DVD Pick: Balls of Fury

Normally, I'm not big on "spoof" comedies... however, that's usually because I didn't care enough to see the thing(s) being spoofed, and the spoof is done in a rush, while the spoofed bits are still current in the minds of the viewing public. Balls of Fury can't be accused of rushing things, as it's loosely based mainly on a couple of old Bruce Lee films... and some care went into making it too, from what I can tell. The timing of gags, in particular, is very well polished.

Mind you, it's not The Kentucky Fried Movie (which, if you haven't seen it, and are old enough to get some '70s references, you definitely should), but it is a fun little film. I won't go into great detail, since some of the jokes really need the set-up beforehand for full effect... but, between the "training" sequences, the various opponents, Christopher Walken as Feng, and Feng's "courtesans", it all just flows and works, with several laugh-out-loud points. What more can one ask of a comedy?

Oh, and as a side note, one added advantage of the DVD version... if you watch through the trailers at the start of the DVD, the last ad they throw up is shilling for HD-DVD... something that, so soon after the "victory" of BluRay in the high def format wars, is pretty amusing, supposing you weren't one of those silly "early adopters"... :)