Simply A Masterpiece

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

The Beverly Hills Ninja (1997): Dir: Dennis Dugan / Cast: Chris Farley, Nicolette Sheridan, Robin Shou, Nathaniel Parker, Chris Rock: About the mix of two cultures and practices with a baby washed ashore and founded by ninjas. Although brought up on their customs Chris Farley fails to meet their standards. Eventually Nicolette Sheridan shows up offering him a task of spying on her husband. Robin Shou is secretly sent to assist him. Series of mishaps occur that are meant to satire a film that is every bit as bad as this one called Mortal Kombat. Lame plot directed by Dennis Dugan whose long list of stupid films include Problem Child and Happy Gilmore. Farley makes a lot of noise and is surprisingly skilled at driving. This is never explained but it plays like a plot convenience. Sharidan plays the typical damsel with no other purpose other than to look good and be available for possible sexual conquest. Shou is there to engage in combat, which is exactly what he did in Mortal Kombat. Nathaniel Parker is the target Sheridan focuses upon but one imagines that being part of this ridiculous film is punishment enough. Chris Rock makes a start here and thankfully he harnesses his comedic talents in better projects than this. It could have been a satire of the genre but unfortunately it is merely a vehicle for Farley's antics resulting in something that is as bad as many of the films it makes fun of. Score: 3 / 10

Chris Farley really broke out as a leading actor in 1995 when he did Tommy Boy. After that he went on to do Black Sheep and some small movies. Beverly Hills Ninja has an original story to it. This was definitely something that nobody else would think to type out into a screenplay. At points it was pretty amusing and funny, but sometimes you just had to think that it was complete stupidity. Farley was a great comedy movie actor and this proves his working chops, but it needed a little more jazz and spice to it so it could make a 10/10. So far I have decided to give 7/10. It gave a ton of effort and had a launching pad for Chris Rock. All and all it was decent.

I first saw this 1997 comedy about four years ago when I was well into my teenage years, and found it very amusing. I even watched it a couple more times about a year later, and still liked it a lot! However, seeing it again several years later, I was no longer impressed. It no longer made me laugh at all, and I didn't even smile that much, either. Obviously, I have changed somewhat in the past few years, as this isn't the only comedy that I thought was really funny a few years ago but don't find very funny at all now (there's also "Johnny English").When an American baby boy washes up on Japanese shores, he is found and adopted by a ninja clan, who name him Haru. They believe that he will turn out to be a great ninja, but sadly, as he grows up, this appears to be doubtful. Haru is very clumsy, doesn't fit in, and it seems that he will never fully make it as a ninja. However, one night, when he is left to guard the dojo, a young American woman, who claims that her name is Sally Jones, comes in, seeking help from a ninja. After some struggle, Haru soon sets out to Beverly Hills on a mission to find "Sally Jones." His brother, Gobei is sent by the Sensei to secretly follow Haru around and help him. So, Haru and Gobei are both on challenging missions, but this is Haru's chance to prove himself a worthy ninja! Late former "Saturday Night Live" comedian Chris Farley played the starring role of Haru in this movie. The character is a walking disaster, the kind of role that Farley was always known to play in movies. Now, he COULD be funny in that role, but in "Beverly Hills Ninja", he obviously wasn't given a very good script to work with, so he's not very funny here. The gags involving Haru lousing up on virtually everything (which are most of the gigs in the film) are mostly just plain stupid, and it obviously didn't take a comedic genius to write them. It's almost like the same joke throughout the film, starting out stale, yet continuing for the rest of the movie! Most of the "jokes" in this film are mediocre, but at least one of them is lower than that, which is the one with the Chet Walters character laughing to death.Fortunately, Chris Farley was funny in some movies (at least in "Tommy Boy"), and was hilarious in many SNL sketches, so we have that to remember him by, and that's why he's so sadly missed. Sadly, when this movie came out, he was getting close to his death, and he was going through a lot of trouble with substance abuse, which was what eventually killed him. It didn't help that apparently, he was upset after seeing himself in this film. So, aside from not enjoying this movie the last time I watched it, I was left with a bad feeling, knowing all this. To wrap this up, I will say that I don't recommend "Beverly Hills Ninja" unless you're an absolutely DIE-HARD Chris Farley fanatic, and want to see slapstick done VERY unprofessionally!

this is a very funny movie.Chris Farley is hysterical as an inept,clumsy ninja of sorts.the laughs come fast and furious in this one,and i have to say i laughed hard a lot.yes,the movie is silly,but in a good way.there is no toilet humour in this movie,which is nice.they're not scraping the bottom of the barrel to get laughs.the humour in this movie is something most people will relate to or at least get.there are also some dramatic moments which are done well.Nicolette Sheridan plays the sort of love interest,and she does a good job in her role.of course,she's also easy on the eyes.if you like movies with a lot of physical comedy and pratfalls,this may be your movie.this movie is not an academy award winner,obviously,but then,it's not that type of movie.for me,this is one of the funniest movies i've seen in quite some time."Beverly Hills Ninja" gets a 9/10 from me.