129. Big Trouble in Little China
Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
Director: John Carpenter
Starring: Kurt Russell, Dennis Dun, James Hong, Kim Cattrall
Synopsis: After enjoying a night of gambling in the streets of Chinatown with his friend Wang Chi (Dennis Dun), well-toned doofus Jack Burton (Kurt Russell) accompanies Wang to the airport to pick up his green-eyed fiancee Miao Yin (Suzee Pai). Miao Yin is kidnapped by the incredibly fashionable Lords of Death gang, leading Jack and Wang into a completely different movie where two ancient Chinese martial arts schools (clubs? guilds?) battle for control of the streets or maybe the whole world. It doesn’t matter. What DOES matter is that one of these groups is led by David Lo Pan (James Hong), an evil sorcerer who is sometimes a ghost and other times a very old and impatient human man looking to marry a green-eyed girl to end his centuries-long curse. Jack and Wang team up with local exposition machine and not-evil sorcerer Egg Shen (Victor Wong) as well as local attorney and poster child for nominative determinism Gracie Law (Kim Cattrall) in order to infiltrate Lo Pan’s underground muppet fortress and save the day!
Bechdel-Wallace Pass? Yes
“Kurt Russell’s the ultimate Hunkle.”
The Episode
We recall Big Trouble in Little China (1986), a magical action movie that does not take place in New York, but does include large puppets. We also meet Turbo Dog.
A special thanks to Luke Phillips for sponsoring this extra episode of Totes Recall. Thank you, Luke!
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