Writer-director-actor-kickass martial artist Phillip Rhee has finally reappeared on the big screen after a hiatus of almost 20 years with UNDERDOG KIDS (2015). His new film is a family-friendly martial arts fable that, on the surface at least, is a 180-degree turn on the cinematic fare that first showcased his talents: BEST OF THE BEST (1989), which delivered grown-up action in some of the finest martial arts sequences ever filmed.
UNDERDOG KIDS eschews the spraying blood and snapping bones for its young cast, a mix of Disney stalwarts and veterans from the tournament circuit. But there is pain, and sweat, and disappointment. There is persistence and dedication. And there is – no surprise for a kids' movie – triumph and vindication. All the lessons an adult martial arts film holds, plus one more that often gets short shrift – the importance of family, however you define it.
"As a martial artist and a movie maker, I really wanted to share life lessons martial arts provides," Rhee says. "Martial arts can really transform kids' lives and they take those life lessons into adulthood."
Don't sweat it, though; there's no rote memorization necessary, and there is no written exam. Instead there are the adventures of the Underdog Kids, a motley group from a disadvantaged, racially diverse neighborhood in Los Angeles who, when we first meet them, use their lessons more as an excuse to hang out together at the community center than as an actual chance to learn any martial arts.
Enter Rhee as Jimmy "Lightning Bolt" Lee (so-named not because he's fast, but because he was literally struck by lightning as a kid), who shows up on his old home turf just as the brats have driven off their current instructor with their general obnoxiousness. Rhee's character is an MMA champ whose career has foundered after a serious, non-fight-related injury.
The manager of the community center, Lee's old friend Charlie Walker (Max Gail, one of a number of solid character actors in supporting adult roles) convinces Lee to teach the kids, though Lee would rather harangue his agent (Tom Arnold, who even manages to be not as annoying as usual) into rustling him up a fight.
Nothing that follows can be called surprising, but UNDERDOG KIDS isn’t meant to surprise. It's meant to reinforce and reaffirm. And, as previously noted, the emphasis on the importance of the children's parents, siblings and other supportive adults in the tight-knit community is a fresh and valuable contribution.
The parents of the UNDERDOG KIDS aren't absentee mothers and fathers, dealing with their own crap while their kids flounder. The neighbors aren't bent on victimizing them. Siblings aren't there just to be bad influences. These are caring, concerned, loving parents who are doing the best they can, and supportive siblings and community members who want to help these kids succeed.
"We are influenced by others," says Rhee. "Our parents, other people in the community. UNDERDOG KIDS isn't about winning. It's about coming together as a team, as family, as friends."
But parents, friends, and teachers can only do so much. Ultimately, each young fighter steps into the ring – and into his or her adult life – alone.
"At the end of the day it's really about overcoming challenges," Rhee says. "A lot of people – they give up. They forget their dreams, or they know they can do it but something happens in their lives and they give up. Even myself, I had difficult times along with the good times, but I never gave up."
According to Rhee, many of the young martial artists he cast have already learned that lesson. "We cast some phenomenal martial artists," he says. "A lot of kids – they're great martial artists, but they can't act. The challenge was to find kids who could do both. We looked at over 600 kids to find our actors."
Working with experienced martial artists had another benefit. "They say never work with kids, but because they had a martial arts background, they were very respectful, very on top of things," Rhee says. "We had a great time."
Something else that was important to Rhee was to cast kids from a variety of martial arts backgrounds. For example, Ryan Potter (Eric), who recently voiced Hiro Hamada in BIG HERO 6 (2014), studied White Tiger Kung Fu. Aidan Considine (Alex), Tyler Weaver Jr. (Cameron) and Dallas Liu (the young, lightning-struck Jimmy Lee) are Karate champs. Reyna Valandingham (Leticia) is a Taekwondo champ. Andrew Franklin (Ricky) is a champion tricker.
"I wanted to get kids from many different styles," says Rhee. "I think by doing that it brings harmony to the MA community. There are so many incidents where someone says, my style is better than your style. And vice versa."
But Rhee doesn't see the sport that way. The film is one big love letter to martial arts, period.
"I wanted to give back to the martial arts industry, because it's an industry that I love so much," he says. "But I don't think there's been a martial arts movie that's been good for parents and kids to watch together since the original KARATE KID (1984)."
The film has its flaws. There are too many youngsters to do justice to any of their stories in an hour and a half. The humor, anchored by an abundance of fart jokes and a local gang led by a dwarf, is definitely geared towards the younger set, and sometimes Rhee is too dependent on the clichés of the genre. And face it: any movie that can make Tom Arnold likable is just trying too damned hard.
But it also seems to be reaching its audience. "So far we have been getting very good responses from parents," Rhee says. "They've come up to me and said they’ve had tears in their eyes at certain scenes because they went through the same thing with their son."
The respect Rhee has for the parents of young martial artists is obvious, but UNDERDOG KIDS has a lesson for them, as well: stay strong and, when necessary, be a parent, not just a friend. "I think martial arts is the greatest thing for kids to learn to build character. But they need help. If we give them choices, when things first get rough they'll want to quit," he says. "I did, but my father wouldn't let me. Parents can't let them quit until they can understand the rewards."
Rhee himself turned the Taekwondo education of his son, Sean (who made his debut as Eric in UNDERDOG KIDS) over to his brother, stuntman-fight choreographer Simon Rhee, whose latest project is TERMINATOR: GENISYS (2015). Uncle Simon was not easy on the boy.
"My brother is hard-core," Rhee says with a laugh. "A regular black belt takes three and a half years, four years, but it took my son ten years. When he got in the car after the test, he said, 'I'm so glad I did it this way. I was frustrated it was taking so long, but I learned patience.'"
