The Sidekicks Movie Trailer

Sidekicks Explained In a Nutshell

Sidekicks is the story of a kid named Barry that has a severe bromance with Chuck Norris.  His over active imagination has left him almost friendless, picked on, and nearly tapped out on the self esteem scale. A concerned teacher introduces him to a martial arts teacher and he learns confidence and mental discipline.  After being challenged to a Karate tournament by a bully at school, Barry finds out that dreams sometimes come true.

The Sidekicks Movie Review Breakdown

Tagline: A dreamer and a champion. An unbeatable team…Until his hero stepped out of his fantasies to fight at his side.
Who is in it? Beau Bridges, Jonathan Brandis, Joe Piscopo, Danica McKellar, Richard Moll, and Chuck Norris.
Genre: Action – Adventure
Was it Action packed? Hokey… but sure.
Would this movie be for every action/adventure fan? Solid No.
Should you see it? Nah, unless you are a die hard Chuck fan.
Run Time: 101 minutes
Rating: PG

The Verdict

Sidekicks is one of those movies that I liked as a kid and forgot completely about.  During my review of Stephen King’s IT, also starring Jonathan Brandis, I did some cross checking on IMDB and there it was in all it’s glory. I put it on my list of movies to acquire and review and today is the day I check it off my list.  As far as the movie is concerned, not even childhood nostalgia or Chuck Norris dressed like a white ninja kicking hordes of ninja butt could save this movie.  This is basically ‘No Retreat No Surrender‘ remade into something watchable.  Instead of a kid infatuated with Bruce Lee, its Chuck Norris. Instead of learning from the percieved ghost of Lee, this kid is inspired by a reoccurring day dream of Chuck.  They both start with a kid that’s obsessed with a martial arts icon, masters martial arts in about a week, and squares off with his rival in a martial arts tournament.

Barry is a kid like any other.  He has no friends, he’s obsessed with Chuck Norris, and he has paralyzing daydreams about 90′s movie cliches.   Ok, so this kid isn’t normal… in fact he kind of sucks at life.   A concerned teacher contacts a relative and he teaches Barry martial arts in a restaurant kitchen.  As the film progresses we learn some surprising stuff like martial arts cures asthma, fighting in school gets you girls and not suspended, and if you dream about Chuck Norris long enough he will fight on your team in a karate tournament (but only if a bully challenges you).  I could really write more, but that basically sums it up.  The only part I didn’t really get is Barry not facing his rival in hand to hand combat like a man.  Instead they both just broke concrete until someone decided that Barry’s team wins.

I’m sure that I dont see this movie the way it was intended to be seen.  The audience was clearly targeted to kids with low self esteem that want to fight along side Chuck Norris and be a hero [translation = everyone].  The dream sequences are a barrage of 90′s cliches, terrible acting, and outcomes that would rival Looney Toons. I have seen better acting from extras in Godzilla movies. One thing that I thought was cool was the cast.  We had the girl who played Winnie from the Wonder Years, The guy who played Bull from Night Court (and Ben from the movie ‘House‘), Beau Bridges, the kid from Stephen King’s IT, and of course Chuck Norris.   Say what you will about Chuck Norris, I think he’s cool.  Not in the trending sarcastic way, but actually cool and THAT is this film’s saving grace.

 

Official Nutshell-Movies Explanation

Sidekicks (1992): A kid with a severe Bromance involving Chuck Norris learns martial arts and meets his idol.

Fun Facts

• The white building seen in the background where Barry is training with the nunchucks is the former Blue Ribbon rice silo – the silo stood vacant for several years and was demolished in 1996; the former rice silo is the current location of the Memorial Heights subdivision, which is a townhouse community in close proximity to Downtown Houston.
• Real life martial arts expert, author and Nebraska native, Robert Buseey can be seen in several scenes in this movie. Bussey, founder of Robert Bussey’s Warrior International (RBWI), had a part in this film that showcased his realistic sword skills for one. The director felt it was too serious for the mood of the film and ultimately it was left on the cutting room floor.
• In addition to Buseey, other members of RBWI can also be seen in many background shots. RBWI Instructors, Keith Jones and Michael Bussey were also in this film. The RBWI members were the only martial arts extras allowed to wear their own uniforms. The rest of the extras had uniforms supplied by wardrobe. Bussey’s custom uniforms so impressed the movie makers that they were kept for the film.
• Chuck Norris did this film as a favor to his brother Aaron, who is the director of the film.
• Alan Silvestri who wrote the music for the film, also scored Chuck Norris hit film, The Delta Force (1986). The music for that film was primarily done on a Synclavier synthesizer which is what Silvestri also used for this film as well.

Sidekicks may be a bad movie, but it does have Chuck Norris in it!