Beverly Hills Ninja (1997)

User Rating:

4.9/10   

Director:

Dennis Dugan

Writers (WGA):

Mark Feldberg (written by) &
Mitchell Klebanoff (written by)

Release Date:

17 January 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy

Tagline:

Kung fool!

Plot:

An unlikely man raised by ninjas, goes against a counterfeiter with the help of the criminal's girlfriend.

Plot Keywords:

Ninja | Damsel In Distress | Beverly Hills California | Martial Arts | Bikini Girls

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Chris Farley	...	Haru
Nicollette Sheridan	...	Allison Page / Sally Jones
Robin Shou	...	Gobei
Nathaniel Parker	...	Martin Tanley
Soon-Tek Oh	...	Sensei
Keith Cooke	...	Nobu (as Keith Cooke Hirabayashi)
Chris Rock	...	Joey
François Chau	...	Izumo
Dale Ishimoto	...	Old Japanese Man
Daming Chen	...	Head Kobudosai
Burt Bulos	...	Mr. Ozaru
Curtis Blanck	...	Billy
Tom Bailey	...	Billy's Dad
Jason J. Tobin	...	Busboy
Richard Kline	...	Driver

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sex related humor, martial arts violence and a humerous drug related scene.

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS

Certification:

Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Netherlands:12 | Netherlands:AL (DVD rating) | South Korea:All | Argentina:Atp | Germany:12 | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:7 | Sweden:11 | UK:12 (cut) | USA:PG-13 (certificate #34329) | Singapore:PG | Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

Beverly Hills, California, USA

Company:

Beverly Hills Ninja Productions

Trivia:

According to an A&E biography, Chris Farley hated the film upon seeing it for the very first time and told his agent that he never wanted to do such a film again. Farley's stance was justified as it arguably attributed to the exploitation of his manic, physical humor by dumbing it down and playing it out to an almost tiring and foolish degree.

Goofs:

Continuity: After explaining to Joey about how "black his belt is", the swords disappear from Haru's hands.

Quotes:

Haru: Oh I see you got the R2347ST Printing press. This thing came out the same time I was printing leaflets for the Shave the Whales Foundation.
Martin Tanley: You mean Save the Whales.
Haru: Oh is that what you did with them, maybe it was starve the whales, starve the whales.

Movie Connections:

References Better Off Dead... (1985)

Soundtrack:

Give Me All Your Lovin'

Gets Better Every Time I See It.

Please forgive the length of this first paragraph, but it is needed to explain my opinion of this film. I never saw this film in the theater; it looked a little silly to me. One day a few months later it came on pay-per-view. Due to a technical glitch the cable company unscrambled the pay-per-view channels all day long. It also happened to be raining and generally miserable out, so my buddies and I decided to watch this movie. We had three pay-per-view channels, and one of the channels showed a single movie all day long. Guess which movie it was.

The first time we watched it, we thought it was goofy, even stupid, and didn't really care for it. However like many teens, we mindlessly watched it again . . . and again . . . and again. We watched this film all day. "Why?" you ask; because it truly gets better every time you watch it, unlike other Chris Farley movies.

I think the reason is because this is a stupid film, and when you first watch it, you're too smart for it. Eventually though the IQ points seep out of your head, and you're able to fully enjoy this great movie.

The bottom line: Watch this film at least 5 times, but not necessarily back-to-back. It will grow on you. Even if you don't like Farley, watch this film for Chris Rock. Rock's performance is perfect, despite being too small of a role. Farley's performance is perfect as the bumbling but good-hearted "Great White Ninja." Even the chicken's performance is perfect. If you find the concept of a fat, white ninja involved in an Asian gang war mildly provocative, check your brain at the door and enjoy.