Thursday Movie Picks: The Underdog

Hey, Thursday fans. Welcome to another edition of Thursday Movie Picks. That's if I can get this done before the stroke of midnight. We'll see how this goes. Anyhoo, the topic chosen this week by our host, Wanderer at Wandering Through the Shelves, in her infinite wisdom, is underdogs. That's a perfect fit with the NCAA Basketball Tournament, AKA March Madness, now in full swing. We love seeing the little guy beating the big guy, and that's what this post is all about. The question is, can I find some underdog movies you haven't seen a billion times, already. Maybe. Let's give it a shot.


Long before Uber came into existence, people used to call local cab companies when they needed a ride and had money to burn. The D.C. Cab company was one such company. Of course, they may have been the worst such company ever, at least in cinematic history. When we meet them their cars were raggedy, their drivers got robbed on a daily basis, most of those drivers are incompetent or, at least, unprofessional, and they're about to be run out of business by the superior Emerald Cab Company. Gary Busey, Mr. T, and Marsha Warfield led hilarity ensues. Well, really, Charlie Barnett leads this thing, but you don't know who he is. I do because it's one of the Movies I Grew Up With.

Bruce Leroy (Taimak) is an unabashed fan of the real Bruce Lee. He's such a fan he dresses like Lee and watches Lee's movies while eating popcorn with chopsticks. He only speaks in psuedo-Bruce, psuedo-philosophical clips. All of this marks him as an outcast in Harlem. Leroy does have one thing going for him. He is also a martial arts master, himself. He also finds himself trying to rescue the girl of his dreams from corporate baddies. What makes him an outcast? There's another villain in town, Sho-Nuff, the Shogun of Harlem (AKA "the baddest mofo lowdown 'round this town!"), against whom Leroy seems to not stand a chance. Yup, this is another one of the Movies I Grew Up With.

Frank (Rainn Wilson) has just lost the only girl he's ever loved, or more accurately, the only girl who has ever loved him, to her demons. She's got a drug habit and has holed up with the local kingpin. So what is Frank to do? He decides to become a superhero and try to rescue his woman. Of course, he has to put himself through training, so he starts reading comic books. He also gets some tips from the psycho who works at the comic shop played by a totally unhinged Ellen Page. She eventually becomes his sidekick. Let's just say neither of them is really suited for the job. Click here for my full review.

Phew...made it with a minute to spare.