Grays Almanac

Home/Episodes/The Karate Kid

‘The Karate Kid’ With Bill Simmons and Ryen Russillo

March 26, 2020 · The Karate Kid (1984) · Action · Drama · Family · 1:51:40 · ▶ Listen on Spotify

IMDb ↗Letterboxd ↗

Categories

Most Rewatchable Scene

Bill Simmons▶ 29:43First beach fight scene and Halloween fight scene - discusses both in detail as rewatchable moments

What's Aged the Best

Bill Simmons▶ 1:00:13Bill Conti's music, decision not to use original ending, golf and stuff entertainment complex/date montage location, Mrs. LaRusso on Mount Rushmore of 80s pop culture moms, and 'get him a body bag' line
Ryen Russillo▶ 1:04:28Agrees with 'get him a body bag' line and Tommy's performance, appreciates the sincere mother-son restaurant scene with Mrs. LaRusso

Bill's Mount Rushmore of Eighties Pop Culture Moms

Mount Rushmore · Bill Simmons · ▶ 1:03:02

  1. ·Lucille LaRusso▶ 1:03:02
  2. ·Elyse Keaton▶ 1:03:04
  3. ·Mrs. Bueller▶ 1:03:10
  4. ·Claire Huxtable▶ 1:03:15
  5. ·the mom from Growing Pains · honorable mention▶ 1:03:20

Categories, continued

Joey Pants Award

Bill Simmons▶ 1:16:47Randee Heller — Randy Heller (who plays the mom) - citing her roles in Fast Break, The White Shadow, The Karate Kid, and Melrose Place
Ryen Russillo▶ 1:17:42Chad McQueen — Mentioned Dutch (Chad McQueen) as most psychotic Cobra Kai guy, but Bill noted he's Steve McQueen's son so not really 'that guy' category

Dion Waiters Award

Bill Simmons▶ 1:21:05Martin Kove — Narrowed down to three nominees: John Crease, Dutch (Chad McQueen), and the karate tournament announcer. Initially favored the announcer but agreed to give it to Crease
Ryen Russillo▶ 1:25:13Martin Kove — John Crease

Casting What-Ifs

Bill Simmons▶ 1:26:29Sarah Jessica Parker — Sarah Jessica Parker as the best friend - suggests the movie needed at least one 'semi smoking hot friend' for the Cobra Kai guys to pursue
Ryen Russillo▶ 1:26:52Sarah Jessica Parker — Agrees with Sarah Jessica Parker casting - supports the idea that Dutch, Tommy, and Bobby would complain about the current friends and want better options

Half-Assed Internet Research

Bill Simmons▶ 1:27:01Extensive trivia including: movie backstory as Rocky ripoff, Bananarama's Cruel Summer chart success, Ralph Macchio keeping the yellow car, Pat Morita's drinking scene almost cut, deleted cafeteria fight scenes, product placement issues, and various production facts
Ryen Russillo▶ 1:28:02Added details about the 1948 Ford Super Deluxe Club convertible, praised William Zabka's athleticism and footwork, discussed deleted scenes showing Daniel's maturity confronting Johnny, and emphasized Zabka's impressive martial arts abilities despite being a wrestling background

Picking Nits

Bill Simmons▶ 1:37:35Ralph Macchio's awkward kissing where he attacks her upper lip, though he defends it as character-appropriate for an awkward kid
Ryen Russillo▶ 1:37:14Ralph Macchio's kissing scene is so bad it makes you think he's a bad kisser in real life

Best Quote

Bill Simmons▶ 1:37:56Mentions several quotes including 'man who can catch fly with chopsticks can do anything' and 'what's the matter? Mommy not here to address you,' but identifies 'sweep the leg' or 'get him a body bag' as the top contenders, with 'sweep the leg' being most culturally enduring

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Bill Simmons▶ 1:39:11Multiple questions: Daniel went to Cal Fullerton, Johnny went to Duke (friends with Danny Ferry), Allie went to USC, Dutch's first name was probably Bob/Alex/Kenny Dutch, crane kick led to thousands getting beat up, Miyagi could have saved Kevin Durant in 2019
Ryen Russillo▶ 1:40:24Allie went to Wisconsin then transferred to USC or went to Wheaton College in Mass, LaRusso might have peaked at the tournament and only made it to junior college, thousands tried the crane kick over 30+ years

Who Won the Movie

Bill Simmons▶ 1:49:13William Zabka — William Zabka - acknowledges cases could be made for Pat Morita and Ralph Macchio, but ultimately decides Zabka won the movie as the best and hardest part that could have gone wrong in many ways
Ryen Russillo▶ 1:47:46William Zabka — Supports William Zabka for his incredible staying power and how well he's handled his career, also mentions Elizabeth Shue as a winner since she avoided complications with Daniel

Movies Referenced (33)

Rocky (1976)

9 mentions · Bill Simmons, Ryen Russillo▶ 4:25IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Revenge of the Nerds (1984)

4 mentions · Bill Simmons, Ryen Russillo▶ 9:49IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Vision Quest (1985)

4 mentions · Ryen Russillo, Bill Simmons▶ 6:00IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Serpico (1973)

3 mentions · Ryen Russillo▶ 44:05IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Bachelor Party (1984)

2 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 1:17IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Better Off Dead (1985)

2 mentions · Ryen Russillo▶ 5:21IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Just One of the Guys (1985)

2 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 12:33IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Police Academy (1984)

2 mentions · Bill Simmons, Ryen Russillo▶ 9:37IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Purple Rain (1984)

2 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 9:37IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Rocky III (1982)

2 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 46:36IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Rushmore (1998)

2 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 33:12IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Sucker Punch (2011)

2 mentions · Ryen Russillo▶ 51:26IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Directors Referenced (3)

John G. Avildsen

4 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Rocky, Rocky V, The Karate Kid Part III▶ 1:03:55IMDb ↗Lb ↗

John Hughes

1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Planes, Trains & Automobiles, Uncle Buck, The Breakfast Club▶ 10:01IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Sean Penn

1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Mystic River, 21 Grams, Dead Man Walking▶ 1:12:35IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Actors Referenced (62)

William Zabka

25 mentions · Bill Simmons, Ryen Russillo · Known for The Karate Kid, Hot Tub Time Machine▶ 5:21IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Vincent LaRusso

21 mentions · Bill Simmons, Ryen Russillo · Known for The Mighty Ducks, Superhero Movie▶ 2:56IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Ralph Macchio

17 mentions · Bill Simmons, Ryen Russillo · Known for The Karate Kid, The Karate Kid Part III, My Cousin Vinny▶ 23:57IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Pat Morita

9 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for The Karate Kid, The Karate Kid Part III▶ 17:59IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Bill Cosby

5 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 1:03:16IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Robert Downey Jr.

5 mentions · Bill Simmons, Ryen Russillo · Known for Iron Man, Iron Man 3, Avengers: Endgame▶ 1:11:34IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Chad McQueen

4 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for The Karate Kid, The Karate Kid Part II▶ 1:17:51IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Matt Dillon

4 mentions · Bill Simmons, Ryen Russillo · Known for There's Something About Mary, Crash, Drugstore Cowboy▶ 27:40IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Charlie Sheen

3 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Wall Street▶ 1:11:37IMDb ↗Lb ↗

LeBron James

3 mentions · Ryen Russillo, Bill Simmons · Known for Trainwreck, Hustle▶ 1:01:16IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Michael Jackson

3 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 9:13IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Sarah Jessica Parker

3 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Sex and the City 2, Sex and the City▶ 1:13:50IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Writers Referenced (3)

Bruce Springsteen

3 mentions · Bill Simmons, Ryen Russillo · Known for Blinded by the Light, The Wrestler, Philadelphia▶ 9:13IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Andrew Cosby

2 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for 2 Guns▶ 1:03:16IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Roger Ebert

2 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 28:31IMDb ↗Lb ↗