In 2016, Prime Video perplexed fans of the Muscles from Brussels with their curiously named comedy-dramaJean-Claude Van Johnson. For fans of Jean-Claude Van Damme’s classic martial arts movies, this show presents the actor as they’ve never seen him before. Van Damme employs many of the same moves that made him famous, but with the outward artifice of his stylized characters peeled back to hilarious effect. Even the biggest Van Damme fan would admit that his legend has been built on kitsch exploitation cinema, andJean-Claude Van Johnsondelivers a fitting send-up of the action star’s career.
The show includes countless references toVan Damme’s best movies, with the added bonus that it deconstructs what makes them so special. The Muscles from Brussels is at his best when taking center stage as a martial arts performer in carefully choreographed set pieces, andJean-Claude Van Johnsonrevels in the stylistic indulgences of his classic feature filmsfor comic purposes. For instance, a scene where a gang leader holds his enforcers back so they can each fight Van Damme one at a time, to avoid making the scene too “confusing” for viewers, is right on the money.
Jean-Claude Van Damme Plays A Fictionalized Version Of Himself In Jean-Claude Van Johnson
The Show Presents Van Damme As A Secret Agent Called Van Johnson, Whose Acting Career Is A Front
The reason forJean-Claude Van Johnson’s bizarre show title is its ingenious premise. It takes after various celebrity-themed mockumentary-style comedies — from Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant’sExtrasandLife’s Too Shortto Larry David’sCurb Your Enthusiasm— in having its lead actor play a fictionalized version of himself. The difference with this show, however, is thatits fictional depiction of Van Damme’s life is presented in the style of one of his movies.
What’s more, far from being just an extension ofVan Damme’s cameo appearancesin various movies and TV shows during the latter part of his career,Jean-Claude Van Johnsonflips the script on his real-life persona. According to the story of the show, Van Damme isn’t even his real name, and his acting work is merely a front for his real job as an international spy.
Why Jean-Claude Van Johnson Is Van Damme’s Best Performance
He Balances Between The Dual Aspects Of His Role With The Best Acting Of His Career
In playing a warped version of himself throughoutJean-Claude Van Johnson,the Muscles from Brussels draws on the very best of his martial arts work in cinema while laughing at himselfat the same time. He effortlessly switches between his dual role as fake jaded movie star and real secret agent, brilliantly subverting the artifice of his make-believe action characters in one of the streaming age’s best meta jokes.
As a result,Jean-Claude Van Johnsonstands up to the best ofVan Damme’s modern movies, combining exaggerated splits and spinning kicks with slapstick comedy and self-effacing humor. It stands apart from pretty much any other TV show out there as a satirical take on the lives of Hollywood action stars, particularly in the way it deliberately blurs the lines between performance and parody, movie and mockumentary, and, ultimately, fiction and reality.Van Damme rises to the challenge of driving the meta storylines,which intertwine throughout the series, putting in his best-ever acting performance.
Why Jean-Claude Van Johnson Was Canceled After One Season
Amazon Was Moving Prime Video In A Different Direction
Despite its success as a work of comedy,Jean-Claude Van Johnsonwas canceled after the finaleof its first season, asAmazon was looking to cut down on its roster of comedy shows. At the time of its cancellation, an insider working with Prime Video revealed that the streaming platform was shifting towards making “bigger, wider-audience series” (viaDeadline), a suggestion that’s been borne out by their release output in recent years. Nevertheless, Netflix’s2021 movieThe Last Mercenarysaw Van Dammereturn to the type of performance he gave inJean-Claude Van Johnson.
The show will go down in history as a lost gem that proves that the Muscles from Brussels has comic chops.
Admittedly, this French-language release isn’t quite as funny or ingenious as the Prime Video TV series. Indeed, Van Damme may never topJean-Claude Van Johnsonduring the remaining years of his career. The show will go down in history as a lost gem that proves that the Muscles from Brussels has comic chops, as well as brawn and brilliance as a martial artist.
Jean-Claude Van Johnson
Cast
Jean-Claude Van Johnson is a 2016 film that follows Jean-Claude Van Damme as a martial arts film star operating undercover as the elite private contractor, Johnson. After a chance encounter with a former love interest, he comes out of retirement for a perilous assignment, blending action and intrigue.
