'Hustle': The Movie's a Kick, the Extras Are Not

"Kung Fu Hustle" (R; List price: $28.95)

Release Date: August 9

During the dog days of August, sometimes what you need is a good kick in the head.

"Kung Fu Hustle," actor-filmmaker Stephen Chow's Bugs-Bunny-Meets-Bruce-Lee chop socky comedy, delivers exactly that ... and then some. The fast-paced, deliberately silly film is filled with adrenalized fight scenes, gangsters dancing in unison, a landlady who runs faster than the Tasmanian Devil on speed and homages to countless other movies, from Shaw Brothers classics to Martin Scorsese's "Gangs of New York." In other words, you don't have to be a kung fu aficionado to appreciate "Hustle's" hyperactive charms.

The movie makes its DVD debut in a single-disc version rounded out by a respectable number of extras, including a behind-the-scenes documentary that originally aired on Hong Kong TV; an interview with Chow; two deleted scenes; a blooper reel; and a commentary track recorded by Chow and actors Lam Tze Chung, Tin Kai Man and Chan Kwok Kwun. Unfortunately, none of the bonus material comes anywhere close to matching the energy of the movie. The deleted scenes are brief and not particularly memorable; the blooper reel contains cliche moment after cliche moment of actors laughing during takes; and the interview with Chow, conducted by kung-fu movie columnist Ric Meyers, is occasionally interesting but more often awkward. The best extra is the behind-the-scenes documentary, which at least has the common decency to explain how some of the fights were choreographed and the special effects were achieved. It's a shame that the DVD doesn't delve more deeply into those aspects of the filmmaking.

Of course, if you don't spend much time with bonus features, then all of that may be moot. Having this movie on DVD finally allows audiences to watch all those crazy kicks, gravity-defying leaps and cartoonish high-speed chases as many times as they want. And that may be all that any "Kung Fu" fanatic needs.

Most Confusing Bonus Point: Commentary tracks with multiple sources are confusing. But "Kung Fu Hustle's" -- in Chinese and subtitled in English -- is even harder to follow. Though Chow's voice is occasionally recognizable, most of the time it's difficult to tell who's saying what. A picture-in-picture commentary, or a track featuring only one or two hosts, would have been a much wiser way to go.

Most Inane Bonus Point: Chow is clearly a smart filmmaker, but you wouldn't know it based on his comment -- shared during the documentary -- about Chung, who plays Chow's chubby sidekick in the movie: "He is fat so he's just perfect for the character." Now that's creative casting.

Also New on DVD This Week: "Because of Winn-Dixie" and "The Muppet Show: The Complete First Season."

Coming in Next Week's 'Bonus Points': A review of "Undeclared: The Complete Series."

If you have feedback about "Bonus Points" or want to suggest a DVD for review, e-mail Jen Chaney.