Beverly Hills Ninja (1997)

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

Director:

Dennis Dugan

Writers:

Mark Feldberg, Mitchell Klebanoff

Stars:

Chris Farley, Nicollette Sheridan, Robin Shou

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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 Tobin	...	Busboy (as Jason J. Tobin)
Richard Kline	...	Driver

Storyline

Following a ship wreck, a baby is rescued by a clan of Ninja warriors and raised by them as one of their own. But Haru, as he is called, never quite fits in, nor does he manage to make a worthy Ninja. However, the good-natured and persevering Haru, in his own bumbling way, and with some help from Gobei, manages to prove himself to be a winner in the end.

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Plot Keywords:

ninja | murder | ship wreck | japan | dragged by a car | 

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Taglines:

He put's the Mortal back in Kombat

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Genres:

Action | Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 January 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Le ninja de Beverly Hills

Filming Locations:

950 Mei Ling Way, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$18,967,251 (USA) (24 January 1997)

Gross:

$31,235,710 (USA) (13 June 1997)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Beverly Hills Ninja Productions, Motion Picture Corporation of America (MPCA)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to Bradley Jenkel, Farley demanded that Chris Rock co-star in the film and would not do the film without Rock.

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Goofs

When Haru shoots the spear into the room where Alison/Sally is tied up, the spear passes in front of her from her left to her right. When Haru is pulled through the same room by the rope attached to the spear's platform he passes in front of her from her right to her left.

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Quotes

[Sensei asks Gobei to be honest to him when asking about Haru]
Gobei: I love my little brother. His determination is like a tiger, swift as a...
Sensei: GOBEI.
Gobei: He's fat. He's a fool. He's an embarassment to all ninjas everywhere.

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Connections

References Driving Miss Daisy (1989)

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Soundtracks

"Kung Fu Dancing"
Written by Carl Douglas
Performed by Fun Thomas
Courtesy of Miami Records

User Reviews

Enter The Moron (this is a good review)

It's hard for me to review this movie without prejudice because to me, Chris Farley is the funniest person I have ever seen. Even though my adoration of the late comedian precludes me from giving a impartial rating of this movie, I can at least admit that this isn't one of his best efforts (I still loved this movie, it's just not my favourite Farley flick). Nevertheless, I'm going to take the easy way out and say: Come on, take it for what it is, a Chris Farley movie.

Farley plays Haru, an orphan adopted at birth by a clan of ninjas. He is raised under the pretenses that he is the Great White Ninja. Needless to say, his development is much anticipated by his teachers . Unfortunately, to the dismay of everyone, he grows up to be overweight and klutzy. While the ninja graduates are out celebrating, Haru finds himself alone at the retreat when a mysterious woman (Nicollette Sheridan) enters looking for help. Believing Haru to be a ninja, she hires him to spy on her boyfriend, an assignment he accepts with great enthusiasm. Hot on the boyfriend's trail, Haru witnesses a murder and eventually ends up in Beverly Hills. Surviving on dumb luck and a designated guardian ninja, Haru never gives up on his task.

Like I said before, this isn't Farley's greatest contribution to his comedic resume. But make no mistake, this is a funny movie. Farley's bread and butter is his propensity to bumble and stumble in any given situation - walking into poles, falling down stairs, crushing coffee tables, etc. Since his character is expected to be agile and sleek, the comedy in "Beverly Hills Ninja" is that much funnier. The exact same formula worked for Farley's SNL character Barney, the Chippendale's hopeful.

Many critics felt that, by this time, Farley was a one-trick-pony whose act had nothing more to offer than jokes involving head and groin injuries. Perhaps his choice in films were poor but to don't deny him the recognition of his talent is unfair. Watch the movie and you'll see Farley display all the qualities of a great comedian: intelligence, timing, pathos. He was a tremendous talent and I will miss him very much.