reviewed by Albert Valentin
In what can be considered a very risky move on his part, Saturday Night Live alumnus Rob Schneider stars and directs this action-comedy about an embezzler who studies martial arts under a mysterious master before heading to prison.
Schneider plays Stan Minton, an embezzler who rips people off by selling them fake “property”. When he is finally busted and convicted, he gets a six month reprieve before serving a three-year sentence. Worried that he will end up being raped, Stan tries to learn effective methods of self defense. That is, until he meets “The Master”, played by the late David Carradine. Agreeing to train Stan during his reprieve, The Master has Stan go through very unorthodox and intense training until he is finally ready to defend himself in prison.
Once entering the prison, Stan wastes no time in finding the biggest and baddest prisoner and after taking him out, he eventually earns the respect of the fellow prisoners as well as the warden, who has a covert plan to get rid of the prison to create a housing community. At what price will Stan have to pay and what will he choose? His loyalty to the prisoners or uncovering the warden’s devious plan?
Let’s face it. When people hear the name Rob Schneider, they can’t help but only see him in more goofball fare like THE ANIMAL (2001) and the DEUCE BIGELOW films. BIG STAN marks Schneider in his directorial debut and sadly, the first half-hour concentrates on the goofball elements, but more in vulgar terms. Worried about getting raped in prison and virtually going on the brink of insanity, it might make viewers turn the film off after the first few minutes alone.
However, what stands out in the film is that Schneider may have that goofball effect that might not bode so well with viewers as much as say his appearances in Adam Sandler’s films, but the plot has Stan become a martial arts master. Sure, this has been done before to a more goofy effect like the late Chris Farley in BEVERLY HILLS NINJA (1997). However, Schneider wanted to minimize what goofball antics can be done in terms of martial arts fights in films and really, as they would say “bring it”
Enter the late David Carradine, who without a doubt hams it up as “The Master”, a mysterious martial arts master who uses some of the most unorthodox techniques imaginable. Some of it does bring a goofy effect that might not bode so well with martial arts enthusiasts, but there is also more serious-type training that really makes the viewer possibly interested. The goofy antics of the training remind you that, yes this is an “action-comedy”. Carradine makes good use of his screen time, playing that type who may act like a spiritual type but is more interested in vices like smoking.
Schneider plays Stan Minton, an embezzler who rips people off by selling them fake “property”. When he is finally busted and convicted, he gets a six month reprieve before serving a three-year sentence. Worried that he will end up being raped, Stan tries to learn effective methods of self defense. That is, until he meets “The Master”, played by the late David Carradine. Agreeing to train Stan during his reprieve, The Master has Stan go through very unorthodox and intense training until he is finally ready to defend himself in prison.
Once entering the prison, Stan wastes no time in finding the biggest and baddest prisoner and after taking him out, he eventually earns the respect of the fellow prisoners as well as the warden, who has a covert plan to get rid of the prison to create a housing community. At what price will Stan have to pay and what will he choose? His loyalty to the prisoners or uncovering the warden’s devious plan?
Let’s face it. When people hear the name Rob Schneider, they can’t help but only see him in more goofball fare like THE ANIMAL (2001) and the DEUCE BIGELOW films. BIG STAN marks Schneider in his directorial debut and sadly, the first half-hour concentrates on the goofball elements, but more in vulgar terms. Worried about getting raped in prison and virtually going on the brink of insanity, it might make viewers turn the film off after the first few minutes alone.
However, what stands out in the film is that Schneider may have that goofball effect that might not bode so well with viewers as much as say his appearances in Adam Sandler’s films, but the plot has Stan become a martial arts master. Sure, this has been done before to a more goofy effect like the late Chris Farley in BEVERLY HILLS NINJA (1997). However, Schneider wanted to minimize what goofball antics can be done in terms of martial arts fights in films and really, as they would say “bring it”
Enter the late David Carradine, who without a doubt hams it up as “The Master”, a mysterious martial arts master who uses some of the most unorthodox techniques imaginable. Some of it does bring a goofy effect that might not bode so well with martial arts enthusiasts, but there is also more serious-type training that really makes the viewer possibly interested. The goofy antics of the training remind you that, yes this is an “action-comedy”. Carradine makes good use of his screen time, playing that type who may act like a spiritual type but is more interested in vices like smoking.
The other big flaw comes in the forms of Jennifer Morrison, who plays that goofy eye candy type, in this case, Stan’s wife Mindy as well as M. Emmet Walsh, who does an over-the-top performance as Stan’s crooked lawyer Lou Popper. They were just a little too much and the way they come off could possibly make the viewer hit that fast forward button on their DVD players very quickly.
The film’s true redeeming factor, despite the trademark goofball antics of Schneider, are in fact the film’s fight sequences. One fight sequence was so intense that Schneider actually ended up hospitalized from heat exhaustion. However, he showed what a trooper he is and completed the fight which comprised of a short and sweet fight against mixed martial artist Bob Sapp, who hams it up afterwards as big softie “Big Raymond”; and then a three-on-one fight against the likes of Erik Betts and Mark “Afro Ninja” Hicks.
To show the physicality of martial arts, Schneider had undergone training in three styles. They were Kali-Silat, a Filipino style stickfighting art; Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do, and Muay Thai kickboxing. Schneider’s instructor was none other than the legend Dan Inosanto, who makes an appearance in the film as the prison chef. Schneider practically holds his own in all of the film’s combat sequences, which surprisingly unlike pure fodder like STREET FIGHTER: THE LEGEND OF CHUN LI (2009) and DRAGONBALL: EVOLUTION (2009), are not edited like a hack and slash job and shows some of the pure techniques of the arts. In a homage to Bruce Lee, Stan even gets to create a pair of nunchaku made of soap and a shoelace. Even the likes of veteran Simon Rhee and Tsuyoshi Abe get to take on Schneider under the watchful eyes of fight coordinators Mike Gunther and Marcus Young.
The film was originally scheduled for a theatrical release in 2007, but sadly, it was given a straight-to-DVD release in 2009. So while Schneider’s goofball antics may be a turn-off to fans, BIG STAN does have its moments, notably in the action department. From how he looked, if Schneider wasn’t a comedian, he could have been a potential action star. However, in the end, everyone will of course know him for his comedic elements a lot more.
Sumber : www.kungfucinema.com
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