The Balls Of Fury Post.

The Movie: On the one hand, a lead (Dan Fogler) who doesn't exactly ooze charm and funniness; ping-pong spoofing was done better when It's Garry Shandling's Show did a takeoff of The Natural about it; the tournament-of-death thing was also sent up a lot better in Kentucky Fried Movie; Maggie Q and especially smoking hot Aisha Tyler are underused; really not all that sharp or funny (to be honest, the trailer for Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story blew this away, with the added bonus of Jenna Fischer). But on the other hand it doesn't riff on other movies for its jokes, it never really descends into head-holding stupidity (not that it doesn't try) and there are some genuinely funny moments - especially the courtesans. And at least we don't get a load of unamusing outtakes at the end. So it was a relatively painless 90 or so minutes, but the teenagers who kept running in and out of the cinema didn't help. Basically, Christopher Walken's been in worse.

The Music: I really hope Randy Edelman gets a boost from The Mummy 3: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, because this one doesn't do him much favours; Craig Wedren's original score was replaced but Wedren still has two pieces left in the movie (including the end title song, the intentional Def Leppard soundalike "Balls of Fury"). Edelman's music, like all too many of his scores, is functional but nothing spectacular - when it's straightfaced it's at its most effective (like in the ping-pong matches), but when it's treated as part of the joke (i.e. building up for an emotional climax then cutting off to detour into a gag) it's... not quite there somehow. The travelling music for the tournament in Central America is good, but when you remember what Edelman's really capable of (case in point his excellent Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story music - and hey, Jason Scott Lee's in this one as well) it's kind of weak. Still, I like Randy Edelman, so I'll say this is all right. Recorded, for reasons of cheapness, in the Czech Republic and the UK; song album on Bulletproof, score album on Varese Sarabande.