As the 31st Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival opens, Phil Yu, creator of the blog, Angry Asian Man, will also be launching his “Crane Kick Commentary” series, the first of which will feature a special viewing of the 1986 film, “Karate Kid II,” at the Japanese American National Museum with a panel of special guests to provide live, real-time commentary on the film. Guests include comedian Jenny Yang, National Film Society’s Stephen Dypiangco and Patrick Epino, actress and writer Emily Chang, and actress Tamlyn Tomita who was in the film, and who Yu describes as the “adolescent crush of an entire generation of Asian Americans.”
“I've watched The Karate Kid Part II dozens upon dozens of times since I was a kid,” Yu told NBC News. “It's one of those movies I grew up watching, and many people in the community have a goofy fondness for. I thought it would be really fun to revisit it, like friends watching the movie together on the couch.”
Yu began formulating the idea to revisit Okinawa with Daniel-san and Mr. Miyagi this way a few years ago, and is aiming for “equal parts memory lane and light, loving mockery, in the style of Mystery Science Theater 3000.”
Yu plans to bring Asian snacks, a dozen hand drums for the audience to twirl at the climactic conclusion, and a knock-down no-holds-barred karaoke sing-off of the love ballad, “The Glory of Love.”
“There's no shortage of future films we could revisit,” said Yu, who is considering Bruce Lee’s “Return of the Dragon,” for the next Crane Kick Commentary feature. “Personally, I'd love to do all of Bruce Lee's movies.”
IN-DEPTH
- Phil Yu On Growing Up Korean American & Becoming Angry Asian Man
- Off Color: What's A 'Good Asian' Like Jenny Yang Doing on Stage?
- Throwback to 1984: The Karate Kid Turns Thirty