I have returned after my brief and unplanned hiatus with a true banger. Had a lot of fun recording this one. Some movies invite questions or incite laughter. This was some of both!
I assume the Venn diagram of my readers and people who have seen The Karate Kid is a complete circle, but on the off-chance you don’t know Johnny Lawrence from Joey Lawrence, this 1984 classic is a pitch-perfect blend of the high school and sports movie genres.
Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) is the new kid in town, fresh from Jersey and sporting a wise guy accent. His falls for the wrong girl on his first day in Cali and gets the crap beat out of him by Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka), he of the golden bangs and kimono-red jacket. Daniel does a serviceable punching bag impression for much of the movie, but eventually the local handyman gets tired of Daniel’s bellyaching and convinces Daniel to fix up his house. The hours of manual labor teach Daniel just enough karate so he doesn’t die. Everything comes to a head during the All-Valley Karate tournament, a sequence so awesome it’s singlehandedly responsible for five sequels, a spin-off series, and thousands of dweebs infiltrating dojos in the 80s.
One thing I just realized I’d neglected to mention on the pod: The “karate training via household chores” device is brilliant. It seems just feasible enough to be believable, and it also bestows a bit of movie magic into our own mundane lives.
Topics Discussed In This Episode:
The contrived circumstances that led to the movie and its real-life inspirations
Daniel LaRusso’s mom was sus
The summer movie feels
Daniel LaRusso: Kind of a punk
Mr. Miyagi is channeling his inner Yoda
The role of surrogate fathers
Johnny Lawrence: Greatest 80s bully?
The tournament is an unassailable sports movie moment
Breaking down the Cobra Kais
The climactic Daniel v. Johnny fight
The legacy, including the Cobra Kai show
The Karate Kid (1984)