Sidekicks
Short description
Barry Gabrewski is a teenage boy with asthma who is bullied at school and overlooked in gym class. He escapes into daydreams in which he fights alongside his idol, the action star Chuck Norris. When his father tries to enroll him in a karate school, the instructor turns them away, so his teacher Noreen Chan introduces him to her uncle, Mr. Lee, who agrees to train the boy. The lessons prepare Barry for a karate tournament, where he comes face to face with his hero.
Sidekicks was directed by Aaron Norris, his third feature after Braddock: Missing in Action III and Delta Force 2: The Colombian Connection. Jonathan Brandis plays Barry, with Chuck Norris appearing as himself, Beau Bridges as Barry's father Jerry, Mako as Mr. Lee, Julia Nickson as Noreen Chan and Joe Piscopo as Kelly Stone. Galen Thompson and Lou Illar wrote the screenplay, and Don Carmody produced.
The film was released in December 1992 and runs 101 minutes. Made for about 8 million dollars, it took in roughly 17 million worldwide, a modest return on its budget. On TMDB it holds a rating of 5.3 out of 10 from about 205 votes, while critics' reviews average 4 out of 10 across 19 reviews, so audiences rated it somewhat more favorably than critics did.
What's left behind the scenes
- The idea for this film was based on real events. It was asthma that prompted Richard Norton to seriously take up martial arts. He studied Goju-ryu karate. Chuck Norris helped him become a famous actor.
- This film is one of the few primarily shot in Houston, Texas. It was financed by well-known businessman Jim Mcguire, who invested $8 million in it. Perhaps because Chuck Norris himself approached him with the idea for the film. In his book, “Always Think Big,” McGuire admits that financing the film was a big mistake.
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