The Karate Kid

A Review for Then and Now

Watching a movie can be about a whole lot more than witnessing actors on a screen act out a story. It's about balance; balancing your own life with the life the movie represents. When I was a teenager, Karate Kid was one of my favorite movies, who could resist Ralph Macchio's "baby browns" -- even when they were all bruised up by the Cobra Kai Karate Gang.

But seeing it now, knowing I would review it brought different things to mind, and made me long for the days when everyone's pants went all the way up to their waist.

The story of the Karate Kid has been done over and over. Kid gets dragged across the country to a new town against his will, instantly attracts the ex-girlfriend of the mean jealous jock that outweighs him by 50 pounds of muscle, trains for a few weeks with a senior citizen and goes on to beat mean jealous jock in a Karate tournament. Happens every day. It's a regular David & Goliath story -- and as a bonus he gets the girl and the respect of mean jealous jock guy.

The reality is that nine times out of ten we don't see this kind of "justice" outside the delusion of Hollywood or something like it, but for a short time, if we let ourselves get absorbed we can relate it to one of the many David situations in our own lives, and think maybe, just maybe, we can poise our slingshot to hit the giant. And if you happen to be a teenage girl-- or can imagine the Ralph Macchio of today, you can dream of those "baby browns" at the same time.