Underdog Kids (2015)

Inner city kids from a poor neighborhood go up against the undefeated Beverly Hills Junior National Karate Team.

Director:

Phillip Rhee

Writer:

Phillip Rhee

Stars:

Phillip Rhee, Mirelly Taylor, Max Gail

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Phillip Rhee	...	Jimmy 'The Lightning Bolt'
Mirelly Taylor	...	Valerie Cruz
Max Gail	...	Charlie
Adam Irigoyen	...	Wyatt
Ryan Potter	...	Eric
Ted McGinley	...	Mr. Hershfeld
Lauren Bowles	...	Mrs. Jones
Ellia English	...	Big Mama
Cade Sutton	...	Raymond
Nicolas Bechtel	...	Sean
Rayna Vallandingham	...	Leticia
Lorenz Arnell	...	Rasheed
Aidan Considine	...	Alex
Andrew Franklin	...	Ricky
Sebastian Saraceno	...	Big Guy

Storyline

Jimmy "The Lightning Bolt" Lee is a former mixed martial arts champion who returns home and is asked by his father figure, Charlie, to teach a group of inner city kids martial arts in preparation for a tournament. The reigning junior national champions, the Beverly Hills Scorpions, are coached by the very cocky and arrogant Ted Barret, who is a former rival of Jimmy's. With help from local food truck vendor Big Mama, Jimmy's team becomes the Underdogs. As the Underdogs prepare for the big tournament, both the kids and Jimmy learn some lessons from each other that will make their bond stronger as they prepare for a showdown with the Scorpions.

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Taglines:

Never give up!

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Genres:

Action | Family

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some violence and sports action, thematic elements and rude humor

Details

Official Sites:

Underdogs the movie official Facebook Page

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 July 2015 (USA)

Also Known As:

Underdogs

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Group Hug Productions,Itsy Bitsy Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Phillip Rhee's first film in seventeen years.

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Quotes

Jimmy 'The Lightning Bolt' Lee: Now, who are we?
Sean Michaels: Weenies!
Wyatt Jones: See?
Alex Michaels: [to Sean] That's Underdogs!
Sean Michaels: Aw, pickles!

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Soundtracks

Lyrical Sobriety
By Tim McMorris

User Reviews

Better Message Than Most Movies Of The Same Category

I just finished watching this movie. I saw it On-Demand, as people who rent movies whether from Netflix, RedBox, or On-Demand probably notice how there are movies they haven't heard of that haven't made a theatrical release. There are also a lot of kids movies you can find when renting movies that you haven't heard of. Despite being an adult, I think it's good to watch kid movies, as I think it keeps the kid inside of you and allows you to keep up with younger kids when you're around them. Sometimes, you wish you could go back to being a kid again.

This movie seems to have a familiar theme we've seen in lots of sports movies for kids. A movie that deals with a group of kids who are seen as misfits/losers. So, a losing team where someone or something helps a losing team become a winning team. Those movies are frequently comedies and also cheesy. Well, this movie definitely has comedy in it, as you'll definitely laugh if you watch this movie. This movie also has cheesy scenes. So, despite the cheesiness that can make it more of a kids film, this movie was a great movie with a real message.

So, you can ask if this movie falls in the same category as other movies we might have seen when we were kids, what makes it different and why is the message in this movie more meaningful than the message they'd give in other movies like these? Well, in this movie there seems to be a different sport than most other movies in the same category. The sport in this movie, obviously is Karate. I think it's entertaining seeing martial arts in action, some of the scenes seemed reminiscent of scenes from the 2010 movie, Karate Kid with Jaden Smith.

Now, about the message and why the message was more meaningful. The message definitely left me as an adult feeling good, and was definitely a meaningful message. Rather than a movie dealing with coaching a team from the suburbs, this movie deals with coaching inner-city kids in a poorer section of the city. We don't hear those kids saying profanity which keeps it kid friendly, and PG appropriate. It seems like PG movies used to have more profanity, like in the '80s than they do now. In this movie, they say words like dang and heck. So, despite not hearing heavy profanity from these kids and not dealing with drugs, alcohol, or sex, obviously to keep it PG appropriate and kid friendly, we see other inner-city issues from the characters in this movie. We see how their coach responds to a lot of their troubles which can be great lessons and responses for not just them, but everybody. It leaves us with lessons that we did not decide the color of our skin we'd be born into, or the background we come from. But, what matters is how we see ourselves, and what we make of ourselves.

I only recognized one of the actors in this movie. That actor was Nicholas Bechtel that plays Sean in this movie, and who plays a character named Spencer Cassadine in ABC's Soap Opera, General Hospital. It's nice to see actors you recognize play roles in other movies. He was great in this movie!!

Another cool thing about the movie was the way certain scenes were done. Sometimes, movies seem to choreograph certain scenes to make them exciting for the viewers. Scenes that focus on the visuals, and music where the voices might even be muted. Those scenes in this movie were really cool, especially for a kids movie.

Now, you might see bad reviews from this movie along with good reviews too, like mine. However, I'd definitely recommend this movie if you like kids movies, and if you like sports movies. If you want to show your kids a movie, then I'm sure they'd like this. But, I'd also recommend it for you as I think the messages this movie leaves us with, are powerful messages even for adults!! I'm sure the messages this movie leaves you with will make you feel happy at the end.