Description:

"The Last Dragon: Martial Arts, Self-Discovery, and Cheesy Charm" is a cult classic film that masterfully blends martial arts, music, and urban culture, while exploring themes of individuality and self-discovery. Chris Adams and Travis Rollins, both avid fans and knowledgeable critics, offer unique insights into this beloved film. Adams, with his deep knowledge and enthusiasm, sees the film as a celebration of individuality and self-discovery, while acknowledging its cheesy charm. Rollins, on the other hand, appreciates the film's cheesy qualities and recognizes its impact on pop culture, while also highlighting the deeper aspects of the movie beyond just martial arts and urban culture. Join Chris Adams and Travis Rollins on this episode of the Retro Life 4 You podcast as they delve into the martial arts, self-discovery, and cheesy charm of "The Last Dragon".

Timestamped Outline:

(00:02:01) Individuality and Self-Discovery

(00:10:16) Soundtrack & Vanity

(00:14:28) Maximum Overdrive & Christopher Murney

(00:16:27) Travis Talks About Tag Line From Movie

(00:18:31) Leroy's Mission and Rescues Laura Charles

(00:21:17) Cheesy Music and Videos

(00:34:28) Supporting Characters

(00:38:13) Society's Changing Views

(00:45:03) Berry Gordy's The Last Dragon

(00:51:29) Actors considered for the role of Leroy Green

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Interesting Links For The Last Dragon:

The Last Dragon on IMDB

The Last Dragon on Wikipedia

The Last Dragon on Rotten Tomatoes

Story on The Last Dragon on TV Tropes

Buy The Movie Here

Welcome, listeners, to another exciting episode of Retro Life for you. Today we're diving into a classic that's true gem to the film that's a unique blend of martial arts, music, and urban culture the Last Dragon. Get ready to journey back to the neon soaked streets of New York City, where we'll follow the story of Leroy Green, a young martial artist on a quest to achieve the ultimate level of mastery known simply as the globe. But it's not just about martial arts, really. The film is a celebration of individuality self discovery and, as Leroy finds out himself, the power of believing in oneself. From Bruce Leroy's unforgettable quest to find the master and the enigmatic villain show enough. With his larger than life personality to the infectious soundtrack that fuses Motown and 80s pop, the Last Dragon is a cultural time capsule that continues to captivate audiences. In this episode, we'll break down the movie's themes, its impact on pop culture, the legacy it left behind, and why it remains beloved cult classic. We'll discuss the iconic scenes and some memorable quotes. So sit back and relax and get ready to take a trip down memory lane as we explore the world of The Last Dragon. Whether you're a longtime fan or you're discovering it for the first time, there is something magical about this film that keeps us all coming back for more. Let's begin our discussion of the last dragon. Welcome back to the podcast, everybody. Retro life for you. My name is Chris Adams, host of the show, and alongside me today, as always, Mr. Travis Rollins, who this week has a certain glow about him. I want you to know he's got a glow about him.

Glow.

Not just any glow, but the glow.

The glow. Heck yeah.

So to go ahead and put it on out there, we're doing The Last Dragon this week. I've been kind of looking forward to that for a while. Certain movies growing up, I really loved a lot, and this is one of them. And it's really cheesy. We've been discussing how cheesy it is, but super cheese. It's fun to watch. But before we get there, man, how's things been going? How's the week been?

Everything's wonderful, man. We just got done putting my daughter back at school. She just got done moving back into PC for her senior year. We were all like, hey, last year? She said, well, not really. And I was like, yeah, really? But she's going undergrad after this gets done. But it's still a big deal. It's funny that we had to convince her that it was because she's like, no, I still got more to go. I was like, yeah, but you're a senior in college. Come on.

She might want to go for a doctorate, man. She won't get the big money. Yeah, I hope then mom and Daddy can take a break for a while. She can take care of you all. It's been going pretty decent today.

That's what I'm hoping. I'm hoping I can maybe retire at some point.

See, that's what I'm saying.

Yeah.

But no, it's been pretty decent here today. Not a lot going on. My usual typical day off to start my week, or start my days off for the week, I should say. Just getting a little rest in, run a few errands, watch for lunch, little small things.

Right on, right on. Do you have a good weekend? Like, weather wise? We had a pretty weekend, man.

Oh, it's been great here. It's been great for this past week. It's going to be great this upcoming week. It's just going to be hot. I mean, I'm talking like there's two hobbits in my backyard trying to dispose of a ring.

Hot, right? That's what we pulled out the projector and watched a couple of great movies this weekend the neighbor's wife has never seen and the kids none of the kids have ever seen. San Andreas with the rock. Heck yeah, man. It was awesome. We put the projector up on the side of the garage over there, and then they went out and got one of the great big PA speaker that you can actually use on the soundstage from Sam's, and we watched the first one with that. So then I went out and got the second one. I got one myself so we could pair them up. And we watched the 300 last night. So good. A couple of little yeah.

I don't think I've ever seen the 300, to be honest with you. I know what it is, but I've never seen it. I know, man.

I'm behind movie ever made.

We're always kind of giving a little tease out to the audience, saying that we can't believe how many movies there are people haven't seen that we talk about. And here I am. I've not seen the 300. It's been out for a good while.

Yeah, 2006, I believe it came out.

Yeah, like I said, very good. While San Andreas, though.

300 on the show.

You know what? 2000 early. You never know.

Yes, sir.

But the San Andreas everybody likes a good disaster movie, right? Twister. San Andreas. We got what? Armageddon. Deep Impact 2012 was a good one. Volcano is a great one. I love volcano.

Yeah. San Andreas falls about five years outside of our timeline. Yeah.

Well, maybe one day, or maybe we'll just have ourselves a separate little podcast of just every kind of movie.

Why not movies?

All the movies, all the good stuff, back around to this last Dragon movie.

Oh, yeah.

For the cast. For the cast. This movie is kind of I don't want to say unique, but I mean, the guy, the lead character, Timac. I think it's how you pronounce his name. T-A-I-M-A-K. You've not seen him, really in anything else except maybe a couple of commercials. I mean, he's not a big mainstream actor in any way. Not even a B movie actor?

No, not really. What's funny, though, is he's going to be Master Waddell in The Fearless Three.

Really?

Either is coming out or has come out this year.

So he's back into it then?

Yeah, it's already out. Let me find the I don't see the release date, but it's out because you can watch it.

That's nice. He's getting back into things again.

Yeah. So that actually came out this year. He's actually worked. He's got two. He was Cade Cross and double cross. I don't know. That's a TV series. He was in four seasons of that. It looks like it's a lot of fighting type stuff, too, though. But yeah, he's actually been in quite a few things. There's one movie where he's actually Captain Timac and they're just friends.

He's a pretty good martial artist. I'm surprised he didn't land more movies, right, even if it was in the B movie. Kind of know there's some great B movie fighters out there. Look at Billy Blanks. Look at Cynthia Rothrock, Richard Norton, Keith Cook.

Right. Billy Blanks. Was it four time or six time world champion? Three time axe kick somebody in the face and literally cut their face in half.

I think you look at Michael Jai White.

Michael jai white's. The real deal.

Go back further back to the Cynthia Rothrock, Richard Norton time frame. Don The Dragon Wilson, who was an actual fighter as well. He did what was it? Not Bloodsport, but that was a pretty good series.

You have another one who's the real deal in this movie as well. You got Ernie Reyes Jr.

Yes. I was going to bring that up for sure.

He was the real deal. Yeah, we had a lot of real deal guys back then.

Dude. I love watching Ernie Reyes Jr. Fight. He has got some great moves on him. He's a great fighter.

Oh, my God. Remember him in the rundown.

Yes. And you know what? I'm going to tell you something magnificent. I did not know for the longest that that was him in the rundown.

Oh, really?

Yeah, because he didn't really look quite the same as how I remembered him.

Dude, he wasn't that big.

He was ripped. I mean, the muscles were just popping out on him everywhere. And I'm used to seeing him with different type hair. He's doing more martial arts type stuff and everything new.

In Ninja Turtles two, he was Donatello. He was in the suit in the first one, wasn't he?

I don't know if it was the.

First one or he was Donatello in one of the movies. I can't remember which.

I can't either. But I know what you're talking about, though. And then, of course, in The Secret of the Ooze, the second one when they originally came out with Ninja Turtles. So that role is what did you say his name was?

He was in the second one as the pizza, right?

Yes.

Yeah. So in the first movie, he was Donatello I'm pretty okay.

Okay, well, and then to kind of throw a few more names out there, you had Vanity playing the role of Laura Charles. Who is this record? Not really a record lady. She kind of hosts, like, a video show dance, kind of compare it to Soul Train or something, right? Soul Train or American band stand.

Yep, that's what I was going to say. Didn't she sing in it as well, or was she just a producer?

No, she would be on the show. She was the host of the show. She would sing on the show. The name of it was called 7th Heaven. As far as the name of the show in the movie now, she's been in several other movies as well. If you remember, she was an Action Jackson with Carl Weathers.

Well, she was a singer for real, too.

Oh, yeah, she was a singer for real. She had some music out there. She's got a couple of songs on the soundtrack, I do believe, as well.

Yes.

And speaking of which, soundtrack really was not that bad. I mean, if you like that kind of pop sound from the got some pretty cool songs from the movie on the soundtrack.

And I need to watch this. No, that was a music video. My bad. That must have been following I was going to say she was Sydney Ash in Action Jackson, and then she was Sydney Ash and the Pointer Sister. He turned me out. I thought that was a movie, but that's a music video, so it must have been the same thing.

Okay. Correct me if I'm wrong. I take it you're looking at her stuff right now, so correct me if I'm wrong. Did she not pass away recently?

I don't have that information pulled up.

I'm thinking she did.

Let's see, Vanity.

Yeah, 2016.

Okay.

Yeah, I just pulled her IMDb up 1959 to 2016, it said.

Wow, that's crazy.

I thought I remembered reading something about that, right?

Heck yeah. She was a good looking. She was a handsome woman, for sure.

Do you know what else she was into that I remember watching when I was younger.

What's that?

1986. Never too young to die.

Yeah.

Had John Stamos in it. And I think Gene Simmons had a bit part in it as a bag.

Yes, I do remember that. Dude, it's been years since I saw that.

Oh, I know it's been I remember.

That because I remember that was like, I'd only seen Uncle Jesse a few different places from Full House, so I knew whenever I saw him, I remembered, you know what? And anybody who hasn't seen needs to look up him on. Is it the Little Mermaid? I think it's The Little Mermaid. But he did, like a stage production, maybe in Disney World, maybe on Broadway, I don't know. But it was Little Mermaid, and he was the chef, man, singing the Poisson. And it was amazing. If I didn't know it was took, I don't know if I would have recognized him, man.

So you mentioned she was a singer earlier. She says right here she was a part of a Glamorous Canadian model and let me rephrase it. She was a Glamorous Canadian model and lead singer of the all girl group Vanity Six.

Yeah.

Yes. Born in Canada. Born Denise Catherine Matthews. So, yeah, she's got a few things listed on here. Terror Train. Klondike Fever. Tanya's island. Last Dragon. Never too young to die. 52 Card. I'm sorry? 52 pickup. I see 52 pickup. I automatically think of 52 card pickup.

He's about to throw the card in there with it.

Oh, my God. For those of you who might not know what that means, I know we do have sometimes some younger people listen to the show. I can remember being young and looking for something to do when you're bugging the parents for something to do. I'm bored. I want something to do. Can I go outside? They won't let you go outside or anything. At the point it's raining or maybe it's too cold or something. They say, you want to play a game? I'm like, what kind of game? You want to play a card game? Sure. I'm thinking we're going to play some rummy or some Uno or throw it on the floor. Let's play 52 card pickup. And I'm like, what's? 52 card pickup. Oh, I did it right then, right? You done messed up. Then they just bend them between their fingers and let them fly up in the air everywhere. And they go all across the floor in the room. They're like, 52 cards on the ground. Pick them up.

Heck, yeah.

You kind of learn not to tell your parents you're bored after a while, right? Travis's studio is falling apart.

It sounds like falling apart as my Add over here playing with stuff, and then I dropped it.

Oh, my gosh. The bad guy, the movie. Eddie Arcadian, played by Christopher Murney. Do you recall seeing him in much of anything else?

Nothing but maximum overdrive.

Was he in maximum overdrive. What are you playing at?

He was camp loman.

I really do not remember him.

I think he was the salesman in the blue coat overcoat with the hat on. Like the derby with the blue coat.

Okay. Yeah, I think talk about being a long while since seeing the movie Maximum Overdrive.

Yeah, that's a good oldie right there.

It is.

Bummy it didn't quite make our top ten of our horror movies, but it was a good one.

No, but I think it was an honorable mention, wasn't it?

It may have been, yeah.

He's been last dragon. He's been in some TV stuff. Like Miami Vice found money. Another world. Mash kojak equalizer. But then we get further up here and let's see if he's got any movies to show he's got a few. I mean, even into the 2000s, he did some things, it looks like.

Yeah.

After the last dragon is when Maximum overdrive came and something called where are the children? Then you got some TV stuff and looks like it. Skips ahead 99 in 2000. I don't know what he did between that time frame, but that's why I said he didn't really strike me as somebody that's been in a lot of stuff. I don't remember him from a ton of things.

Right.

I definitely didn't remember him from maximum overdrive. Glad you did. So before we go very much further with the characters in it, the people who started, I want to just say, just to spring one thing up, this one person, Faith Prince, she played Angela Barocco. She was the girl that Eddie Arcadian was trying to push. Right. And before go any further with that, let's go ahead and give a little basis for the movie here so people don't get too lost in what we're.

Out. Check it out. I want to do this right here. This will be fun.

What?

He's a martial artist master who refuses to fight. He's a Bruce Lee fan who's so sure he's oriental that he eats popcorn with chopsticks. His friends thinks he's too serious. His family thinks he's crazy. His enemies think he's no challenge, but she knows he's the last dragon.

Actually, she was calling him the master. You had it so good until you got to the last of it. She was calling him a master?

Yeah, but that was an actual tagline from the movie.

Oh, was it really? Wow.

Yeah, I just read it.

Did you really?

Yeah, that was I was doing that was practicing for being in the booth.

So what you're saying is that he is the master.

The master. That wasn't too close to autobots roll out, was it?

Not quite that close, no. But you were almost there.

Yeah, it was basically this summer to a theater near you.

So basically, timeac, like he said, plays the role of this guy Leroy green around the neighborhood. Around the neighborhood. People call him.

Lazy with the martial arts.

Right. So if you're actually looking new York.

Chicago or whatever, it's somewhere in New York, walking around in a karate gee with a straw hat on, like right.

Right out to the streets of New York. And he's not going to get picked on in any way, right?

No, not at all.

And if you're able to see the video eventually of this, you'll see under our names here, we got myself, I got Bruce Leroy down there. That's what the name Bruce Leroy comes from. Is that the glow?

Yes.

Only then will he find that he.

Is the master, the best of the best.

But that being said all right, so he is somebody who studies martial arts. He's been sent on this quest by his teacher that he has called his master all this time, who he has now completed his circle of training with this guy, and he doesn't fully understand that he is now a master of his art. Okay? Of the stuff that he's taking, I don't know if it's taekwondo, karate, or whatever it is, but his teacher sees that he needs something to give him purpose, so he sends him on a quest to take this medallion he gives him to the guy called Sumdam Goy, I believe is what he calls it.

Yes, you are correct.

Some dumb goy. So this is how the movie starts out. He's on his mission, right, on his quest. So it revolves around this and the fact that this bad guy, the movie called Shownuff is back in the area. All right?

He's the leader of the Showguns gang.

Yeah, well, he is the Showgun, he says.

Yeah.

Faith prince that plays Angela Verocco. All right, so Leroy's on his little thing, right? His mission. His brother has the hots for Laura Charles, who is the lady who is over the 7th Heaven show, which is, like we said, soul trainer, American Bandstand. He ends up actually saving her. Leroy does from being abducted at one point, and then he has to rescue her from Eddie Arcadian himself at his hotel room where he is staying at, or his penthouse, whatever it and so he ends up kind of falling forward, too. But the lady that Eddie Arcadian is trying to push is so outlandishly cheesy and stupid. When you're first introduced to her, Travis, do you remember this? When you're first introduced to her, what.

Is she oh, was it the thing? Are you talking about? I don't remember.

No, that's the video. That's the video. You're thinking, I know where you're going with that.

Thinking about the bra. No, but I know she was a straight her character's look and actions were it says, by production. It was straight up inspired to be a take on Cindy Lauper.

Right. But when she the way she's introduced to you is that she is wearing this blue, what looks like, for lack of better term, she's Rainbow Bright.

Okay?

She's got this outfit on, not quite every color of the rainbow, but she's got some blue, she's got some red and yellow on it and a little green, maybe. And I swear it looks like something the cartoon character Rainbow Bright would have on.

That's hilarious.

If you don't know who Rainbow Bright is, google it. You'll find out. You'll see what I'm talking about? And her music is just not good. The video that Laura Charles is forced to watch has the girl in this really stupid outlandish video, and she's got the bra on. That is headlights is what they are literally headlights for her bra.

Yeah. I love the one where it got super cheesy for me was when he was saving the girl out front when she came out and they had the limo or whatever, when Laura would come out with the vanity. Who played Laura?

Right.

And I don't remember was it Eddie or not that was trying to get her in the limo. It was his henchman or something.

It's his henchman. He sent somebody else to drive the car because she says, how you doing tonight, Sal? He's like, Sal's on.

When the when they were fighting outside of the car, man, that was like, oh, my God. And he was doing like, the Bruce. So he's a Bruce Lee fan, though. So, I mean, it makes sense. But at the same time, it was so terrible making the noises and trying to do the little dances and stuff. And when he shoved a guy through the window but the window was down the window to hold him there or something.

Do you remember when he runs around the front of the car to take on the last guy who's holding her? He's got to run the neck. But when he runs around, he actually runs around the car like somebody from one of the old Bruce Lee type movies. It's like quick little pitter patter, steps around in the front.

All of his movements were mimicking.

Yes, yes. It's crazy. So to go to the other part you mentioned earlier, they're in a theater. He is literally in the theater eating popcorn with chopsticks.

Right.

That is what he's doing.

And wearing a silly little hat.

Yes. And his hat is still on. Now, can you imagine being in a theater and you got some idiot in front of you? It's got a three foot hat around his head. It's got like a circumference of three foot around I mean, it's like a mini pearl hat, like on steroids.

Right?

It's crazy. And I know I'm saying things younger people don't get. Look up mini pearls. All I could tell you, only difference is he didn't have a tag on his hat. But I mean, it would be blocking people's vision behind him for sure. And this is another part of the cheesiness in the theater before show enough gets there. Okay? You're seeing a part of the movie, it's enter the Dragon they're watching, right? Bruce Lee. There's a guy in the theater who mimics something from the movie where Bruce Lee is jumping up and coming down on top of a person. And what the guy in the theater is doing is he's jumping up and coming down on top of somebody's. Boombox. Because suddenly, apparently in 19, 84, 80 when this movie came out, I guess, apparently the way it worked in Harlem was that suddenly a boombox would be put out in a theater and kids are break dancing up there in the.

B Boys.

Now, I'm sure that didn't really happen at the theater, but it might have.

Been that Turbo and Switch had just left.

Turbo and Ozone.

You mean Turbo and Ozone? Turbo. And switch.

Who's Switch?

Switch might not even been there.

I thought Switch was from the mean.

Ozone might not have been there.

Well, you never know, I guess, right?

Switch might have been in the matrix. He might have been dancing too. Look, there's a dancer out here named Switch. I guarantee it. We got Sean right now. What about fiction? His name's Sean.

Sean?

Yeah, but his dance name is FIC Sean instead of Sean.

Little play on words you did there, I get you. When you were that age, did you carry around your little piece of cardboard that you folded up and everything?

Yeah. No, I didn't do that. So I was more into wrestling at that age. So I was like the Rock and Roll Express. I had different color bandanas tied up my knees and on my arms with the ripped up jeans.

All right, then.

Rocking my Jordash and my Ruse ready to go.

I like you a little bit better.

Now that I know that splattered paint all over them. I got my dad's safety glasses, cutting torch glasses and splattered paint all over them like the Macho Man.

See, I like you a whole lot better now, knowing that you was imitating the wrestlers and not trying to be one of the break dancers.

That's good, because yeah, I was too busy, dag. I'm wrestling. Yeah, that's about where I was. That was before we knew it fake. You know what I mean? Wrestling was real back then, buddy.

Better believe it was. Hit somebody over the head with a steel chair. Have a super kick party on some people. Anyway, speaking of super kicks, see what I did there? Kick.

I like that.

Karate. Last dragon coming back around. Yeah. Throw a couple more names out there. We talked about Ernie Reyes Jr. Being there. He's a small kid at the time, at this time frame. And people may remember him also from then. From the Disney movie last Electric Dragon. No last electric night.

There you go.

Had that wrong. And last Electric Night was a pretty fun movie. It also spun off a TV series called Sidekicks with Gilgarard. That was also in the last electric night with him. And Gilgarard played the Buck Rogers on television. For those that don't remember the bad guy, the other bad guy, the movie.

Yeah.

Julius Carey.

Yes, sir.

Not a martial artist.

Passed in 2008.

Yes. And actually, it's Julius J. Carey II. Once again, not a martial artist, but portrayed that role of the martial arts master who is in control of what Leroy is looking for, the glow.

Well, I'll tell you what I remember him from, aside from shown trying to.

That'S what I'm trying to figure out right now.

Where have I seen it took me a full season into this show, and I used to watch the crap out of the show. It took me a full season to realize it was shown off. He was Lord Balor in Briscoe County Jr. The cowboy Briscoe's best friend.

Okay?

Yeah, he was Briscoe's best friend in Briscoe County Jr. All right? And Briscoe County Jr. For those of y'all that don't know, is one of he's nerd royalty. That's Mr. Bruce Campbell himself in, like, a comedic western thing. So that's Ash of army of the Dead and Evil Dead fame. And burn notice, too. He was in Burn Notice as well. But anyway, yeah, that's where I remember from.

You know. Apparently he's been in a ton of TV shows. He's I don't know if he was more of a movie actor as opposed to just your everyday working actor.

Right?

He's been in a ton of TV series.

I could remember seeing him so once I recognized him on Briscoe County, I could remember seeing him here and there. You know what I remember? I think maybe on family matters one time and maybe Murphy Brown. I watched that with my mom a little bit. Just when I noticed him. I'd see him. When I noticed him, I would recognize him. I'm trying to say, Lord have mercy.

Oh, man. He's been in the Jeffersons. He's been on two two seven. He's been on Cosby Show. Different world. Been in yeah, he was the coach.

In The New Guy, Too, another hilarious movie, if you hadn't ever seen that one.

The new guy. Yeah, it's got the little scrawny kid played in the core.

DJ Quals.

Yeah, that's his name. I remember that.

He's funny as I'll get. He's been in a lot of movies. He's like a sidekick kind of guy. But he is was. He was DJ quals in hustle and flow or Shelby or whatever it was. I don't know. But he was in hustle and flow. And road trip was hilarious.

Road trip? Yes. Road trip was very funny. Road Trip. Then he played that character in the core. He was a hacker called the yep, yep. But let me tell you what throws me off with Julius Carey, though. It's the hair. Obviously, it's not his hair in the movie. They get a wig or something on him.

Yeah, that's why you don't recognize he doesn't look anything like that in anything else he's in.

Right. And it just throws me off because I'm so used to seeing him like that. And it's so crazy, every time he walks in, they have to announce him. Right?

Right.

It's like, what's he say when he come in the room? Am I the prettiest? Am I the baddest?

Show enough?

No. He's like, am I the meanest? Am I the prettiest? And he goes, Am I the baddest mofo show. Mo foe for show around his town or something like that. It's crazy. I can't even get it out now.

Show enough.

And all his people are like, Show enough? If you get a chance, you really got to watch the movie, is all I can really say.

It's the goons. It says, am I the meanest? Show enough? Am. I the prettiest? Am I the baddest mofo low down around this town?

That's it show enough.

Well, who am I? Show enough.

The show Gun of Harlem. But yeah, basically the movie builds its way up to SHO enough. Trying to get to Leroy. Leroy trying to find his mission with the glow and trying to find the master. Come to find out the master, some dumb goy, is not real. His teacher sent him on a wild goose chase and showed him the medallion he gave him was really just a belt buckle. Right? He's trying to explain to him in his head that he really is a master at this level. And he is a bad guy. He can fight. He's got the moves. But until he I guess faces show enough, he doesn't really believe it, believe in himself enough and realize who and what he is.

Because he still didn't get it, I think, because it was so funny when I rewatched it. Oh, just by the way, one more name drop. We just can't miss her. Keisha Knight Pulliam was in this movie right before she started starring as Rudy Huxtable, right?

She played the baby sister to Leroy and his brother, which was I lost his brother's name.

But what's funny to me, though, it was so funny because when I was watching it in that part, when his master put the medallion back together and he said, you still don't get it. And he said, you've looked everywhere except for what was it? No, he didn't tell him except for his side. He said, you've looked everywhere except for one place. And he tapped on his forehead. Yeah, he's tapped on there you'll find the master. And it's so funny because Kung Fu Panda, man, I just related it straight to like immediately. I was like, oh, that's where Kung Fu Panda got it from.

Okay?

It was like when his dad was telling the secret ingredient totanutao remember. You want to know what the secret ingredient is? There is no secret ingredient. You just tell people there is. So that's what the whole thing was. You looked everywhere except for inside yourself. So when he kept holding his head underwater, drowning him or whatever, he kept having them flashes of it. And I love it, too. I don't know if it was I think the movie mistake is the scenes, how they cut it together. But I love that he was so beat up and banged up. And when that last time when he came out and Shauna was like, who's the master? And he's like, I am. But all the blood and beat upness was like, gone. He still had it on the side over here, but it was all washed off. But the was when it flashed back and forth to different camera angles, you could still see it all, like the blood up and down his face.

Classic. Hollywood. Boo. Boos. I guess we'll right, right?

But it was supposed to represent when he came up all clean. I don't think it was supposed to represent the blood getting washed off because he pulled him up like, three or four times and we still all beat up and bloody. I think it was the fact that, okay, we just got the glow. Now we all like, he ate a sensu bean. You know what I mean? Like Krillin gave him a sensu bean or something.

Oh, man. All right, so let's go over some of the supporting characters here real quick. You got Leo O'Brien, which played his brother Richie, which I do believe he has passed away, too, if I read correctly. One time, got in the hospital or something, I think. And before I just say that and leave, I'll confirm it. But, yeah, 1970 to 2012. He passed away in 2012. I forget what it was, but he was also in the movie New Jack City and something called Rapping in 1985 as well. So he didn't do a whole lot. But, yes, he was in the hospital for something that was getting him and didn't make it through it. You have the mom and dad, you got Jim Moody and Esther Morrow played Daddy, and Mama Green are listed on here running the pizza place. What was it direct to your pizza? To Daddy Green's Pizza, yeah, and what's.

So funny, too, is a slice a day keeps the doctor away. The doctor was spelled docter. Doctor.

Glenn Eaton played Johnny you. I remember watching something a little while back. There was at like, a convention type thing. And they had Glenn Eaton. They had Ernie Reyes Jr. They had Time Act and one other person, and I forget who it was now, but at least those three for sure. They were talking about doing different things in the movies. And Glenn Eaton, apparently, is not a big karate guy, but he had to learn to do those nunchucks like he did in the movie. And he was doing them really well there for a minute.

Yeah.

And someone asked him from the audience, could he still do it? So the others were goading him on like, Come on, show us you can do it. Show us you can do it. You're the man. Come on, you got this. Show us the art of fighting without knowing how to fight us. And you already mentioned Keisha knight pulley. There's no else really to bring up except for, I guess, Eddie Arcadian henchman. Mike Starr played Rock.

I definitely bring him up because that was Frenchie and goodfellows, man.

It sure was.

Yeah.

Look at that.

He was Tony and the bodyguard. He's done a lot of stuff. Like you've seen him in tons and tons of bit movies.

I'll tell you where else I remember him from.

Where's that?

On deadly ground. Steven Seagal. He's the rough neck in the bar picking a fight with the Eskimo guy.

Yeah, I remembered him immediately as frenchie because that's where I know him. He's one of them that, you know, you see everywhere.

Dumb and dumber. Yeah, the henchmen and the dumb and dumber.

He usually plays as some kind of that's what he's usually doing. Some kind of hitman or some kind of henchman or little bad guy or side part or something like that. But I remember that it's like Thorgrim, I can't remember his name, but the guy that's in everybody's action movies back then, the guy that played Thorgrim in Conan and we just talked about him, he was the security guard that walked away on Running Man, right? But this guy's like, him, it's like I remember him from this particular moot thing, but then I recognize him and all kind of stuff because he has been in like he's had bit parts, like nonstop in tons and tons and tons of stuff. He was in snake eyes. That's a great one, too. That's a good one. I don't think about a lot. Nick Cage is snake eyes.

I'll tell you where else I've seen him recently, in television series East New York. He's a retired cop that was accused of doing something as well. Basically, he was a dirty cop when it comes down to he killed his ex partner to hide some stuff. Spoiler alert, by the way. Spoiler alert for those of you who haven't watched it and want to go watch it. It is a fairly new show. Anything about this movie, though, that stands out to you? That was your favorite scene that you liked about it? Or is there anything that just stands out that said that's the most memorable?

Yeah, the end. I mean, 100% the glow, if we're talking about when I was a kid and stuff, that was totally it when he got the glow at the end of it. And as an adult watching it again over the weekend for this, I think, not to go too far into things, we kind of try to stay away from on the show. But the difference in the way today's society views things because this movie was made straight up with 70s black exploitation films in mind, which isn't a bad word. It just describes the type of movies they were right? And nowadays, people would treat something like that as a bad word and they would probably treat a movie like this as if it was you know what I mean? I would see them if they went back, they would treat a lot of those movies like it was offensive or something because it's showing this stereotype or whatever, but with the cheese and all that. And then I don't know how to say it, man. Everybody knows this movie because you know what I mean, the black folks and the white folks, too. Just remember Leroy. Like Bruce Leroy. Like he's the man. You know what's? Pretty cool about it.

But it is like you said, some people would take today. Some people might take offense to it in some way with the fact they refer to him as Bruce Leroy.

Right.

Because what's that supposed to mean? Why has it got to be Leroy 100%?

And that's one of the things, too. I said we were talking earlier, I told you I was going to say for the show. Actually, I do know what my favorite thing about this movie is, especially today. My favorite thing about this movie is go get it. And then, I don't know about anywhere else, but if you get it on Amazon, watch it with the subtitles on it is hilarious because every cuss word, every N word, every single word on there is replaced with either sucker. But instead of ass, it's like, everything is so funny.

If I told you this movie had a budget estimated of $10 million to make, how much would you tell me that it grossed worldwide?

That's wild. Half that.

Half that.

Yeah.

That would make it a flop at theater, right? For sure.

Yeah. And that's one of the things about this movie. It's known for being a flop that became a cult classic.

Are you ready?

Yeah.

It made $25,754,284 worldwide.

Really?

So it doubled the budget. It made two and a half times the budget.

So how's it considered a flop then? I wouldn't consider that a flop. Maybe it's not a flop. Maybe it's just a critical failure.

All right, so opening weekend, US and Canada 5,254,000, maybe they're looking at the opening weekend here or just here in the States, what it made, but grossing worldwide, it grossed five times that amount, basically.

Yeah.

So I don't know that if it was really a flop, but you are correct when you say it took on a life of its own when it hit VHS. Just like some of our other movies we brought up time and time again before. Some of these movies that are considered some of the 80s greats, they took off once they hit VHS and took a life of their own and became absolutely because people just remember.

Yeah, because with this coming out in 85, like me knowing about it, I was five years old. I don't remember knowing this movie was coming to the I don't remember knowing anything was coming to the movies except for like the first movie I remember that was coming to the movies that I got excited about seeing. Aside from I didn't even know they were coming. My grandma just take us to the Disney movies. But the dag masters of the universe. That's the first going to the movies movie that I remember. I knew it was out in the movies. I knew I wanted to go see it. So all this stuff, I didn't know anything about it. It was usually me being at somebody's house or being at a biker party or something, and all the kids go inside or something like that and get to watch all the VHS tapes.

I was twelve years old when it came out. I did not see it at the theater. I saw it on VHS. And my cousin that I grew up around that we're still really close today and everything. We rented this movie almost every weekend for the longest time and watched it like every we wore this tape out.

That's hilarious. That's awesome.

Yeah, it was great. There was a few movies at that time that we would always just rent over and over again and skip the same thing. The first movie I can remember seeing at the theater that I had the memory of at least was a movie based on the $6 million man, the Bionic Man. It was where somebody had created, I guess, a robotic version of a Bigfoot, and he had to fight this robotic Bigfoot. Andre the Giant played the bigfoot. If you haven't seen this or anything, you should look this up. I don't know the actual title, but if you just look up the Bionic Man Versus Bigfoot or $6 Million Man Versus Bigfoot, or just search $6 Million Man in General on Google and look at the history of the show and the little movies they had of and everything. And you'll see but that's the first one I remember watching, and I couldn't say bionic at the time. I would say binonic, binonic, binonic. My mom would tell everybody the story. She would not hesitate to put me out there in front of everybody. Oh, it was just so cute. The little guy behind us asking, what would you do with that bigfoot comet you? And you were like, I'm not scared to know him. I put on my Binonic shoes and I jump over him and run.

My Binonic shoes.

Thanks, mom.

So it's going to be a toss up between I don't know which one came out first because they came out the exact same year. The first movie that I ever went to see is either and I was seven years old, it was either Batteries Not Included or Masters of the Universe because they both came out in 1987 and I don't know which one I saw first.

Both good movies for that year. If you were a kid.

It would have been Masters of the Universe because Batteries Not Included came out on December the 18th. And my dad took me to see Masters of the Universe for my birthday because it came out on eight seven. So it came out the day after my birthday.

Awesome.

This movie, Masters of the Universe, that's pretty cool. I didn't know that, chris, you just took me down memory lane. Masters of the Universe is the very first movie I ever saw in a movie theater.

And for those of you who might want to look this movie up later, keep in mind it's not just referred to as The Last Dragon. The movie title is actually called Barry Gordy's the last Dragon because Barry Gordy is the one that produced the movie and had it put out. There is a little review on it here I'm looking at. It kind of reminds me what you're talking about a while ago, in some sense, with some of the things. But it's like this movie is like a guilty pleasure nobody really talks about. And we've talked about guilty pleasure movies before. I told you, this is one of my guilty pleasure movies for sure.

I can't see it being a guilty pleasure, though, because I'd never be ashamed of watching this movie and I don't know about it.

It would people call it I mean, to me, I'm not ashamed for watching either. But people refer to it as a guilty pleasure type movie, though, because of how cheesy it is with the use of the martial arts in and it's not like a traditional martial arts movie.

It does hearken back to those, though, like the 76 Chambers of Wutang and you know what I mean? Like the 70.

That's what I'm saying, though. It's 1985, right? And he is making himself out to be like a Bruce Lee type era.

Yeah.

And they even refer to him in the movie as the legendary Bruce Leroy that catches bullets with his teeth. Keep in mind, end of the movie, you want to remember that when showing up in theater, confronting him and be like, catch his bullets with his teeth. And then he goes into the movie. You'll appreciate this. Watch out for it. If you watch it, wait till the end of the movie and you remember that theater scene, right? But it says every time it comes up in a crowd, within seconds, people are using classic lines from it, like, who's the master? And hey, my man, what it looked like.

Hey, my man.

That's what he did because he didn't know how to talk. Like in what Richie, his brother, was referring to, like his jive or something. He didn't know how to speak that way. It's like he talked all proper like he is from my master would not appreciate if I spoke in terms such as that. I can't be like that.

No, silly.

And his brother is throwing these things out like, you got to be cool. You got to talk like this. So he's like, you got to get to be able to rap. So at one point, he's making him carry his brother's making him carry him on his shoulders, right? He says, you got to carry me all the way down to the studio on your shoulders and you got to rap. And the whole time he's like, yeah, man. Yeah, man, what it looked like? What it be? Hey, my man, what it looked like? And he just keeps repeating these. So he's trying to get the right tone for it. It seems like he just can't nail it. But it's humorous to listen to him try to do it, right? So people would see stuff like that, though, and they'd be like, I don't know. And it says here that, of course, the person doing a review said it was his favorite movie as a teenager. He's probably seen it 100 times. I did not write this, I promise. But I've probably seen it 100 times, too, from the hilarious over the top performances, which I was just talking about, to the hybrid karate comedy musical genre. It's a movie that kept him laughing the whole way.

So Leo Bryan, the younger brother of Guy O'Brien, is actually Master Gee from the pioneering rap group Sugar Hill Gang, too. But what was funny to me, too, is he was so much into Bruce Lee. He was wearing the yellow jumpsuit with the black stripe like he wore in Game of Death and all. Yes, like in his studio. But no, that's what I'm saying. When Buster Rhymes dresses up like you in his video and does your monologue, that's a guilty pleasure. I remember in that movie, me and my crew so dangerous. We so dangerous. In the beginning, he comes out dressed up, like, shown up. He's like, Yo, Leroy, am I not the like, he does the whole speech in the we had we had mentioned earlier, too, that didn't know what form of kung fu that Leroy was doing. But Leroy teaches Chinese. Goju. Created by Timex instructor and close friend Ron Van Cleef Also trained in Jeet Kundo and continued after filming.

Cool.

Yeah. So we got ron Van Cleef is known as the Black Dragon, folks. Like, straight up. He's real deal, too, man. He's my size. Okay, I might be a little heavier. He's my height, so 510 at 190. He won ten New York State full contact karate and karate championships. And in the early 70s, he was a 10th degree black belt.

That's very impressive.

Yeah.

Two people auditioned for the role of Leroy, and one of those two people also auditioned for the role of Show Enough. Denzel Washington actually auditioned for both Leroy and show enough and Lawrence Fishburne lobied heavily to be Leroy Green. He really wanted that role.

You know who else did?

Who?

Wesley Snipes.

Wesley Snipes. Well, he would have been a good fit for it.

I think he would have, too. I just want to go back to Ron the Black Dragon Van Cleef real quick one time, too, though. I remembered when this happened in the UFC, he went up against Royce Gracie at 51 years old. Wow. He lost, but Royce choked.

But he did it.

But I mean, still at 51, you know what I mean? At the age of 72, he recently won silver medal in a Brazilian Jujitsu BJJ tournament. So Ron Van Cleef was a BA, man. I thought that was pretty cool.

Vanity was the only person, the only choice, the first and only choice to play Laura Charles. I guess they had her specifically in mind for that. I mentioned the soundtrack earlier being a great soundtrack. Motown Records released the original soundtrack for the album, for the film. And it features some of popular artists, including Vanity, Stevie Wonder, Rockwell El, DeBarge, the Temptations, Serita and Smokey Robinson. I'm not sure who sings the song itself. The glow. And that other one was the last dragon. They're in the movie. You hear them playing in the background during the movie.

Right, right. I got one more name for one of the people that was considered for Leroy Green.

Who is that?

Mario Van Peebles.

I can't see that one.

They look a little bit alike. Why not?

I like Mario Van Beebles. Can't really fight, though. You want someone that can do the role that can fight. That's why I said Wesley Snipes would been good because the fighting and everything. I think he could have pulled it off. I think you could have trained Denzel enough to pick up on it, enough to be able to do it. Probably Lawrence Fishburne, too, because Lawrence Fishburne had that know, obviously as but my.

Guy didn't know any either, though, Julius. He didn't know.

Right. But it shows, though. It shows. I mean, when he fights Leroy, at the end of it, the biggest thing he does is punching him and slapping him. So in the opening sequence of their fight, leroy's throwing these fancy kicks at him, right? And all he's doing is ducking, ducking, ducking. Then he starts throwing punches and he's got one hand out there and he's slapping the hand one way or the other. So boom, boom, boom, boom. Then he starts backhanding him a couple of times. He doesn't do any real kicks or anything on him. He does this little mule kick. I mean, it's like he bends over and does a mule kick.

Yeah, you got a mean I don't know.

Jim Kelly was also considered for showing up.

Yeah, I got one more piece of did you know what's that in the club, Ernie Reyes Jr. Was in an extended fight scene with his real life father. Ernie Reyes, senior.

Yes. I can even tell you which one.

On the big credits. Anyway, being in the movie.

I can even tell you which one it was. The I believe it's the guy he does a little cartwheel flip into or no, his father is the one that sneaks up behind him on the stage. It looks like he's grabbing him by the head.

Okay.

And Ernie Reyes Jr. Does a little thing where he pulls his I think he jerks his hand off his head, hits him with a backhand and a little back kick or something. But it's funny when you watch that scene, it's like he's tipping him off. He's behind him. He comes up behind him. Instead of grabbing his hair, it looks like he takes his hand and rubs across top of his head a couple of times and then grabs his hair. It's almost like the signal for here I am. Let's do this.

This is strange too. One other one that I found that I'm going to have to research as to why the UK cinema and video versions were cut by just under two minutes by the BBFC to remove all footage of nunchuckas. Wow. Nunchaku.

Are they illegal weapons in that country?

No. That's a strange thing to come across to me, I believe.

Now, do you remember the point when they're speaking of the club? They're there waiting for Leroy to get there and they're playing that video from someone called Fire Rock. Says her name is Fire, so her name is Charlene. The music video was used in this movie to give her publicity and further her career. Apparently, she's supposed to be an actual singer. It did not, however, further her career and she did not record again for 18 years.

Isn't that something?

Did it damage it, I wonder. There's a lot of little small things in here. Unknown person at the time in the movie. Everybody has those movies right where they guessed it in one part of it as a small role and later on went on to become somebody big.

Right.

William H. Macy. Small role. He's one of the producers there at 7th Heaven. He's the one talking to Laura Charles about getting the meeting with Eddie Arcadia and having dinner with him.

Okay.

And you know who William H. Macy is, right?

Absolutely.

I thought you did. Okay.

Speaking of shit, I love William H. Macy, especially in Wild Hogs.

Wild Hogs. There you go.

He's everything, though. And I'm going to tell you what, if you haven't ever watched the show, Shameless, Frank is just he does that character. I mean, it is amazing. Everybody in that show is amazing, quite honestly, because that feels like some real people stuff, man. That's why I think that's probably why so big. There are facets of that TV show that I have lived to the right.

Well, if I had to throw something out there, as far as my favorite part of it, obviously you said the glow was a good part. When Leroy realizes he is the master and he gets the glow at that point. The actual start of the sequence when he gets to the club. So he's got all these people surrounding him and he's got to fight his way through. And he fights to the first crowd just fine, starts the second, and then the entire all these students from the school come running in and you start seeing Johnny actually step into his own and be a martial artist. It looks like he's trying that stuff or he's just giving them the look, giving them the scream. He know. And he accidentally punches somebody and realizes, oh, hey, I can do this, and then works those nunchucks like he know. He kind of does a little cartwheel into picking up the nunchucks as he's on the way back up and starts working the nunchucks around at that age, when I was watching it, 1213 years old, that was really cool. I thought overall, if you were going to out of ten, we're talking 80s movies here. Out of ten, what would you give this?

Oh, my God. Oh, my God.

So we're not basing it on acting ability, technically, because we know a lot of these 80s movies are cheesy. We understand this. But from an entertainment factor, an entertainment aspect of it, where would you put this for pure entertainment?

For me, honestly, what holds it back is too much story. The cutaways for the producers, building the stuff up and the bad guys, that really takes away from it for me. So it would be a solid eight. And I'm putting it at an eight because it is so joyful for me to watch those parts. But I can honestly just fast forward through half of this movie and hit those highlights for it to be an eight. So I'm going to have to round it down to a six, man, just because they almost ruined it with the no, I'm going to go with seven. I'm going to meet it in the middle and hit a seven. Solid seven.

All right. That's where I was headed with it myself, was a seven. I thought about a 7.5 for a second, but I'm like what earned the extra half point. And looking at it like you said, you could really fast forward through a lot of it and get the gist of it just fine. Nothing there really earns an extra half point in my eyes. So the seven was in my mind the whole time. Seven out of ten for the pure joy of it, of just the nostalgia of that type of movie, that time frame, the enjoyment it brought me over all the years. It is a karate flick. I always loved the karate flicks growing up. So definitely a seven out of ten for me as well.

Heck, yeah.

Well, we're at that time, Travis. We're at that time. It's about time to wrap this show up. But before we go, we want to make sure we let everybody know if you are a first time listener to the show, make sure you follow us at where are we at, Travis?

Well, you can find us@retrolifeforyou.com for one that's retrolife the number four, Y ou.

No, you did again, the letter U. The letter U?

Is it the letter U?

WW, dot, retrolifethelfortheletteru.com.

I'm looking right at Retro Life for you on our banner right here. That's why I did that.

Well, see, this is why it's confusing to people. I'll take a moment and explain this real quick. Retro Life number four, Y ou is the name of the podcast. Okay? When you search us on a podcast at itunes or Spotify or Amazon or iHeartRadio, wherever we find us, wherever you get your podcast at, it's. Retro Life, the number four, Y-O-U the website, however, it was retrolifeletter.com, you do. And that was that is not why they can't find us.

I couldn't find it because I was looking at the banner of reading it.

He can't find us. But I say this every week, so he does not listen to me week.

And we've been doing this for about.

Almost a year and he does not listen to me at all, apparently. No, you can find us on that website. We have just mentioned here several times. That's what he is. That's right. He's the one that finishes every show with some kind of zany joke that probably shouldn't have been told. Probably. And watch. He won't have one for this week. Now. I put him on the Spot, but once again, Retro Life, the number four, the letter U.com, is the website. You can listen to the show straight from the website, or you can choose the player of your choice if you like Spotify or itunes, or you go straight to whatever you have on your phone, you listen to it on. Just search us, retrolife, the number four, Y-O-U and you will pull the podcast up there as well. You can also reach us at retrolifeforyou, just like the show is@gmail.com. Any questions or suggestions or criticisms or I want to make fun of them, or whatever the case may be, suggestion for a movie you want to hear, just drop us a line there and we'll get back with you on it.

We appreciate all the interaction, all the interactions.

Give us a five star rating at Spotify if you like us, and even if you don't give it to us purely out of pity. If you are listening to us on itunes, you can leave us a rating and a review on there as well. It does help the show out a lot, so we'd appreciate travis?

Yeah?

Is there anything at all that you want to leave us on with?

I think if they remade this movie, that they should cast Snoop Dogg as show enough. But I know why. You can't have Snoop Dogg in a fighting movie or he'd always win. And that's why they didn't make him a Jedi either.

Why is that?

Because of Snoop Dogg, man. He'll always have the high ground.