The Shaolin Orangutan 2: New York’s Finest (PG-13)
May 11, 2009
The Shaolin Orangutan 2: New York’s Finest (PG-13)
Ling-Ling (the Shaolin Orang-utan), presumed to have drowned in the Hudson, has in fact faked his own death and is now secretly living in the treetops of Central Park, occasionally dropping down to street level to save some unsuspecting tourist from being mugged.
Only one man, NYPD cop Murph (Mark Wahlberg), suspects a vigilante ape may be behind the sudden drop in crime. When Murph’s life is threatened by some punks, Ling-Ling comes to his aid. They become friends and partners. Ling-Ling is even made an honorary member of the NYPD, much to the surprise of many New Yorkers! (note: look out for the scene in which Rudi Giuliani, is delivering a moving speech, while unveiling a memorial to 9/11. He pauses, his eyes filling with tears, trying to regain composure; he looks away into the distance only to see Ling-Ling, in full uniform, driving a squad car.)
Ling-Ling and Murph’s first assignment is to find out who is behind a series of baffling jewel thefts. Police believe it must be a master cat burglar but Ling-Ling discovers it’s actually a gang of highly trained Ninja Koala bears, working for an illegal diamond collector known only as ‘the Iceman’ (Steve Guttenberg).
Can New York’s finest crack the case?
Movie trivia: The scene in which Mark Wahlberg teaches Ling-Ling how to disco dance, turned out to be one humiliation too far for the ape, who went berserk, killing a member of the crew. He had to be shot by the on-set animal wrangler. (Filming continued with an Orang-utan body double.)
Jerry the Grip 1992-2009
