Play It to the Bone (1999)

User Rating:

5.1/10   

Director:

Ron Shelton

Writer (WGA):

Ron Shelton (written by)

Release Date:

21 January 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Sport

Tagline:

Two best friends take a shot at hitting it big.

Plot:

Two best friends and former boxers travel to Las Vegas to fight for the first time.

Plot Keywords:

Boxer | Las Vegas | Friendship | Tuxedo | Homosexual

Cast

Antonio Banderas	...	Cesar Dominguez
Woody Harrelson	...	Vince Boudreau
Lolita Davidovich	...	Grace Pasic
Tom Sizemore	...	Joe Domino
Lucy Liu	...	Lia
Robert Wagner	...	Hank Goody
Richard Masur	...	Artie
Willie Garson	...	Cappie Caplan
Cylk Cozart	...	Rudy
Jack Carter	...	Dante Solomon
Aida Turturro	...	Mad Greek Waitress
Louie Leonardo	...	Freddy Green
Slade Barnett	...	Vegas Cop
Cameron Milzer	...	Vegas Paramedic
Julio García	...	Chiquito Rosario

Also Known As:

Play It (USA) (promotional title)

MPAA:

Rated R for brutal ring violence, strong sexuality including dialogue, nudity, pervasive language and some drug content.

Runtime:

124 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:14 | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Australia:MA | South Korea:18 | Philippines:PG-13 | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Germany:16 (w) | Hong Kong:IIB | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:R(A) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Baker, California, USA

Company:

Play It Inc.

Trivia:

Woody Harrelson reportedly based his character on boxer Angel Manfredy.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the Greek restaurant, as Grace leaves for the restrooms outside, an extra (girl reading a paper) passes the boxers as they stay seated. In the next shot the same girl, reading the paper, comes on walking from where she must have been before we saw her following in the direction Grace left.

Quotes:

Vince Boudreau: You don't have to hate a man to completely destroy him.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Ben Affleck/Fiona Apple (#25.13)" (2000)

Soundtrack:

Too Blue

A fight for sore eyes...

This buddy/boxing pic involves Vince (Woody Harrelson) and Cesar (Antonio Banderas), two washed-up fighters who have received a phone call to be last-minute replacements on a Mike Tyson undercard in Las Vegas. But of course, there are complications. They've been friends for many years, although they've never fought each other in the ring. Oh, and they both dated the same woman (Lolita Davidovich), who drives them both to Vegas - and dumps Cesar on the way!

Half of this movie is spent showing the guys traveling to Vegas from Los Angeles, squabbling along the way, picking up a slutty ingenue (Lucy Liu), and half is spent actually fighting the fight. I guess the reason for this is so there can be all sorts of suspense and tension built up during the road trip, as years of pent-up frustration can sufficiently simmer for the allegorical fight in the ring.

How much you enjoy this film will depend on a few variables - your tolerance for the cinematic stylings of Harrelson and Banderas, your affinity for pro boxing, and your love of violence in sport. It's often been said that there's a certain poetry to boxing, an art form in which the medium is blood and fists, but this film, for all of its slow-motion camerawork, doesn't exactly evoke comparisons to ballet.

I can't say that the acting is magnificent, because the actors don't act as much as they simply exist. The two male leads are very appealing in this light comedic romp, and they both play off Davidovich's character perfectly. There's plenty of sexual tension during the drive to Vegas, and that's a testament to the three main characters. The only debit is Liu's annoying skank - she wasn't very necessary and detracted from the story a little too much.