Ya Got Trouble in Little China
Interestingly, if you check out
Big Trouble's
IMDB trivia page, you'll find out that the film was originally conceived as a Western, which was eventually deemed too difficult, so the setting was updated to the present day.
The show is coming at an interesting time for me. On one hand, it's perfect for this still periodically sleep-deprived dad: it's short, incredibly silly, entirely inconsequential and aiming for nothing but good-natured laughs from the audience and knowing appreciation from fans of the original film.
On the other hand, it's also a self-indulgent thrill ride for me, even if on a modest itinerant Chicago theater scale. I'm getting to play
Wang, the character played onscreen by
Dennis Dun. One of the notable things about
Big Trouble in Little China is that even though the white guy (Kurt Russel) is ostensibly the lead, he is portrayed largely as a fool and buffoon. Wang is presumably the obligatory sidekick when the story begins, but as things unfold, it is clear that he is the more knowing of the two characters, and certainly the more competent hand-to-hand fighter when the kung-fu breaks out.
Dennis Dun as Wang
According to the IMDB trivia page, Carpenter originally wanted
Jackie Chan to play Wang, based on his then-recent Hong Kong work (including the classic
Police Story). However, this was still a decade before Chan would break into the Hollywood box office, so the studio was unsure of his casting, and Chan himself apparently wasn't interested.
Personally, I'm glad Chan didn't get the part. He's one of my all-time favorite action stars, but I think his naturally exuberant clowning would not have fit the character. One of the fun things about watching Dennis Dun in the role is he's so unassuming; he makes for a great martial arts everyman that the audience can root for. Also unusual for an American martial arts film is that no attempt is ever made to offer an explanation for Wang's martial arts prowess. Usually there is a need to include a bulky explanation or backstory for why someone fights the way they do (especially in 80s Hollywood films), whether they are ex-military or grew up next to an old master. When the fisticuffs begin, Dun just launches into action, and not even Kurt Russel's character bothers to question it (which is funny since up to that point, Dun is presumably just the proprietor of a Chinese restaurant).
Dun is probably one of the reasons that
Big Trouble has a lot of fans among Asian Americans. At the time it came out, there was even less representation of Asian and Pacific Islanders onscreen than today. So it was really thrilling to see a film with so many Asian faces about, both the good guys and bad guys, even if Kurt Russel and a pre-
Sex and the City Kim Cattrall were supposed to be the leading guy and gal.
On a final note, I recommend that any fan of
Big Trouble in Little China should also check out
Zu - Warriors from the Magic Mountain. This absolutely insane Hong Kong kung-fu fantasy sword and sorcery film directed by
Tsui Hark was supposedly one of John Carpenter's inspirations for
Big Trouble and shouldn't be missed.
UPDATE
Probably a good idea if I actually include the information on the show, right?
New Millennium Theatre Company Presents
The Big, The Trouble, And the Little China
Adapted and Directed by Meagan Piccochi
Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8pm
May 1st - May 23rd
Sunday May 3rd at 3pm
At the Royal George Theatre
1641 N. Halsted
Tickets available at
nmtchicago.org
