New Movie Review: Grudge Match

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages! Welcome back to the Assassin's Den!

Since my dad and I didn't have anything going on on Christmas Day yesterday, he took me out to see a movie (my grandma died recently, my brother's got his own kids, and my dad's girlfriend, who is a nurse, had to work that day); and what we saw was the new Sly Stallone and Robert De Niro flick, Grudge Match.

Now, according to the headline for the movie, Billy "The Kid" McDonnen and Henry "Razor" Sharp, two local Pittsburgh fighters whose fierce rivalry put them in the national spotlight. Each had scored a victory against the other during their heyday, but in 1983, on the eve of their decisive third match, Razor suddenly announced his retirement, refusing to explain why but effectively delivering a knock-out punch to both their careers. Thirty years later, boxing promoter Dante Slate Jr., seeing big dollar signs, makes them an offer they can't refuse: to re-enter the ring and settle the score once and for all. But they may not have to wait that long: on their first encounter in decades, their long-festering feud erupts into an unintentionally hilarious melee that instantly goes viral. The sudden social media frenzy transforms their local grudge match into a must-see HBO event. Now, if they can just survive the training, they may actually live to fight again.

But some of this tagline isn't entirely accurate, but it's close enough.  And on Sly's side, this movie feels like what Rocky 3 would have been, had Rocky dropped completely out of the limelight after defeating Apollo Creed in Rocky 2.  And you see a LOT of homages to the Rocky Saga on Sly's side; the eggs, the running, the slightly abusive trainer who believes in him...it's all there.  But there's a lot more there, so I'm not spoiling anything.

 You actually can see a LOT of Rocky in Sly's character, Razor; he's a down to earth guy who is just trying to make his way in life.  He's kind, cares more for others than he does for himself, and considers himself a fighter first and formost.  But Razor is more bitter and feels more educated than Rocky; he's not oblivious about social ques the way Rocky is.

Robert De Niro is a drunken jackass who has made a LOT of mistakes in his life, and over the course of the story, he gets the chance to become a little better person.  I won't get into why, but trust me, it's interesting.

And finally, Kim Basinger, who plays Sally, has an interesting link to both men, though I won't reveal what it is, because that's part of the plot of the movie.

Now, when you go into this movie, go into it expecting a comedy and a drama more than a fight film.  Yes, they show two training montages, but the movie isn't as much about the fight in the end as it is about the men involved in the fight.  Yes, the movie ends with a boxing match, and there's a slight build up for it, but the focus isn't on the fight. It's about the men involved in the right.

Not to say I didn't enjoy the movie; far from it.  It was funny, heartwarming and all around a good movie to see.  But if you go into the movie expecting Rocky 7, you won't be disappointed.