'More Than Miyagi': Indie Film Review
Evelyn Guerrero-Morita tried for many years to fulfill a promise she made to her late husband, screen icon Pat Morita. With the release of the More than Miyagi documentary on February 5th, she exceeds in that promise.
The documentary looks back over Noriyuki "Pat" Morita's life the way he wanted it to be seen. He was a versatile comedian, capable of serious roles, too. Some of us knew Pat Morita via recurring roles on hit television shows such as M*A*S*H and Sanford and Son. Soon, more households got to know him as Matsuo "Arnold" Takahashi from Happy Days. Then the world met him when he portrayed the ultimate sensei, Mr. Nariyoshi Miyagi, in The Karate Kid movies. That role garnered Morita a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award nomination in 1985.
The documentary was based on Morita's unfinished memoirs that he started in 1996. Morita wanted the world to know everything about him, including the daily demons he battled until the end. Many did not realize that Morita suffered a six-decade battle with alcoholism, which eventually ended his life.
Guerrero-Morita was hesitant to include this aspect of him. However, long ago, Morita insisted that the truth be known. She stated, "Before he passed away, he made me promise that I would be candid and honest and tell the good, the bad, and the ugly. He wasn't concerned about his accolades or his successes. He didn't want his legacy to just be about that. He said, 'If I can help one poor bastard with this disease, then I would have felt like I did something good, that I left something good on this Earth.'"
Nisei
Morita was born in 1932 in the town of Isleton, California. Both parents emigrated from Japan in the 1910s. He was diagnosed with spinal tuberculosis at age two. Morita spent most of the next nine years at a hospital facility in Weimar, immobilized in a body cast that went from his shoulders to his knees. The Shriners took over his case and sponsored a risky surgery, which turned out to be successful. Morita spent another two years in rehabilitation, learning how to walk.
In the meantime, the United States joined World War II after the attack on Pearl Harbor. An FBI agent came to the Shriners Hospital and escorted a young Morita directly to the Gila River internment camp in Arizona, where he reunited with his family. Because he spent most of his childhood at the hospital, the young Morita did not feel close to them or his Japanese roots. His parents insisted on speaking Japanese with him, which furthered his alienation. Morita joked that he was homesick for the hospital. There are more devastating details about his childhood revealed throughout the film. That he lived at all is a story on its own.
Stand Up
After the war, many Japanese people claimed other ancestries to avoid open discrimination. Morita's parents opened a Chinese restaurant. He satisfied his duty to his parents, sacrificing his college dreams to help run the family business. Yet, he felt unfulfilled.
He was finally sick of the grind, and at age 30, he decided to go into show business. By then, he had a wife and a young daughter, the first of three.
Morita had a five-year plan to be on The Ed Sullivan Show. He made the number two program, The Hollywood Palace, in only four years. Morita found a way to connect with audiences despite the stereotyping and racism he encountered. The film contains excellent vintage film footage of some of these early performances. His comedic spark is quite evident from the start.
After a friend insisted he come to Los Angeles, Sally Marr, Lenny Bruce's mother, became his agent. She billed him as The Hip Nip. This meeting led to many lasting professional and personal relationships, including Evelyn. Little did either know that fate would have them tying the knot a few decades later.
Film
The documentary is replete with interviews of Morita. He spoke candidly about what he called being pigeon-holed. The first roles he got played on the reinforced emasculating East Asian caricatures prevalent at the time. Those types of tropes abounded in this era of Hollywood. He was not comfortable with being pigeon-holed, though it meant he was working.
White actors in yellowface, including Mickey Rooney, Marlon Brando, and John Wayne, dominated lead Asian characters' portrayals. Studios considered Asian descended actors solely for bit parts. Though the whitewashing of Asian characters continues today, Morita was a pioneer, taking a giant ax to that bamboo ceiling.
Miyagi and Beyond
He almost didn't get the part of Mr. Miyagi. Jerry Weintraub and screenwriter Robert Kamen had this great idea for a film about a kid who overcomes bullies and himself by learning martial arts. The story was semi-autobiographical for Kamen. He began his studies in martial arts for the same reason as his protagonist, Daniel. Weintraub thought that Morita was too much of a comedian to portray a martial arts sensei. He tested five times before Weintraub realized Morita was the perfect fit.
The scene that tipped the Oscar scale toward a Best Supporting Actor nomination for Morita was another battle the film team fought. It gave Miyagi depth. It also helped Morita convey and cope with his complicated feelings about his internment. Thus, a franchise was born that continues to this day.
Morita went on to star in a few other award-worthy roles. He was nominated for two Golden Globes and one Primetime Emmy over the life of his career. All the while, he was battling his disease. His performance suffered. The compassion his fellow castmates and friends show for their departed friend is beyond touching.
Mr. Miyagi and, therefore, Morita, lives on through the YouTube initiated, and now Netflix hit, Cobra Kai. The series follows rivals Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence 30-odd years after the original film franchise arch. Though he is gone, Mr. Miyagi effuses everything Daniel does. "I really wish you'd be here," whispers LaRusso to Miyagi's headstone. Everyone loves and misses Morita dearly.
The documentary More Than Miyagi combines archival footage with new conversations with those who loved him. Pat Morita was always a teacher and pioneer. He wanted his life story to continue that legacy. Thanks to his wife, he always will be. For anyone suffering the disease of alcoholism or supporting someone, please take a look at the following links for any additional resources to help you: AA and AlAnon.
