Over the Top

Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Robert Loggia, David Mendenhall, Rick Zumwalt, Terry Funk
Directed by: Menahem Golan
Rating: PG
Genre: Action, Drama
1987

Times Seen:
Tim: 1


Summary: A truck driver (Sylvester Stallone) fights to reconnect with his estranged son (David Mendenhall) while preparing to compete at the Arm Wrestling World Championship.

Review:

Tim: There may be a more ridiculous concept to come out of the 1980s in film, but you have to give Over the Top credit. It's such a bizarre combination of themes and elements. On the one hand, it causes you to laugh and joke. On a more serious one, though, the movie does get credit for putting together something truly unique. An arm wrestling movie is unique on its own, but there's certainly never been a film about a truck driving arm wrestler, fighting for custody of his son. For that reason, I really wanted to like Over the Top. I couldn't, but I do appreciate the experience of watching this movie.

Making a movie about an Arm Wrestling Championship is certainly an unexpected focus. It's technically a sport, so I guess I see how a movie would attempt to mine that. The movie wisely doesn't put all its eggs in this basket. The story is really about a father and a son. That's so important, to ground movies like this in something relatable. Arm wrestling isn't, but father-son dynamics are. I thought this aspect of the film was actually pretty good. Some of that was a little too convenient, but for the most part, I connected with the story of a father trying to connect with his son. The movie does a fairly good job setting this up and it does give us some strong moments between the two. The arm wrestling scene of his father teaching him the ropes of the sport was really hard to believe, but it conveyed its point. I liked the truck driving scene better, although it's much more problematic, looking at it through 2020 eyes. Still, as illegal and dangerous as it was, it was a nice bonding moment between the two.

I liked Sylvester Stallone in this role, even if I can't claim he gave a good performance. It's a quiet, reserved performance. I wondered if this was to prevent him from having to act too much, but it worked within the context of this film. Surrounded by these other, larger-than-life arm wrestlers, it's hard not to connect with this mild mannered guy. He wasn't out for the notoriety or the celebrity. He wanted to work as a trucker and provide a life for his son. Too many scenes are hurt by Stallone's inability to convey appropriate emotion. One of the most egregious is when he's "surprised" to see his son near the end of the film. I cringed hard watching Stallone fake those emotions and they quickly move on with the scene. I will say this about Stallone- even when he doesn't give a good performance, there's something likable about him.

The rest of the cast felt small- they don't get a whole lot to do. David Mendenhall did a fairly good job as Stallone's son. He was believable in the part and more often than not, acted fine. I really like Robert Loggia, but his character was too one-dimensional. It wasn't as much fun seeing him in this role that required so little of his considerable talent. The rest of the cast was forgettable.

The Arm Wrestling Championship at the end was interesting. It was ramped up to "11" like only a film from the 1980s could do. It's all a little ridiculous, but still somewhat entertaining. It was much too predictable, but still enjoyable. The worst part was seeing Stallone beating people who have significantly more muscle mass than him. I laughed at a few of these guys, especially when you consider the significantly smaller Stallone could beat them. The movie needed to focus even more on explaining technique, because so much of this felt ridiculous.

Over the Top isn't a good movie. It's an okay film. However, I still enjoyed it, despite its many shortcomings. It's absurd, but at least it's unique. I don't think I could recommend this movie, outside of recommending it for its unintentional comedic effect. I could see the conversation- "You've never seen Over the Top? Oh, you need to see it, it's such a ridiculous movie!"

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Rocky, Cliffhanger