For this chop-socky farce -- the title an obvious reference to the 1973 Bruce Lee classic Enter the Dragon -- writer/director/star Steve Oedekerk (he penned the hammy script for Patch Adams) has taken a superfluous 1976 Hong Kong actioner (Tiger & Crane Fists), redubbed it with silly, droll dialogue, and spliced himself into the plot -- as the protagonist, of all things. It's a cheesy concept that in its execution achieves moments of humorous camp. Think of it as what you'd get if episodes of Kung Fu were tossed into the lampoon blender by the irreverent creators behind Airplane.

In the end, though, Kung Pow is just a bombastic revenge story about a man -- referred to as the Chosen One (Oedekerk) -- who's trying to catch up with the sadistic warlord who eradicated his family. The goofball high jinks include the hero's animated tongue (which comes with its own linguistic and mental faculties), a sexy female ninja with a single breast, a kung-fu-kicking cow (udder and all), and spoofs of such films as The Matrix and The Lion King. As a skit, Kung Pow would have made for uproarious entertainment, but at feature length, it loses its punch early. At the Campus, Entertainment, Flagship, Holiday, Hoyts Providence 16, Showcase, and Tri-Boro cinemas.