THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, January 21, 1997 TAG: 9701210042
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E6 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Movie review
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, MOVIE CRITIC
LENGTH: 56 lines
WHILE HE'S FAT, he's a star.
Thin? Well, Chris Farley would be advised not to lose weight.
Watch him bump into furniture and walls. Watch him fall and bounce. His routines make The Three Stooges seem like proponents of kindness and calm.
His kindly, ever-wise teacher (Soon-Tek Oh) takes a look at the shenanigans and sadly comments, ``He's fat, a fool and an embarrassment to ninja everywhere.''
But all the world loves a fool - at least the world that buys movie tickets. With Eddie Murphy trying action rather than laughs in ``Metro,'' ``Beverly Hills Ninja'' had the comic edge and took top place at the box office during the past opening weekend.
You might say it's another step in the dumbing down of America but, actually, there isn't too much harm to Farley.
The Japanese mistake the baby Chris as the Great White Ninja who has been prophesied. When he grows up to be a klutz, they maintain hope. Apparently no one seems to think of what might be the perfect solution - entering him in the sumo wrestling racket.
Instead, he's packed off to Beverly Hills in an effort to aid a shapely blonde, played by Nicollette Sheridan. He's out to thwart an international counterfeiting ring. His athletic kung fu brother (Robin Shou) is sent along to shadow him and try to keep him out of trouble.
Farley has a cherubic face framed by a Dutch boy haircut and the open naivete that is largely irresistible - at first sight. The trouble is that ``Beverly Hills Ninja'' is a one-joke situation that runs much longer than it should. To fill the time, he does a routine as a stripper (abbreviated, since this is a PG-13 rating). He also throws in a bit as a Japanese chef, flinging knives around recklessly.
The truth is, though, that Costello needed his Abbott and Hardy needed his Laurel. Farley needs David Spade, or some other straight man, to react to his dumbness. Spade starred with him in the hits ``Black Sheep'' and ``Tommy Boy.'' He goes it alone here.
The script makes a mistake, too, in letting him seem serious for a few seconds, and in letting him leer sexually at Sheridan. This puts his naive little-boy stance in danger.
If watching bruise-inflicting fat jokes is your idea of an evening out, this is 90 minutes for you. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
MOVIE REVIEW
``Beverly Hills Ninja''
Cast: Chris Farley, Nicollete Sheridan, Robin Shou, Nathaniel
Parker
Director: Dennis Dugan
MPAA rating: PG-13 (some sex-related humor, martial arts
violence)
Mal's rating: Two stars