Sidekicks (1992 film)

Sidekicks is a 1992 American adventure action comedy-drama film directed by Aaron Norris and starring Jonathan Brandis and Chuck Norris.

Plot
Barry Gabrewski is a troubled and bullied asthmatic boy who lives with his widowed father, Jerry (Beau Bridges), in Houston, Texas. A loner, Barry has vivid daydreams about being Chuck Norris' sidekick, and about battling against Norris' movie enemies. Said foes are often personified by Barry's everyday nemeses, such as class bully Randy Cellini (John Buchanan); Coach Horn (Richard Moll), their loudmouthed and demanding PE instructor; and apathetic Principal Mapes (Gerrit Graham). Noreen Chan (Julia Nickson-Soul), Barry's favorite teacher, often plays the damsel-in-distress in these daydreams, most of which parody assorted Chuck Norris films (notably Missing in Action, The Delta Force, and The Hitman).

Barry wants to learn martial arts; yet he is rejected by arrogant dojo-master Kelly Stone (Joe Piscopo) -- who also happens to be Randy's sensei—for being too weak. Instead, he is taken on as a student by an old Chinese man called Mr. Lee (Mako), Noreen's sly uncle and the owner of a local Chinese restaurant, "Frying Dragon". Mr. Lee finds creative ways of teaching Barry to defend himself from bullies; he devises training methods that increase Barry's endurance, thus helping the boy's asthma. Lee also deduces Barry's hero-worship of Norris, from Barry's daydreams; he creatively incorporates this into Barry's training, devising scenarios that seem more dangerous than they are...so that Barry will feel heroic for succeeding at them.

Lee enters himself, Barry, and Chan into a local team Karate tournament but is a bit stymied to learn that a team must have four members. Norris is attending the tournament as a guest and, at Lee's urging, Chan convinces Norris to join the team. Norris is both willing to help an ardent fan and has his own motivation for participating: he has encountered Stone on several occasions and wants to teach him "a lesson in humility". Barry is stunned to find himself working together with his hero.

The tournament involves four events: Breaking, Men's Weapons, Female Kata, and Freestyle fighting. Stone's team narrowly defeats Chan in the Female Kata, but Lee defeats Cellini, one of Stone's students, in Breaking. True to his word, Norris defeats Stone in Freestyle fighting, and Barry—aided by a vivid daydream—scores a victory in Men's Weapons. The result is a tie between Stone's team and Lee's team. In the tie-breaker, Lee is allowed to choose the participants, and chooses Barry and Cellini, saying Barry is the member of the team with "something to prove". Stone chooses the event, Breaking. Barry is dismayed to be confronting Cellini in the latter's best event, but Lee tilts the odds in Barry's favor by using a small amount of lighter fluid to set Barry's bricks on fire. Faced with a much more heroic-seeming task, Barry wins.

After the tournament, Barry is seen talking to Norris, thanking him for his help. Norris vanishes, and it is implied that Barry has found the strength to live his life without the need for his daydreams. A young boy in a wheelchair finds Barry's Chuck Norris magazine and reacts with an excited "Wow!"

Cast

 * Jonathan Brandis as Barry Gabrewski
 * Chuck Norris as Himself
 * Beau Bridges as Jerry Gabrewski
 * Mako as Mr. Lee
 * Joe Piscopo as Kelly Stone
 * Danica McKellar as Lauren
 * John Buchanan as Randy Cellini
 * Richard Moll as Mr. Horn
 * Julia Nickson-Soul as Ms. Noreen Chan
 * Gerrit Graham as Mr. Mapes
 * Eric Norris as Biker Punk
 * George Franklin Sturgis V as Himself
 * James McIngvale as Lauren's Brother

NOTE: Nickson-Soul's character-name is an inside reference to Chuck Norris's movie An Eye for an Eye, in which Mako portrayed James Chan (the father of a murdered journalist, who teams up with Norris' character to hunt down her killers).

Filming

 * 810 Zola Rd., Houston, Texas. (Barry's home)
 * Lamar High School (Houston, Texas)
 * Tranquility Park
 * Wortham Theater Center
 * Williams Waterwall
 * Allen's Landing
 * Texas Southern University
 * Westchester Junior High, Spring Branch (Demolished, 1994?) (Houston, Texas)

Sidekicks was filmed primarily in Houston, TX. It was the pet project of well-known Houston furniture outlet owner Jim "Mattress Mac" McIngvale, who (in partnership with Chuck Norris and his "Kick Drugs out of Schools" campaign) invested 8 million dollars in producing this movie. Chuck Norris, who had appeared in many local television commercials for McIngvale, suggested the idea of creating this film, and "Mac" agreed to finance and produce it. In McIngvale's book, Always Think Big, he states going into film and producing was "extremely hard work".

Box office
The film debuted at No. 2 at the box office. It grossed $17,180,393 during its domestic release.

Critical response
The film received largely negative reviews from critics. Based on 19 reviews gathered, the film has a 26% from Rotten Tomatoes, with an average score of 4/10.