Beverly Hills Ninja
| Beverly Hills Ninja | |
|---|---|
| File:Beverly Hills Ninja.jpg | |
| Directed by | Dennis Dugan |
| Written by | Mark Feldberg Mitchell Klebanoff |
| Produced by | Bradley Jenkel Brad Krevoy Steven Stabler |
| Starring | Chris Farley Nicollette Sheridan Robin Shou Nathaniel Parker Soon-Tek Oh Keith Cooke Chris Rock |
| Music by | George S. Clinton |
| Distributed by | TriStar Pictures |
Release dates | January 17, 1997 |
Running time | 88 min. |
| Language | English |
Beverly Hills Ninja is a 1997 film starring Chris Farley as a bumbling Beverly Hills ninja. Written by Mark Feldberg and Mitchell Klebanoff and directed by Dennis Dugan.
Chris Farley plays Haru, who was found by ninjas as an infant and was raised by them. Haru never quite conforms to their culture and never acquires the skills of a ninja but is nonetheless good-natured and persevering in his personal ambitions. His first mission brings him to Beverly Hills to investigate a murder mystery. This was Chris Farley's last film that released while he was alive as he died in December 1997 of drug overdose.
Plot
A clan of ninjas find a chest that has been washed onto shore, inside of which is a white baby boy. An ancient legend spoke of a foreigner who would come among the ninjas and become a master like no other. The boy, Haru, is raised amongst the ninja, with the expectation that he may be the one the legend speaks of. However, doubts are cast over him being the great white ninja. Although he possess some ninja traits, Haru is clumsy and does not really fit in. He does not graduate a ninja with the rest of his class. Left alone to guard the temple while all the ninjas are on a mission, Haru poses as a ninja when a blonde American woman comes in search of the services of one. The woman, Sally Jones, is suspicious of her man, Martin Tanley, and sends Haru down to the harbour to investigate. Haru sees that Tanley is involved in a counterfeiting business, and also witnesses a murder. The clan are upset with Haru's actions, as the police now suspect a ninja is responsible for a murder. However, Haru is adamant that Sally is in trouble, despite the name Sally Jones appearing to be a pseudonym. Haru departs for America, to Beverly Hills (judging from a pack of matches she left behind). Gobei is sent to watch over Haru.
Haru has trouble adjusting to Western culture, but checks into a Beverly Hills hotel, where he befriends an employee, Joey, teaching him a few ninja lessons. Haru goes in search of Sally, convinced that she is in trouble. He eventually finds her (unknowingly with the help of Gobei), but she distances herself from him. Haru tails Tanley to a club, where he is trying to get back a set of plates from a rival gang. However, Haru again finds himself the suspect of another two murders. He returns to the hotel the next day he meditates to communicate with his sensei for guidance. He resumes his quest, and tracks down Tanley's home. Once breaking in he is able to speak with Sally Jones, whose real name is actually Allison Page. Haru begins to trust her again, and she explains that she suspects Tanley of killing her sister. That night Haru and Allison escape a gun-fight at an Asian restaurant, and Tanley sees Allison there (Tanley and Haru were both surprised to see Allison there). The pair have to retreat to the hotel. The next day Haru poses as an ink specialist and is taken to Tanley's offices. However, Tanley soon finds out that he is "the fat ninja that everyone is talking about." While Tanley is in the process of getting the other half of the plates that night, Allison rescues Haru from the back of a van. However Allison is taken by Tanley, and Haru must find his way back to his offices, but since he was blindfolded during his first journey, he must recreate the ride by memory, and enlists the help of Joey, and without his knowing, Gobei is hiding in the trunk. After Joey drives into a horse race and a car wash, Haru and Joey start over. Gobei gets out of the trunk after Haru is blindfolded, and Gobei drives to Tanley's warehouse. Haru uses the momentum of a large palm tree to jump into the warehouse, while Gobei also makes it in.
They are met by Tanley's men, and they fight together (Haru nunchucking Gobei several times on accident) until Haru is reminded that he should be saving Allison. Using a forklift, he smashes two holes in the wall of the room where Allison is held captive, almost setting off the bomb. He tries to defuse the bomb, but accidentally resets the timer for five minutes. Haru leaves Allison for a moment to help Gobei, who is surrounded. Haru jumps off the railing and lands on an axe-wielding henchman that is about to kill Gobei. Haru suddenly becomes an adept ninja when Gobei gets hurt by one of Tanley's workers. They defeat the henchmen with help from Joey, who jumps through the window in the same fashion Haru did and lands on one of them. Haru and Gobei must now defeat Tanley, who has a gun. Haru slices the rope of a winch, aiming for Tanley, but the hook knocks Gobei out instead. Blocking Tanley's bullets by swinging his swords, Haru eventually incapacitates Tanley. Haru runs back to the upper level. Using a huge harpoon gun mounted on a cart, he shoots a harpoon through the room, which inadvertently caught onto a truck tanley attemps to escape in. After catching the bomb, the cart pulls itself to Tanley's truck, which explodes seconds later. Tanley and the remaining henchmen are arrested.
The ending sequence shows an about-to-be-married Allison and Haru talking to his sensei about leaving to a place that needs more ninjas. Allison and Haru leave in the back of a truck, which drags a rope tied to Gobei's wheelchair. Haru shouts an apology to his brother, who is flung into the ocean.
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Chris Farley | Haru |
| Nicollette Sheridan | Allison Page/Sally Jones |
| Robin Shou | Gobei |
| Nathaniel Parker | Martin Tanley |
| Soon-Tek Oh | Sensei |
| Keith Cooke | Nobu |
| Chris Rock | Joey |
Music
| Untitled | |
|---|---|
- "You're a Ninja?..."
- "Kung Fu Fighting" - Patti Rothberg
- "One Way or Another" - Blondie
- "...We Are in Danger..."
- "Tsugihagi Boogie Woogie" - Ulfuls
- "Low Rider" - War
- "The blackness of my belt..."
- "Tarzan Boy" - Baltimora
- "...my identity must remain mysterious..."
- "Turning Japanese" - The Hazies
- "You're the big, fat Ninja, aren't you?"
- "Kung Fu Fighting" - Carl Douglas
- "I'm Too Sexy" - Right Said Fred
- "...close to the temple, not inside"
- "I Think We're Alone Now (Japanese Version)" - Lene Lovich
- "Finally Got It" - Little John
- "...Yes, I guess I did"
- "The End" - George Clinton
Trivia
 | This article contains a list of miscellaneous information. (June 2007) |
- Most of the outdoor scenes were filmed not in Beverly Hills, but in Pasadena.
- In the King of the Hill episode "Hank's Dirty Laundry," there is a poster that looks exactly like the poster for Beverly Hills Ninja in the background of the Arlen video store. The movie's title is even "Kung Fool." "Kung Fool" is the tagline of Beverly Hills Ninja. The episode previous to "Hank's Dirty Laundry" was "Traffic Jam" which guest starred Chris Rock. In "Death Picks Cotton," Cotton Hill, Hank's father, met his death partly due to severe burns and infection when he fell hard on his back in a similar situation when Haru knocked Tamley's henchmen onto the stoves.
- There was one scene in which Haru (played by Chris Farley) tries to hide like a ninja. At one point, he jumped through the wall. In reality, Farley had injured himself doing that stunt.
- The film was originally developed not as a vehicle for Farley, but for another SNL alum, Dana Carvey. [1]
- This is another movie where Keith Cooke and Robin Shou appeared together. A previous one being the first Mortal Kombat movie based on the very popular video game. They would both later appear in Mortal Kombat's sequel, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation also in '97.
- The cast of the second season of Road Rules worked various positions on the set as part of a mission.
- Haru means spring in Japanese.
- Farley was trained by Master Jianhua Guo of Championship Martial Arts Academy in Chicago. When he knocks over the urn containing the ashes of his master in the movie, he pays tribute by saying "Oh no, Master Guo!" [1]
