Sweep the Leg

Said to be "the Citizen Kane of online comedy videos" [Vh1's Best Week Ever] , "Sweep the Leg" is a music video released in 2007 by Los Angeles-based band No More Kings to support the song of the same name. The video is a humorous continuation of the 1984 film "The Karate Kid", and features the entire original male cast except for the late Pat Morita, who portrayed Mr. Miyagi in the film. Pat E. Johnson, who was the martial arts director for the 1984 "Karate Kid" as well as the martial arts director for Bruce Lee, worked on this video.

Plot

The premise for the music video finds William Zabka living in a trailer in the desert, now an out-of-work actor who has become obsessed with "The Karate Kid" and the fight he lost years ago. He is haunted by the band No More Kings and chases front man Pete Mitchell across the desert until they have a final showdown. He then claims victory and faces old demons. But after realizing it was a fantasy William Zabka is run over by a man played by Ralph Macchio as Pete Mitchell looks on.

The music video references not only "The Karate Kid", but also the 1986 film "Back to School" (which also stars William Zabka), the 1987 film "Raising Arizona" and the 1984 video for The Cars song, "You Might Think".

Production

"Sweep the Leg" was written & directed by actor/director William Zabka, who played Johnny Lawrence in "The Karate Kid". It stars Pete Mitchell, front man of No More Kings, as well as William Zabka, Martin Kove (reprising his role as the evil Sensei Kreese), and Liza Snyder (television’s "Yes, Dear"). The actors who played the Cobra Kai members in the 1984 film, Ron Thomas, Rob Garrison, and Tony O'Dell, also make appearances. Astonish CEO and original member of No More Kings, Adam DeGraide, makes an appearance in the video, as well as Neil Robins, also an original member of No More Kings and the producer of the debut album. "Saved by the Bell"'s Dennis Haskins also stars as Mitchell's boss and spiritual guide.

There are various versions of the video, the longest being a little over seven minutes. The video was collaboration between No More Kings’ record label Astonish Records, and Chapter Seven Films, a film company out of Los Angeles.

Popularity

The video received over 80,000 views within its first week of release and became the number one video on YouTube on March 16, 2007.

A remix of the song appears on the soundtrack of "".

References

External links

* [http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewVideo?id=220400125&s=143441/ "Sweep the Leg" Video on iTunes]
* [http://www.nomorekings.com/ No More Kings Official Website]
* [http://www.sweeptheleg.com/ Official "Sweep the Leg" Homepage]