Review #67: 'Over the Top' (1987)

Awww....the 1980's. A time that seems so quaint. A time when problems could be quite easily solved with muscle and sport. Just the fact of winning could bring you the girl of your dreams, the many material wealth that you could hope for. Or, in the case of Over the Top, it could win the affections of the son you abandoned ten years ago.

Stallone brings his laconic acting style to this late-80's Rocky (1976)-style tale of a working class dad who left his wife and son in undisclosed circumstances ten years previously. His ex-wife was the daughter of a very rich man (played by Robert Loggia), weirdly never to see his son again. She is, at the start of the movie, dying of heart failure. Their son, Mike (David Medenall), has been educated in a military school. Christina's (Susan Blakely) last wish is that Mike's father drive him to the hospital to see her so that they may get to know each other. So the working class trucker (Stallone) arrives at the military school to know his father. A quite founded concept considering he has not seen him for years and the fact that his grandfather (Robert Loggia) has fed him false stories about his dads misconduct.

So begins the obvious, cliche ridden tale of father-meets-son, son-hates-father, but all ends well!!

But, I have to say, this is the first time that I have watched this movie since it was released on video, either in 1987 or 1988, and I cannot say that I did not enjoy it. There is an endearing quality in the growing relationship between father and son. Maybe this is the drink talking, but I enjoyed its utterly silly machinations. The main crux of the film is pivoted on the competition that Licoln Hawk (Stallone's character) is planning to compete in in Las Vegas - a world arm wrestling competition. A very working class style of machismo, that would win the heart of any son (sic).

After the death of Christina (Mikes mother/Lincolns ex-wife), the grandfather is determined to get custody of Mike. Something which is highly likely considering the fact that he is rich, and Lincoln is utterly poor. Despite earning the trust of Mike, Lincoln is abandoned by him, and is left alone to compete in the competition. He pawns his truck (the only form of income he has) before entering, and bets all the money on himself to win, he hopes to win the $10,000.00 prize, along with the uber-smart truck on offer.

There are many inconsistencies in the film, but they fall to the side. It's a completely absurd concept, yet I found myself totally absorbed in the growing relationship between father and son. Now this is certainly not something I would have come across as I watched as an 11 year old child. Maybe age has rendered me pathetic! This was the main focus as I watched the film. I mean, we can't genuinely for one second believe the performance of Stallone; he just plays the same role he always did. The use of bad, almost incomprehensible speech, with the dour eyes and wonky mouth. But his performance is a little touching! (I just vomited in my mouth!).

Ok, so we all know the end result, even if we have not seen the film. All is well (just like in real life - ha ha). Well, anyway. Lincoln makes it to the Las Vegas competition, where there is hot competition. He is a newcomer to the event, so odds are against him.

I have to give special comment to the arm wrestling contender John Grizzly. There are snippets of interviews with some contestants who give comment. Gotta love Grizzly's one: "When I get to the table, I don't care who they are, they're my mortal enemy. I hate them". So direct. The final 'battle' (if you like), or if it were musically challenged, the montage, is the most fun part (well, of course). It's fucking stupid; but it's silly fun. As Lincoln steps up to meet the final challenge, a huge mammoth of a man. It is dubbed a competition of David and Goliath; a clear parallel to the American/Russian paradox in Rocky IV (1985), just without the political content.

Well, it's pretty obvious that the final arm wrestling match is barely about the winning of money and trucks; it is in fact the chance for Stallone to not only win the money, but the get to buy his son back from his rich granddad. Oh, how money buys you happiness! It is a kind of perfect 1980's strategy. Money buys you love - fuck the Beatles concept said the '80's. Yes it can!! Just see John Hughes' Weird Science (1985) for proof of this analogy! Haha. It is a massive shame on my general moral and ethical opinion that I actually enjoyed watching this film. I didn't even want to punch the child-actors face considerably. Now that is a novelty in any film where the kid is prominent!


Directed by: Menahem Golan
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, David Mendenhall, Robert Loggia, Susan Blakely
Country: USA

Rating: **

Marc Ivamy

Review #58: 'Capone' (1975)

Never one to be concerned with realism, historical accuracy or taste, Roger Corman took on the now legendary story of gangster Al Capone in 1975. Corman is on production duties here, but the film has his trademarks all over it. Capone (played by Ben Gazzara, a little more convincingly than Jason Robards in the enjoyable The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967)) is jailed and questioned after beating up two policemen, to be bailed out by Frankie Yale (John Cassavetes) and Johnny Torio (Harry Guardino) who hold a growing influence over the police department. Capone is then taken under Torio's wing, as they try to distribute alcohol in Prohibition-era Chicago, while trying to calm the ongoing gang wars that are getting increasingly bloody.

As stated earlier, don't expect The Godfather (1972). This is a gangsters tale, exploitation style. The film seems to want to tell Capone's story without getting bogged down in the details, and instead going for maximum entertainment value. And it does work to a certain degree - Ben Gazzara's ludicrously over-the-top performance is a lot of fun, and the fact that he's a genuinely very good actor adds a bit of class to the role. But I feel Corman's earlier gangster effort, The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (which he directed) was a lot more fun. That had a lot more going on to hold the attention, while the episodic nature of this film does get a bit repetitive after a while. Also, the majority of this film is not just a mere spin on the truth, it's outright lies. However, it's worth watching for Gazzara alone, and an early performance from Sylvester Stallone as Frank Nitti.


Directed by: Steve Carver
Starring: Ben Gazzara, Harry Guardino, Susan Blakely, Sylvester Stallone, John Cassavetes
Country: USA

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie