“Let’s start with some moderate stretching.”

From The Art of Self-Defense.

When 35-year-old Casey Davies (Jesse Eisenberg) a timid account is mugged by a motorcycle gang on a late night run to the grocery store for dog food, he is plunged into an even deeper state of fear where every other man and even the darkness terrifies him.  While recovering from the attack Casey happens to pass by a karate dojo in his neighborhood and he is drawn in with the idea of being able to protect himself without weapons.  Also pushing him to further consider the academy is the charismatic, enigmatic Sensei (Alessandro Nivola), the skilled no-nonsense children’s instructor, Anna (Imogen Poots), and the friendliness of some of the students (including Phillip Andre Botello, David Zellner, and Steve Terada).  Casey is given a white belt and begins to train; while he shows some skill at the dojo, he is still incredibly timid when dealing with his boss, coworkers, and any other macho man he counters.  When given a yellow belt, Casey is initially excited, but with his lack of self-confidence, he fails to do well in his training until Sensei invites him to the exclusive, mysterious night class.  While the daytime classes are for children and adults in various levels looking to enhance their karate skills, the night class is a completely different experience and far from anything that Casey was expecting.  Casey struggles with his desire to excel at self-defense through karate and his suspicion of Sensei’s motives, so he’ll have to evaluate both what it means to be a strong man and karate student.

This dark comedy is funny in the most unique way possible; a completely odd movie that is darkly enjoyable.  Filled with exceptionally dry humor and painfully awkward interactions reminiscent of films like Napoleon Dynamite and The Grand Budapest Hotel.  Eisenberg is brilliant in his role, completely disappearing into a painfully-nerdy character who is impossible not to root for… despite all of the craziness of the film.  With an ending that is genuinely twisted The Art of Self-Defense is a movie that will leave audiences both laughing and wondering what they just watched.

| Rated: R | Running Time: 104 minutes |Genre: comedy |

||Family Viewing||Cursing: 3* of 10|Nudity: 5 of 10|Sexuality: 0 of 10|Gore: 4 of 10

|AVAILABLE FOR HOME VIEWING|