Waxing On About Karate Kid

I've mentioned before that I am a fan of the movie deals on iTunes. They offer bundles from time to time where you can get several movies for pretty cheap. Most recently I found a bundle of all 3 Karate Kid movies for $12. I couldn't resist.


The Karate Kid movies are described as: "martial arts romantic drama films." So specific! It's so much fun (and sometimes a little sad) to go back and watch movies from childhood. Here are my thoughts, 20 plus years after watching them the first time around.


Acting:
Ralph Macchio was way too skinny. His acting was pretty bad too. I'm not sure how he landed that role, but I'm pretty sure I understand why he didn't really land any other major parts. Get this though, he was 23 in the first movie and 28 when the last movie was made! He looks 12 in all of them! 

how cute is elisabeth shue!

Part of the fun of the trilogy is the 3 different girls Daniel "falls" for. I kind of love that they are different in every movie because it rings true to relationships at that age. Elisabeth Shue is by far my favorite of Daniel's girlfriends, because she's Elisabeth Shue! (Sidenote: Blog coming soon juxtaposing Elisabeth Shue and Elizabeth Banks.)

Robyn looks like THE poster child for the late 80's here. 

But watching the third one, made me remember Robyn Lively! Does anyone remember her? I loved her red hair and slightly raspy voice! I thought she would end up a lot more famous than she did. She was in some of my favorite movies and TV from that time! Not Quite Human, Wildcats, and Teen Witch to name a few! She dropped off my radar and became one of those prime-time guests moving through the line ups as a victim here or a patient there. BUT when I looked at her profile, I was surprised to see that she is TOTALLY in a 30 Rock episode. (Reunion, 2008) AND...her half sister is Blake Lively AND she's married to Troy Bolton's dad (Coach!) from High School Musical. Um...Mind Blown. Also, bless her, she dated Neil Patrick Harris for a year or so. It's okay, Robyn...it's a rite of passage. 


Pat Morita is amazing in these movies. He has the best one-liners and the most real emotion behind his eyes. ESPECIALLY in the second movie, which is by far the best one of the three. 


The bullies are all the same in each movie. No mercy, all ego. It gets old, but it works. 

It turns out that her hair is blowing in her face the ENTIRE movie. Poor girl.

Cheese Factor:
The movies are so full of choreographed fights that I was amazed at how fake they all looked. And they were so short. I could have sworn that the training montages were longer and so were the fights. It's not like that though, which is really disappointing.


Daniel is not that bright. His voice sounds a little stupid and on top of that how does he manage to keep getting bullied? Doesn't he ever learn!?


Of course these types of movies are formulaic, but these are formulaic to a fault! Almost down to the exact timing, as if the writer sat down and said, "Ok, at 50 minutes in, Daniel will go to a party and cause a ruckus and then at 70 minutes in he will let Mr. Miyagi down but by 90 minutes in all is well and it's time to focus on the final fight." 

We make sacred pact. I promise teach, you promise learn.

Why I Still Love Them:
These movies take me back to my childhood. I haven't seen them in decades, but I still remembered every line, the music, the jokes and colors. How does my mind still hold onto that!? They also made me remember my younger brother and his obsession with the Karate Kid. He used to dress up in his karate costume and entertain my family for hours. So much fun! 


I love the friendship between Daniel and Mr. Miyagi. They have some really sweet moments. It's refreshing to watch men express sincere appreciation and friendship to each other. At one point Daniel says, "Mr. Miyagi, you're the best friend I've ever had!" His tone is so excited but so sincere. It's adorable.


So, I thought about addressing the remakes...including the most recent one with Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith, and the Hillary Swank one from back in the day. But I'm kind of a purist. Hillary Swank was probably the best Karate Kid of all, but when it comes to the part of the mentor all you need to know is:

Pat Morita >Jackie Chan

What movies take you back? 

Have you watched any from your childhood lately?