	Old Chinese Man

Storyline

Barry is an asthmatic kid having trouble in life. He lives with his father, a computer programmer, in Texas. Barry is struggling to get by in life, dealing with his rough school life, bullies, as well as his health. Barry's only source of enjoyment is fantasizing that he is with Chuck Norris. Barry becomes sick of getting picked on by the bigger guys, and decides to learn karate, in hopes of one day meeting the great Chuck Norris.

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Plot Keywords:

karate | computer | bully | tournament | reverse footage | 

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Taglines:

A dreamer and a champion. An unbeatable team...Until his hero stepped out of his fantasies to fight at his side.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild violence and some language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 April 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

A bajnok és a kölyök

Filming Locations:

Houston, Texas, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$17,180,393 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gallery Films, Vision PDG

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Film House)

Did You Know?

Trivia

Alan Silvestri who wrote the music for the film, also scored Chuck Norris hit film, The Delta Force. The music for that film was primarily done on a Synclavier synthesizer which is what Silvestri also used for this film as well.

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Goofs

During the tie breaker part of the competition, when Randy is doing his second break, he asks for another brick. The announcer states that he is attempting a record breaking 9 bricks, but in the original breaking competition, Mr. Lee asked for started with 8 bricks, then asked for a 9th to be added, and when he breaks the bricks, there are actually 10 bricks in his stack. This should have been a record.

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Quotes

Barry: Nobody likes me. Why would he?

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Connections

Features Lone Wolf McQuade (1983)

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Soundtracks

"In the Hall of the Mountain King"
(uncredited)
Music by Edvard Grieg
Heard during one of the daydreams.

User Reviews

Good, undemanding fun for Norris fans

Sidekicks is a pretty entertaining little film about a young, asthmatic boy who, in his imagination, is the sidekick to his hero, Chuck Norris. Barry, the kid (Brandis) is taught martial arts by his teacher's uncle (Mako). The story culminates with an exciting martial arts exhibition where Barry meets his idol, Chuck Norris, who agrees to help the boy in the competition.

A wish-fullfilment movie in the juvenile sense. Although Chuck has definitely had his day, the idea of meeting and being helped by your fantasy hero, is good fodder for a kids film like this. Some people will probably quibble at the occasional silliness (Richard Moll's ridiculous gym teacher, and Piscopo's over-the-top bad guy karate teacher, to name a few), as well as the obvious self-promotion for Chuck Norris, but I think that the fantasy of the film will work itself over it's intended audience, who should enjoy this little treat of a movie.