Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, May 1, 1993 TAG: 9305010258
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: B6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
This is a pleasant, sloppily-made little martial-arts movie that will appeal to kids. The formula plot involving cardboard characters and familiar situations is spiced up with a series of day-dream fantasies. There's not enough to the film to recommend it to all audiences, but younger viewers who like this kind of action picture will probably be entertained.
Barry (Jonathan Brandis) is a lonely, asthmatic kid at his Houston school. He's new in town, and since his single dad (Beau Bridges) spends so much time at work, Barry has developed a rich fantasy life. Perhaps too rich. He turns everyday situations, often involving his pretty teacher Noreen Chen (Julia Nickson- Soul), into mini-adventures borrowed from the movies.
In all of these, he is the sidekick to his hero Chuck Norris. They fight ninjas, Nazis, cowboys and one strange bunch of characters who look like overgrown Munchkins in leather and chains.
His dad tries to help, but the first karate dojo they visit is run by a bully (Joe Piscopo, who is in danger of becoming a cartoon version of himself). But then Chen introduces Barry to her wise old uncle, Mr. Lee (Mako). What follows are the standard training scenes and, of course, the big tournament.
Even the youngest fans have seen this story before, but they'll like the fantasy sequences that are played for laughs. Director Aaron Norris (the star's brother) tosses in clips from and references to several of his other entries in the genre.
The action scenes are handled well, and they've been carefully edited for a pre-teen audience. The fights don't go on too long; they're not bloody; and the filmmakers even try to show that the most important conflicts people face are interior.
Despite grainy color and an overreliance on familiar stereotypes, "Sidekicks" will appeal to young audiences who want to see a good-hearted story about the triumph of virtue and hard work.
\ "Sidekicks" **1/2 A Vision release showing at the Valley View Mall 6 and Salem Valley 8. Rated PG for mild violence.
by CNB