Big Trouble in Little China: The Movie With the Sidekick as the Star
Dennis Dun, Kurt Russell, James Hong, Kim Catrall, Suzee Pai, and Victor Wong star (pretty much in that order) in Big Trouble in Little China, a 1980s mix of action and fantasy directed by John Carpenter.
Jack Burton (not really the star) and Wang Chi (the actual star)
Trucker Jack Burton (Kurt Russell) meets up with old friend and Chinatown resident, Wang Chi (Dennis Dun). Wang is getting married, and must pick up his fiance at the airport. She is the beautiful, green eyed Miao Yin (Suzee Pai).
But before Jack and Wang can get to her, she is kidnapped by the nefarious gang, Lords of Death, with the intent to sell her into the sex trade.
Chinatown
Chasing the kidnappers down the narrow back alleys of Chinatown proves problematic, as Jack’s big rig gets stuck in the middle of a funeral/clan war.
Trying to escape, Jack runs over David Lo-Pan (James Hong), but that’s OK. He’s not really dead-probably because he’s not really corporeal. A show of his supernatural powers leaves Jack blinded, and it’s up to Wang to get Jack to safety.
While planning their next move at Wang’s restaurant, Gracie Law (Kim Catrall), green eyed lawyer, gets involved, as does Egg Shen (Victor Wong), a local bus driver. More importantly, Egg is an expert on who and what David Lo-Pan really is. He knows that Lo-Pan needs to wed a green eyed girl to give him a body, and with a body (and her death), he can take over the entire universe.
Can Wang and Jack defeat Lo-Pan, save and/or get the girl, and find Jack’s truck?
The Fun
This film is non-stop fun.
John Carpenter took the sidekick and gave him top billing. Wang is clearly the hero here, as Jack is more of a bumbling fish out of water. He doesn’t understand the culture (as actual Chinatown resident Gracie likes to point out), or how much trouble (Big Trouble) they are in when they get on Lo-Pan’s bad side (all of his sides are bad).
Not The Same
When I wrote ‘bumbling,’ I didn’t mean in the same way that men like Jack are portrayed in the media today.
He may have a big mouth at times, but he’s certainly not an idiot, like the men portrayed in every other sitcom or commercial today.
In Big Trouble in Little China, Jack’s masculinity isn’t considered toxic, and he isn’t called a bigot just for not understanding the culture.
He and Wang are good friends, and because of that loyalty, Jack helps Wang without (too much; it is Jack) question-even though he is way over his head.
The only race Jack, Wang, Gracie, hell, even Lo-Pan, care about is the race against time!
For that matter, no one accuses Gracie of cultural appropriation just because she lives and works with Chinatown’s residents.
It’s retro-refreshing.
The Special Effects
It’s no secret I love practical effects; read about my most favorite John Carpenter/Kurt Russell film, The Thing here.
The practical effects in this film include a floating eye creature, a monster or two, and three supernatural fighters that were some of the inspirations for Mortal Kombat.
Scenes were filmed in reverse, then sped and played forward to cut out dangerous stuntwork. Fighters used trampolines for the crazy jumps. This film is the best kind of crazy.
The One Drawback To Crazy
Hollywood knows how to market only a handful of film types.
This film was none of them.
Despite promises to the contrary, 20th Century Fox didn’t market this film, and it quickly fell to the wayside, getting lost among hits like Aliens and Top Gun, two types of film that Hollywood knew how to market: Sequels and Tom Cruise.
VHS Saves The Day-Again
“When some wild-eyed, eight-foot-tall maniac grabs your neck, taps the back of your favorite head up against the barroom wall, looks you crooked in the eye and asks you if ya paid your dues, you just stare that big sucker right back in the eye, and you remember what ol’ Jack Burton always says at a time like that: “Have ya paid your dues, Jack?” “Yessir, the check is in the mail.”
Luckily, this multi-faceted (and very quotable) gem found a following on VHS home rental, and the love has never stopped. The film even has hundreds of items, from T-shirts to Funko Pops, available for fans.
A Big Popcorn Film
Big Trouble in Little China is a great film for a Friday or Saturday night with the kids; it is rated PG-13, so it might be too intense for younger children.
Big Trouble in Little China is available on some streaming sites, and on DVD/Blu-Ray.
