Beverly Hills Ninja (1997)

Directed by Dennis Dugan. Starring Chris Farley, Nicollette Sheridan, Robin Shou, Chris Rock, Nathaniel Parker, Soon-Tek Oh, Keith Cooke Hirabayashi, William Sasso. [PG-13]

Juvenile antics from bull-in-china-shop Farley, here playing a big, clumsy oaf that was raised by a ninja clan after he washed up on shore as a baby; he sets out to help a nondescript blonde (Sheridan), gets involved in thwarting a counterfeiting ring, breaks everything in sight and falls down a lot. Farley tries, but the material’s not there—it’s a one-joke premise milked repeatedly, often to deadening results. Sheridan registers zero as the mannequin-esque love interest; Rock is wasted in a role that screams, “Happily slumming it to hang out with my buddy.” A few chuckles squeak through, but it’s not worth it. Final film starring Farley released during his lifetime. Co-writer Mitch Klebanoff wrote and co-directed an unofficial sequel with a completely different cast called Dancing Ninja that was (barely) released in 2010.

26/100