John G. Avildsen directs Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita and Elisabeth Shue in this teen drama where a Japanese master teaches a bullied kid the art of self defence.

Here’s a VHS that was everywhere when I was kid, super quotable, but one that I very much outgrew by the time I got to secondary school. It is so long, and often inert. The performances are actually kinda awesome so it makes sense as to why it captured an entire generation’s imaginations. Macchio does an admirable job of recreating the I Was A Teenage Rocky Balboa dialogue without feeling like a baby Stallone clone. And Shue, playing young in her early twenties, is a teenage good girl dream. The ending is quite involving but it takes far too long to get to that tournament. A whole cruel summer… Wax On, Wax Off. Hurry up.

5

Perfect Double Bill: The Karate Kid (1986)

I write regular features about live comedy for British Comedy Guide here https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/bobby_carroll/features/