Bullet Points: American Shaolin
The Seasonal Film Corporation was a Hong Kong independent film company that started back in 1974. After achieving success in Hong Kong, the company that had aspirations to be more.
In the 80’s the Seasonal Film Corporation began to branch out and make films that would appeal to an American audience but still feature the Hong Kong style action they were known for. Keith W. Strandberg was tasked with writing these American style films for Seasonal. In total Strandberg would write seven different films for Seasonal, including the subject of this edition of Bullet Points, 1991’s American Shaolin….
- Good News and Bad News: The good news for martial artist Drew Carson (Reese Madigan) is he has made it to the finals of the Grand Championship. The bad news is Drew has to take on the defending champion, the aptly named Trevor Gotitall (Trent Bushey). Gotitall is cocky and brash and is always surrounded by beautiful women. Gotitall doesn’t just defeat his opponents, he enjoys humiliating them… something Drew Carson finds out the hard way, when Gotitall manages to untie Drew’s pants and everyone in attendance gets a look at Drew’s tighty whities before they see Trevor Gotitall win it all! The most impressive thing about Gotitall’s dirty trick is how he can untie his opponents’ pants in undetected fashion with his kickboxing gloves on… that is some next level sleight of hand!
- Turning Point: Drew Carson is a broken man… he made it so far, but came up short. But the bad news continues when his teacher, a man who passed himself as a Shaolin Monk, admits he was a fraud and the real reason Drew lost is because he could not teach Drew everything he needed to know to win on that level. Drew takes this negative and decides to turn it into a positive… maybe his teacher did not train at the Shaolin Temple, but Drew is going to! So he packs his bags and books a flight to China…
- Persistence Pays Off: When Drew arrives at the Shaolin Temple, they don’t exactly welcome the young American with open arms… in fact they throw him out on his ass. But Drew does not give up… he sits down in front of the Temple and stays there day and night, no matter what the weather was, no matter what was going on around him… Drew didn’t move. Drew was there so long a pigeon made a nest inside his jacket. Drew’s persistence ends up paying off and when the new class of students are being marched into the Shaolin Temple… Drew gets the nod… he’s about to begin his training to become a Shaolin Monk!
- Out of the Frying Pan: Before Drew and his fellow classmates can begin their training, they first have to have their heads shaved… then they have to start earning their keep around the Temple by doing chores, both big and small. To help pass the time as the new class is tasked with digging a latrine, Drew teaches everyone about good ol’ American rock-n-roll… this leads to one of the greatest parody songs I have ever heard (more on that later). But not everybody loves Drew and his antics… Gao (Daniel Dae Kim of Hawaii Five-0 fame), a fellow Monk in training, believes the Shaolin Temple is no place for an American. Drew also rubs his Drill Sergeant the wrong way, even getting the class together to pull a prank on their “beloved” D.S.
- Time To Get Serious: The humor is put on the back burner and things get serious as the class goes from doing chores to learning the Shaolin fighting style. This is where we eventually get to see the grit and determination of our hero Drew Carson really put to the test as he must make his way through an obstacle course that includes some sort of wooden robots. If Drew makes it through he’s a Shaolin Monk, if not he is a failure…
You can probably figure out if Drew Carson passed the test and then got an opportunity to even the score with that dirty bastard Trevor Gotitall. But there’s absolutely nothing wrong with a movie having a happy ending. American Shaolin was a feel good movie that was reminiscent in many ways to the original No Retreat, No Surrender.
You can probably also figure out that I am about to throw it to some Bonus Bullet Points. But there’s absolutely noting wrong with ending a review that way…
- AKA: American Shaolin is also known as American Shaolin: King of the Kickboxers II or just King of the Kickboxers II. American Shaolin is the official sequel of King of the Kickboxers (unlike the bullshit Fighting Spirit that tried to pass itself off as the sequel), but much like the sequels in Seasonal Film’s No Retreat, No Surrender series, the movies are standalone and they are only connected by name only.
- Questionable Sponsor: I am not sure Marlboro should be sponsoring a martial arts competition.
- If You Ever: …wanted to witness some Shaolin Monk hopefuls get their first look at Playboy Magazine, then this is the movie for you!
- What Are The Odds: Drew Carson manages to bump into and fall for the one girl in China who can speak English.
- Epic Montage: There is a doing chores montage in American Shaolin that features the song “Shaolin Temple Blues” which is a parody version of the Eddie Cochran oldie but goodie, “Summertime Blues”. It is one of the highlights of the movie and one with great Scene of the Week potential.
