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9
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23
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34
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60
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41
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46
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78
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55
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66
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69
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58
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47
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33
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54
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67
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63
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86
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30
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83
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45
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96
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88
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71
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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
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86
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70
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26
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57
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45
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28
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58
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89
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66
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81
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63
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73
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xx
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74
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94
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29
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16
If One Thing Matters: A Film About Wolfgang Tillmans
75
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83
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61
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70
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46
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19
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66
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80
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xx
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59
More Than a Game
67
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34
Motherhood
62
My One and Only
xx
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48
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73
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Other Man, The
xx
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54
Paper Heart
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68
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68
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44
Peter and Vandy
35
Play the Game
77
Precious: Based on the Novel by Sapphire
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76
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79
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40
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89
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69
We Live in Public
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64
Where is Where?
xx
White on Rice
74
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69
World's Greatest Dad
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69
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You, the Living
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
Foot Fist Way, The

Generally favorable reviews
Based on 22 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 7 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Comedy
Written by:
Danny R. McBride
Jody Hill
Ben Best
Directed by: Jody Hill
Release Date:
Theatrical: May 30, 2008
Running Time: minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: R for strong language and some sexual content
Starring Danny R. McBride, Ben Best, and Jody Hill
The Foot Fist Way, an uproarious, full-contact comedy featuring one of this year’s least likely heroes, is the first project from Will Ferrell and Adam McKay’s Gary Sanchez Productions. Included in Ain’t It Cool News’ Top 10 Films of 2007, The Foot Fist Way became a sensation at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, as audiences fell in love with the seriously self-deluded Tae Kwon Do instructor Fred Simmons, who talks a big, macho game, but falls to pieces when his wife betrays him. (Paramount Vantage)
Also On Metacritic
FILM: Observe and Report
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
San Francisco Chronicle Peter Hartlaub
The result is a comedy that's low budget in all the right ways - so hilarious, testosterone-charged and yet cringe-inducing to watch that the result is almost exhausting.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Clark Collis
Not short on broad physical humor. But Simmons is a brilliantly detailed grotesque capable of withstanding comparison to his most obvious inspiration, Ricky Gervais' "Office" boss David Brent.
Read Full Review >Portland Oregonian Marc Mohan
The always thin tightrope between "laughing at" and "laughing with" is negotiated with success in the low-budget comedy The Foot Fist Way.
Read Full Review >Film Threat Eric Campos
This is a really small film, shot in 19 days, and it's a little rough around the edges, but it's got a huge comic heart that's undeniable.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Mark Olsen
It's all saved by actor Danny McBride, who has created such a distinctive character in Simmons, at once engaging and repulsive, that it's hard not to keep watching even while cringing.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Nathan Lee
An itsy-bitsy, ultra-indie, super-silly comedy packing huge laughs and unexpected heart.
Read Full Review >USA Today Claudia Puig
A refreshingly silly and clever portrait of a strikingly daft and clueless man.
Read Full Review >New York Post Kyle Smith
The movie is so heavily weighted toward the Simmons character that no one else really gets to breathe. And though McBride's shtick is brilliant - he could get rich by playing variations on this character for the next few years, and probably will.
Read Full Review >Rolling Stone Peter Travers
This hilarious, high-kicking nonsense cost two cents and looks it -- hell, it was shot in 19 days, but you'll laugh helplessly anyway.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader J.R. Jones
It plays exactly like a Will Ferrell comedy, but better, because Ferrell's not in it.
Read Full Review >Variety John Anderson
The character of Fred Simmons is a Cliff Clavin-esque sensei deluxe in The Foot Fist Way, a low-budget, low-flying farce a la "Napoleon Dynamite" or "Jackass: The Movie."
Read Full Review >Village Voice Robert Wilonsky
Truthfully, The Foot Fist Way is no different from an episode of "Curb Your Enthusiasm": This is irritainment, something you snicker at while covering your eyes, praying that this guy never gets loose in the real world, when, in fact, he's your next-door neighbor. Or you.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
This scrappy, ultra-low budget comedy, made in 19 days for $70,000 by North Carolina School of the Arts graduates Jody Hill, Danny McBride and Ben Best, comes with its own Cinderella tale: It debuted at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival but failed to find distribution until comedian Will Ferrell and his business partner, Adam McKay, championed it.
Read Full Review >Miami Herald Connie Ogle
It's more amusing than not, but some scenes outlast the humor in them.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman
There are enough droll moments to spark cult status, and McBride's commitment is impressive.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Keith Phipps
Trouble is, the gags just keep finding new ways to make McBride's strip-mall sensei seem pathetic, and the few scattered laughs never justify the cruelty.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
Children should not be allowed within a mile of this film, but it will appeal to "Jackass" fans and other devotees of the joyously ignorant.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Ty Burr
The film itself suggests a sketch video on Ferrell and McKay's "Funny or Die" website, padded out to the dimensions of a character comedy.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov
By the time Foot Fist limps to its ultimate fighting climax, you'll likely wish you had double-teamed "Game of Death" and "Waiting for Guffman" instead.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips
Staggers and wanders and feels far longer than its 85 minutes, and it's best considered a calling card for better things to come.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Gabe Oppenheim
Fails to generate a real plot, and the awkward moments work better in a context of adolescence. Quirk isn't funny when accompanied by adultery and brutality -- though a couple of lines zing.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 7.2 (out of 10) based on 7 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Art B. gave it a10:
This movie was hilarious! I watched it again after just seeing it.
Jay H. gave it a6:
It hits the mark more than it misses it, and Danny Mc Bride is terrific and has the character down pat. It has some really funny moments but it does wear thin after awhile.
C.B. gave it a7:
For the most part, it's a bad, poorly made movie. But Danny McBride is fantastic. This will be a cult classic, and people will be repeating his lines for years to come...
Steve S. gave it an8:
I enjoyed this movie, though you have to be able to empathize with a protagonist who is kind of a jerk.
