Amidst all the…sincere mourning for the death of Corey Haim (I’m
sure you were all huge fans of 2007’s Universal
Groove) and renewed brouhaha over AnisBut and their
celebrated W Magazine cover (in which the two look like survivors
from The Hills Have Eyes), people seem to have forgotten
the real story in entertainment news this week; namely, Chuck Norris’
70th birthday.
Admittedly, Chuck’s kept a pretty low profile outside of Mike Huckabee
campaign appearances and Total Gym
infomercials, though he’s enjoyed some recent popularity thanks to
Chuck Norris Facts,
which reminds us — among other things — that when Chuck Norris falls
in water, he doesn’t get wet. Water gets Chuck Norris.
Internet silliness aside, the dude remains a titan of American cinema
and a reminder of a better time. A time when Americans didn’t seek
consensus for their health-care proposals, but rather shattered the
jaws of their opponents with repeated roundhouse kicks to the face.
Here then, are some of my favorite moments de Chuck.
“Walker told me I have AIDS.” — Walker, Texas Ranger
A pre-Sixth Sense Haley Joel Osment and a post-Good
Morning Vietnam Noble Willingham combine to make TV magic. Now if
you’ll excuse me, I have something in my eye.
“Fuckin’ Chuck Norris — Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
One of the few high points of this otherwise dismal “comedy” was a
cameo appearance by Chuck, whose timely thumbs up provides the Average
Joes with their chance to shine, and White Goodman with the source of
his eventual downfall.
“Chuck Norris?” — Sidekicks
The outcome of Norris’ match with Stone (Joe Piscopo) is never really
in doubt, but that’s only because Norris already secured the high
ground hours earlier by winning the Battle of Movie Mullets.
“It’s time.” — Invasion U.S.A.
In a perfect example of 1980s excess, Matt Hunter (no, really) decides
it would be a more prudent course of action to take out the main bad
guy with a rocket launcher than to simply walk up behind him and snap
his neck, as we all know Norris is capable of doing.
“Meow” — Return of the Dragon
This is still the only movie in which a character played by Norris
ever dies. That is, unless you subscribe to the interpretation (which
I just now made up) that Braddock from the Missing in Action films is actually, like Orpheus, attempting to shepherd spirits back
from the underworld.
This article appears in Mar 11-17, 2010.
