Beverly Hills Ninja is a 1997 action comedy film starring Chris Farley as a bumbling ninja in Beverly Hills. Written by Mark Feldberg and Mitchell Klebanoff and directed by Dennis Dugan. Also starring Nicollette Sheridan, Nathaniel Parker, Robin Shou, Soon-Tek Oh, and Chris Rock.
Chris Farley plays Haru, who was found by ninja as an infant and was raised by them. Haru never quite conforms to their culture and never acquires the skills of a ninja but is nonetheless good-natured and persevering in his personal ambitions. His first mission brings him to Beverly Hills to investigate a murder mystery.
Plot
A clan of ninja find a chest that has been washed onto shore, inside of which is a white baby boy. An ancient legend spoke of a foreigner who would come among the ninja and become a master like no other. The boy, Haru, is raised amongst the ninja, with the expectation that he may be the one the legend speaks of. However, doubts are cast over him being the great white ninja. Although he does possess some ninja traits, Haru (Chris Farley) is clumsy and does not really fit in. He does not graduate a ninja with the rest of his class. Left alone to guard the temple while all the ninjas are on a mission, Haru poses as a ninja when a blonde American woman comes in search of the services of one. The woman, Sally Jones (Nicollette Sheridan), is suspicious of her man, Martin Tanley (Nathaniel Parker), and sends Haru down to the harbor to investigate. Haru sees that Tanley is involved in a counterfeiting business, and also witnesses a murder. The clan are upset with Haru's actions, as the police now suspect a ninja is responsible for a murder. However, Haru is adamant that Sally is in trouble, despite the name Sally Jones appearing to be a pseudonym. Haru departs for America, to Beverly Hills (judging from a pack of matches she left behind). Gobei (Robin Shou), the best ninja in Haru's class, is sent to watch over him.
Haru has trouble adjusting to Western culture, but checks into a Beverly Hills hotel, where he befriends an employee, Joey (Chris Rock), teaching him a few ninja lessons. Haru goes in search of Sally, convinced that she is in trouble. He eventually finds her (unknowingly with the help of Gobei), but she distances herself from him. Haru tails Tanley to a club, where he is trying to get back a set of plates from a rival gang. However, Haru again finds himself the suspect of another two murders. He returns to the hotel the next day he meditates to communicate with his sensei for guidance. He resumes his quest, and tracks down Tanley's home. Once breaking in he is able to speak with Sally Jones, whose real name is actually Allison Page. Haru begins to trust her again, and she explains that she suspects Tanley of killing her sister. That night Haru and Allison escape a gun-fight at an Asian restaurant, and Tanley sees Allison there (Tanley and Haru were both surprised to see Allison there). The pair have to retreat to the hotel. The next day Haru poses as an ink specialist and is taken to Tanley's offices. However, Tanley soon finds out that he is "the fat ninja that everyone is talking about." While Tanley is in the process of getting the other half of the plates that night, Allison rescues Haru from the back of a van. However Allison is taken by Tanley, and Haru must find his way back to his offices, but since he was blindfolded during his first journey, he must recreate the ride by memory, and enlists the help of Joey, and without his knowing, Gobei is hiding in the trunk. After Joey drives into a horse race and a car wash, Haru and Joey start over. Gobei gets out of the trunk after Haru is blindfolded, knocks Joey out, and Gobei drives to Tanley's warehouse. Haru uses the momentum of a large palm tree to jump into the warehouse, while Gobei also makes it in.
They are met by Tanley's men, and they fight together (Haru nunchucking Gobei several times by accident) until Haru is reminded that he should be saving Allison. Using a forklift, he smashes two holes in the wall of the room where Allison is held captive, almost setting off the bomb. He tries to defuse the bomb, but accidentally resets the timer for five minutes. Haru leaves Allison for a moment to help Gobei, who is surrounded. Haru jumps off the railing and lands on an axe-wielding henchman that is about to kill Gobei. Haru suddenly becomes an adept ninja when Gobei gets hurt by one of Tanley's workers. They defeat the henchmen with a little help from Joey, who jumps through the window in the same fashion Haru did and lands on one of them. Haru and Gobei must now defeat Tanley, who has a gun. Haru slices the rope of a winch, aiming for Tanley, but the hook knocks Gobei out instead. Blocking Tanley's bullets by swinging his swords, Haru eventually incapacitates Tanley. Haru runs back to the upper level. Using a huge harpoon gun mounted on a cart, he shoots a harpoon through the room, which inadvertently caught onto a truck Tanley attempts to escape in. After catching the bomb, the cart pulls itself to Tanley's truck, which explodes seconds later. Haru saves Allison, while Tanley and his remaining henchmen were arrested.
The ending sequence shows an about-to-be-married Allison and Haru talking to his sensei (Soon-Tek Oh) about leaving to a place that needs more ninja. Allison and Haru leave in the back of a truck, which drags a rope tied to Gobei's wheelchair. Haru shouts an apology to his brother, who is flung into the ocean.
Cast
Music
- "You're a Ninja?..."
- "Kung Fu Fighting" - Patti Rothberg
- "One Way or Another" - Blondie
- "...We Are in Danger..."
- "Tsugihagi Boogie Woogie" - Ulfuls
- "Low Rider" - War
- "The blackness of my belt..."
- "Tarzan Boy" - Baltimora
- "...my identity must remain mysterious..."
- "Turning Japanese" - The Vapors
- "You're the big, fat Ninja, aren't you?"
- "Kung Fu Fighting" - Carl Douglas
- "I'm Too Sexy" - Right Said Fred
- "...close to the temple, not inside"
- "I Think We're Alone Now (Japanese Version)" - Lene Lovich
- "Finally Got It" - Little John
- "...Yes, I guess I did"
- "The End" - George Clinton & Buckethead
Production
- Most of the outdoor scenes were filmed not in Beverly Hills, but in Pasadena and Malibu.
- There was one scene in which Haru tries to hide like a ninja. At one point, he jumped through the wall. Farley had injured himself doing that stunt.
- According to an A&E biography, Chris Farley was quite unhappy with the film and the experience working on it and hated the film upon seeing it for the very first time and told his agent that he never wanted to do such a film again. Farley's stance was justified as it arguably attributed to the exploitation of his manic, physical humor by dumbing it down and playing it out to an almost tiring and foolish degree.
- There is one scene that was cut out of the theatrical release but is sometimes shown on TV, Haru goes into a ancient Chinese artifact store looking for the scroll of the White Ninja, but ends up destroying the shop and the scroll.
See also
References
External links
