Beverly Hills Ninja (1997)

A man tries to rescue a woman with a little help from his half brother.

Director:

Dennis Dugan

Writers:

Mark Feldberg, Mitchell Klebanoff (as Mitch 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:

slowness | ninja | ship wreck | murder | japan | 

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Taglines:

He puts 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

Budget:

$18,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$12,220,920, 20 January 1997

Gross USA:

$31,235,710, 15 June 1997

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$37,639,029, 31 December 1997

Company Credits

Production Co:

3 Arts Entertainment, 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:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film has multiple connections to the Mortal Kombat films: -Robin Shou, who plays Gobei in this film, portrayed Liu Kang in Mortal Kombat (1995) and Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997). -Keith Cooke, who plays Nobu in this film, portrayed Reptile in Mortal Kombat (1995) and Sub-Zero in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997). -Both this and the Mortal Kombat films feature music composed by George S. Clinton. -Even the trailer features a voiceover tagline of "they put the Mortal back in Kombat".

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Goofs

After Haru and Allison leave the restaurant they return to the Hotel. Haru takes his shoes off and is wearing black socks. In the next shot they enter his hotel room and he has white socks on.

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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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Alternate Versions

The British Board of Film Classification removed 16s of nunchaku footage for the UK release.

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Connections

Referenced in Bad Movie Beatdown: The Haunted Mansion (2010)

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Soundtracks

Turning Japanese
Written by David Fenton (as David Vinten Fenton)
Performed by The Hazies
Courtesy of EMI Records

User Reviews

Very Funny

The kind of film which throws jokes at you by the second in the hope that some will stick, this film is funny make no mistake. Chris Farley had his 'bumbling fat bloke' routine down to a tee after excursions in Tommy Boy, Black Sheep and Airheads and this is same type of daft humour. Not brilliant by any means but is worth watching for a giggle if you can find the time.