This is a criminally underrated and underseen boxing comedy/drama starring Woody Harrelson and Antonio Banderas. They play two middle-weight boxers in their late-thirties named Vince and Dominguez, both contenders once, who train in the same gym and are friends. Due to a bad night which sees two big fighters dead and incapacitated after partying, a corrupt and mouthy boxing promoter, played by Tom Sizemore, and his crew, find themselves struggling to fill a fight for the undercard in Mike Tyson's bout tonight. So, they give the gym a call to offer Vince and Dominguez a shot... $50,000 each to fight each other, with the winner getting a shot at the middle-weight title. The men jump into a car with the woman they both love, and they set off on the long drive to Vegas.
Universally slated and panned by movie-goers on its release, "Play It to the Bone" is an example of a movie that has all-but disappeared. It is a shame, because I would rank this as one of the best boxing movies. The bout between Vance and Dominguez takes up nearly the last hour of the movie, and it is very well choreographed and Harrelson and Banderas are very convincing. They are great to watch together on their way to Vegas, they have very good chemistry and it makes it very enjoyable to watch them. But Lolita Davidovich steals the show in the opening half of the film. She is excellent as the fiery red-headed love interest, that both men love and have been in relationships with, and although it is understated, the two of them are fighting for her love, as much as they are the money and the title-shot.
The film has enough quirk to make it distinctive. Vince has found religion and sees Jesus everywhere. Lucy Liu appears as a young woman hitch-hiking to Vegas that the trio pick up, and she turns out to be completely unhinged. She is great to watch, and you can tell that Liu had a lot of fun with this. Tom Sizemore appears to be just a tad over-the-top in his performance, but for most part, it was warranted, because he plays an absolute pig. I had a good feeling sitting down to watch this forgotten gem. I knew that it was going to be good, despite the negative reviews that it continues to receive to this day. The comedy and characters, and the first half of the move in general, is what people appear to take issue with most. But I can only say that I really enjoyed that aspect of the movie, and that it builds the film up nicely for what turns out to be a superb battle in the ring between Vince and Dominguez.
Universally slated and panned by movie-goers on its release, "Play It to the Bone" is an example of a movie that has all-but disappeared. It is a shame, because I would rank this as one of the best boxing movies. The bout between Vance and Dominguez takes up nearly the last hour of the movie, and it is very well choreographed and Harrelson and Banderas are very convincing. They are great to watch together on their way to Vegas, they have very good chemistry and it makes it very enjoyable to watch them. But Lolita Davidovich steals the show in the opening half of the film. She is excellent as the fiery red-headed love interest, that both men love and have been in relationships with, and although it is understated, the two of them are fighting for her love, as much as they are the money and the title-shot.
The film has enough quirk to make it distinctive. Vince has found religion and sees Jesus everywhere. Lucy Liu appears as a young woman hitch-hiking to Vegas that the trio pick up, and she turns out to be completely unhinged. She is great to watch, and you can tell that Liu had a lot of fun with this. Tom Sizemore appears to be just a tad over-the-top in his performance, but for most part, it was warranted, because he plays an absolute pig. I had a good feeling sitting down to watch this forgotten gem. I knew that it was going to be good, despite the negative reviews that it continues to receive to this day. The comedy and characters, and the first half of the move in general, is what people appear to take issue with most. But I can only say that I really enjoyed that aspect of the movie, and that it builds the film up nicely for what turns out to be a superb battle in the ring between Vince and Dominguez.