Bullet Points: Tiger Heart
PM Entertainment’s Ted Jan Roberts experiment was nearing its end in 1996 and Tiger Heart would end up being TJ’s penultimate movie with the direct to video powerhouse…
- Party Crashers: The movie starts off with our young hero Eric Chase (TJ Roberts, The Power Within) being dragged along to a pool party that he was not invited to by his annoying friend Brad when all Eric wanted to do was go train at the Silver Tiger Dojo (and apparently expected Brad to drive his no license having ass there). When the not so dynamic duo arrive at the pool party sans invitations, they find out the party is being hosted by Steve, Eric’s rival from the Silver Tiger Dojo and tempers flare. What can I say about the Eric/Steve rivalry other than Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence they are not.
- Just Like a Mini Mall: Steve is small potatoes compared to the real villain in the movie… Mr. Nat played by Christopher Kriesa. I recognized Kriesa from bit parts he did in movies like Mission of Justice and Cyber-Tracker 2. Nat is a devious real estate developer who is looking to run local business owners out of a Los Angeles neighborhood so he can build a mini mall. For those business owners who don’t want to play ball, Nat has contracted the services of Paulo (Robert LaSardo, Last Man Standing) and his not so merry band of thugs, who go around the neighborhood stealing radios, kicking over trash cans, spray painting street signs, smashing children’s radio controlled cars, trashing a fruit stand and destroying a postal truck and setting it on fire… which is a federal offense. Paulo’s crew has been successful at getting tenants out of the properties that Nat needs until they cross paths with Mr. Johnson.
- Supermarket Sweep: Mr. Johnson (Rance Howard, Universal Soldier) owns a supermarket just a few doors down from the Silver Tiger Dojo, unfortunately that supermarket is one of the businesses that needs to go for Nat’s mini mall project, but Mr. Johnson is not backing down. Fortunately for Mr. Johnson, his hot niece Stephanie (Jennifer Lyons) is working at the store for the summer and when Eric sees her from afar it is love at first sight. Not surprisingly Eric makes his way down to the market under the guise of soda shopping, but he’s really there to mack on Stephanie… but ends up doing a lot more when Paulo’s crew shows up and Eric and his martial arts skills sends them packing!
- The Heart of the Matter: Paulo gets chewed out by Nat for allowing a single teenager to become a monkey wrench in his grand plan, so a pissed off Paulo returns and this time catches Mr. Johnson when he is all alone (Eric and Stephanie are out on their first date), Mr. Johnson ends up having a heart attack after that visit… Nat shows up at the supermarket the next day and forces Stephanie to sign the property over to her and then gives her 3 days to clear out. I am no law expert, but I questioned the legality of this transaction, especially since Mr. Johnson was still alive (although never to be seen again in this movie)… when Eric tries to intervene again, Stephanie ends up getting kidnapped and now Eric will need the help of the rest of the Silver Tiger Dojo, including Steve and his sensei (played by Art Camacho) in order to rescue Stephanie and stop the mini mall! After seeing this “big action finale” I quickly realized I prefer when Los Angeles area real estate disputes are settled by a huge breakdancing fundraiser, but maybe that’s just me…
Of all the Ted Jan Roberts/PM Entertainment movies I have seen, this was by far the worst and there’s not much of a mystery as to why. Try as they might, TJ was not a strong lead, but history had proven if you surround him with strong supporting players and/or action movie veterans you can hide a lot of TJ’s shortcomings. In A Dangerous Place, TJ had Marshall R. Teague, Corey Feldman, Dick Van Patten and Mako to lean on. In The Power Within, he had William Zabka, Keith Coogan, Ed O’Ross and Gerald Okamura to lean on. But in Tiger Heart, TJ has the mom from Beverly Hills 90210 and Rance Howard and if either of them are on the screen for longer than 5 minutes I’d be shocked. Robert LaSardo could only do so much and quite frankly he felt out of place in the PG-13 Tiger Heart.
Here’s something that is not out of place, some award winning Bonus Bullet Points…
- Best Scene in Tiger Heart: When Eric pulls out the nunchaku as an equalizer in his battle with Paulo’s crew, I suddenly remembered I was watching an action movie and not some bad teen drama. Sadly, this scene was cut in the UK due to their irrational hate of nunchaku at the time.
- Most Annoying Character in PM Entertainment History: Eric’s friend Brad has the unenviable distinction of being the most annoying character I have ever encountered in a PM Entertainment movie. He is obnoxious, a self-proclaimed ladies man with zero game, plus the actor portraying Brad, Timothy Williams, was pushing 30 when this movie was shot and I’m supposed to believe he is a teenager arguing with his father about mowing the lawn and eating his vegetables!? GTFO!
- Worst Name for an Air Freshener Brand: Shnookums
- Best Surprise Appearance in a PM Entertainment Movie: Brad’s most tolerable scene is when he spots a gorgeous head of golden locks from behind and proves once again he has no game and gets the shock of a lifetime. The possessor of those gorgeous golden locks… none other than Matthias Hues.
