From AllMovieGuide:
Plot Synopsis by Mark Deming
A new hero of martial arts rises from a North Carolina strip mall in this independent comedy. Fred Simmons is one of the world's most gifted practitioners of the Korean fighting style known as Taekwondo -- or at least that's what he likes to tell people. Despite his supposed skills, Fred teaches students out of a shabby dojo, where for the most part, he browbeats kids into learning the aggressive points of the martial arts without having much understanding of the philosophy or reasoning behind it. Not that most folks care -- in the small town where he teaches, Fred is considered to be the real deal, and his talent as a fighter earns him plenty of respect. But Fred's reputation (and ego) takes a serious blow when he learns his wife, Suzie (Mary Jane Bostic), has been fooling around with another man, and Fred challenges him to a fight that doesn't go well. Falling into an emotional tailspin, Fred goes on a pilgrimage to meet his hero and role model, martial arts celebrity Chuck "The Truck" Wallace (Ben Best). The Foot Fist Way was the first feature film from writer and director Jody Hill.
Color me surprised and impressed. The Foot Fist Way is an incredibly independent (ie. cheaply made) and crudely funny film starring up-and-comer Danny McBride. The missus and I saw McBride earlier this year in Pineapple Express and in a bit part in Tropic Thunder and made mental notes to watch out for this guy.
Then, we learn about The Foot Fist Way. How this film was picked up at Sundance a few years ago by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay to shop around. MTV Films managed to pick it up and put it out in theaters in a very limited run. I missed it when it played Seattle, and honestly, reviews of the film kept me wary. A co-worker of mine (who happens to take Tae Kwon Do) rented the film and loved it. Now I knew I had to make my own mind up about it.
The film was made by McBride and some buddies he went to school with from North Carolina School of Arts. They made the film independently the old fashioned way: charging up credit cards. Sure, the film looks cheap. But the comedy and performances are very funny.
McBride and the other actors really commit to ridiculousness that they say and do. McBride plays a Karate instructor that is very full of himself. His approach is not unlike the "overachieving doofuses" that Will Ferrell usually plays, only darker. McBride's character is even more unhinged, cruel, and filthy. And it's hilarious.
This is not a film for everyone. Like I said, they go to some dark places with the comedy. But that dark tone is what I think sets it apart from the glut of Apatow productions flooding the comedy market. McBride makes that character his own, and fills him with pomposity and brazen one-liners that my girlfriend hopes I won't start quoting.
This is the perfect movie to stumble onto, in the middle of the night, when you're buzzed on something, and you're just in one of those moods...
