John Carpenter’s Big Trouble in Little China is probably his most unusual film. And on this day (2 July) in 1986, 20th Century Fox released it throughout the United States.
More than any other Carpenter film, Big Trouble in Little China is a romp. It has quirky special effects, a fast-paced and clever script, and joyously vigorous acting. Just the same, I’ve seen it a handful of times and I can’t really tell you what the plot is. Bad guys kidnap a young woman. And the good guys must rescue her in a world full of magic?
The film is fairly typical of Carpenter films in that it wasn’t much liked when it came out and was only appreciated later. A lot of the early reviews complained about — Wait for it! — character development! It’s a standard complaint. A film “critic” doesn’t like a film but also he has no clear reason for not liking it. And… “This cartoon-style film lacks character depth!” I previously wrote, “[T]he biggest problem with film critics is that they just don’t like fun. What’s not to like here?!”
I’m not much of a fan of Kurt Russell but he works well with this role. It’s a modern version of Tony Curtis (another actor I’m pretty meh about) in The Great Race. Kim Cattrall plays a fairly typical role for her — at least before she became Samantha.
But it is the Chinese cast that makes the film work. James Hong (One Spy Too Many) is, as always, great. And it’s just so nice to see Victor Wong (Tremors), who didn’t work enough for my tastes.
Big Trouble in Little China is rated PG-13. But it is a great film to share with kids. Just make sure they are your children. Kidnapping is wrong even for the purpose of showing a great film they will love. Or you could just watch it alone. And for free with this great print on Archive!
Other 2 July Anniversaries
Filmmakers
- Ken Curtis (1916-1991): Actor of minor note who produced two psychotronic classics: The Killer Shrews and The Giant Gila Monster.
- Robert Ito (1931-): Actor best known as the sidetick on Quincy, ME, he was also in a lot of psychotronic films like Women of the Prehistoric Planet and The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension.
- Andrew Divoff (1955-): Actor know for the Wishmaster films.
- Tim Sullivan (1964-): Director of 2001 Maniacs and co-writer of Hood of Horror.
Films
- Houdini (1953): Bio-pic of the famous magician.
- Airplane! (1980): Parody of Airport.
- Psycho III (1986): Third time’s a charm?
- Men In Black (1997): Government agency monitors space aliens. Oh, and one of them is a giant bug that must be destroyed.
- Terminator III: Rise of the Machines (2003): Probably the most tedious of the series.
- Hancock (2008): Bad boy superhero.
- Deliver Us From Evil (2014): Cop and priest against evil.
Image taken from Wikipedia under Fair Use.
