The Foot Fist Way confuses me. Let me just get that out on the table now. It joins a very short list of films that I really wasn’t sure how I felt about when I walked out of the theater. Honestly, several days later, I’m still not sure on this one.

The film is about Fred Simmons. He’s a former national champion in Tae Kwon Do who now finds himself teaching kids and middle-aged housewives in a strip mall dojo. He hero worships a B-movie action star named Chuck “The Truck” Wallace. He’s married to a woman that has a problem being faithful.

Simmons tries to project the image of a strong, tough man but when things start to go wrong in his life he falls apart. With a little help from his students and his friend and fellow martial artist Mike McAllister, Fred confronts his demons. With that, the stage is set for a final confrontation that will prove once and for all if he’s capable of being the man he wants to be.

More than likely the only person you’re going to recognize in The Foot Fist Way is Danny R. McBride, who plays Fred Simmons. I first noticed him in Hot Rod and enjoyed his performance there. He’s joined by Ben Best and Jody Hill as Chuck the Truck and Mike McAllister, respectively. Together the three also wrote the screenplay with Hill producing and directing as well.

Much ado has been made of Will Ferrell and Adam McKay attaching their names to the project, but let’s be clear that they’re promoting and distributing the film. The actual creation of The Foot Fist Way was very much an independent project of McBride, Best, and Hill. Financed on a shoe-string with personal credit cards and shot in just nineteen days, it’s the epitome of guerilla filmmaking.

Those humble origins do show, however, in uneven production quality. At times I found myself wondering if somehow I was watching a feature-length YouTube video projected on the big screen. The Foot Fist Way is also one of the shortest movies I can remember seeing in recent times, with a running time of just 85 minutes… and that’s if you sit through the credits at the end.

On the other hand, I laughed out loud frequently. There is a certain appeal in its quirky, offbeat—and often cringe-worthy—humor that I can appreciate. I just wish the ending had been a little stronger. This is one film that could have benefitted from a longer running time in order to devote the space for a grander finale. It will be interesting to see what these three can do with a bigger budget and more time to fully develop a film.

I realize that’s sort of a tepid recommendation. Like I said, I’m still wavering on this one myself. For moviegoers that like their humor dry and a little strange, you may find that The Foot Fist Way provides enough entertainment to be worth watching. And if you don’t like it? Well, at least it’s mercifully brief.

The Foot Fist Way is rated R for “strong language and some sexual content.” Simmons does like to use foul language to emphasize a point and there are a few sexually suggestive scenes. I would also say that many of the topics in the film are generally unsuitable for young children.

Courtesy of local publicist, Michael attended a press screening of The Foot Fist Way.