The major sports will always be my focus. I’m going to dig into the greatness of Lebron this week. I’ll review the upcoming NBA Conference Finals. I may even do a baseball section, but today, I’m going to review a show.
Background
Hopefully, everyone had the opportunity to see the original Karate Kid movie, which was released in 1984. I think most people of my generation fell in love with Daniel Larusso or Daniel San (Ralph Macchio), Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita), and of course, Allie (Elizabeth Shue). As a kid, everyone tried to replicate the Crane Kick, which everyone knows had no defense. We all know the reference to Wax On, Wax Off and Paint the Fence. I think I tried once to catch a fly in some chopsticks for an entire summer afternoon. The Karate Kid was Rocky for high school kids (both directed by John Avildsen). Plus, it made karate cool. I never did take karate, but you better believe I thought I could break a board after seeing that movie.
Now, the other thing that everyone remembers from that great 80s classic was that Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) was the biggest jerk on Earth and the Cobra Kai kids were bullies. However, there were probably no cooler Halloween costumes than the skeletons worn by the Cobra Kai (and of course the Daniel San shower costume was cool, too).
Let’s face it, Ralph Macchio never hit it big besides the Karate Kid movies, which my buddies tried to catalog on Saturday night. I, honestly, can’t remember Karate Kid Part III. I remember one with Hillary Swank, but still the 1st one was the best. Sure, there was My Cousin Vinny, but Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei were the stars of that picture. And Johnny? Well, I did recognize him in Hot Tub Time Machine (of course an 80s reference movie and clear wink to the decade). I’m sure he has had other roles, but after such an iconic role, it had to be hard to get other ones.
So, why am I writing all about a karate movie from the 80s (which did have a decent remake a few years back with Taraji Henson and Jaden Smith). The reason is somebody had a great idea (Ralph Macchio and others) to jump back into the Valley 30 years later to see what happened to our hero, Daniel San, and even better, the ultimate bully, Johnny Lawrence. YouTube Red is the channel you can find the new show called appropriately, Cobra Kai.
Here’s the Trailer from IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7221388/videoplayer/vi2852239385?ref_=tt_ov_vi
Cobra Kai Basics
The show picks up 30 years after the big All Valley Tournament back in 1984. Johnny is now a washed out divorced dad with a handyman job doing everything from removing dead rats from gutters to fixing wiring in rich people’s houses. He still drives a Pontiac Firebird that needs a paint job now and lives in an apartment building that looks a lot like the place where Danny Larusso met Mr. Miyagi originally in lower income Reseda. Now, Johnny crosses paths with a young latino high schooler who is very nice and lives in his building, Miguel, but that kid gets bullied by the rich kids from Encino. You can see where this is going.
Meanwhile, Daniel Larusso is the most successful auto dealer in the Valley. Larusso Luxury Auto “Kicks The Competition.” Daniel is married to a gorgeous wife (played by Courtney Henggeler) who works with him, and he has 2 kids, including a teen age daughter who is breaking into the “cool” crowd and an out of shape, video game chunker of a son.
The series really flips the script from the original movie. It makes Johnny the underdog trying to re-tool his life by drawing on what he knows best – Karate. Daniel crosses Johnny’s path in several ways, but he is not an outright villain, which I think makes the show great. Daniel essentially has PTSD with Johnny and his new business venture which links directly to their collective past.
My Take On the Show
There are literally millions of shows to watch now, so I’m not going to say Cobra Kai is the best show out there. However, Cobra Kai is on YouTube Red, so it has its own rules. In fact, I think most episodes are under 30 minutes. My buddy and I watched like 8 episodes over the course of yesterday, and to be honest, we couldn’t get enough. The show does a great job of keeping you hooked and like any good streaming show leaves you hanging before the next episode loads. So, Cobra Kai is a very easy show to watch. Not a huge layered plot, but enough strands of intertwined relationships to make the viewer really want to see how things go (or blow up).
The Other Characters
The casting besides the old guard is outstanding. Miguel, the Johnny pupil, is played by Xolo Mariduena (sorry no accent over the n). Xolo is a perfect cast and plays the role authentically. I’ve not seen this actor, but I think he gives you a modern Daniel San to root for with plenty of depth. Miguel’s family is perfect with the single mom, played by Vanessa Rubio, and the grandmother (played by Rose Bianco) provides great comic relief in Spanish subtitles.
On the Larusso side, the teenage daughter, Samantha, played by Mary Mouser is deftly shown as that kid who vaulted into popularity while trying to juggle her true good nature. I personally relate to her character a lot, as her friends eviscerate all other kids, including one of her former best friends, which brings on internal conflict. There is a nice cameo of Mrs. Larusso, Daniel’s Mom from the 1st movie, Randee Heller.
Finally, a character that grows as the series goes on, Robby, Johnny’s estranged son, played by Tanner Buchanan is a nice development and gives a good foil in the series.
Final Take
Cobra Kai is a perfect blend of nostalgia with not only the flashbacks to the original movie, plus some back story on the development of Johnny and the next generation embracing the discipline and training of Karate among the world of cyber bullying and virtual communication. Cobra Kai delivers laughs and that feeling we love in all stories (especially sports movies/shows) – rooting for the underdog. This time Cobra Kai gives us both sides of the story and possibly more than one side to root for. Definitely check it out!
Wegs Rating – 3 Baskets (out of 4)