Who said that two old timers can’t touch gloves in the ring?
When the thought of Robert De Niro and Sylvester Stallone doing a boxing movie comes to mind, your first reaction is that this movie will be a parody of iconic character’s they each played years ago such as Jake LaMotta in “Raging Bull,†and Rocky Balboa in “Rocky.†While this movie is nowhere close to a parody, the combination these two actors together on the big screen is a treat, and when you sprinkle in Alan Arkin and Kevin Hart,it is simply enjoyable.
“Grudge Match†will not only make you laugh, it will also make you cry in a good way because it is a dramedy that makes you think in you are in for a repetitive mockery of two old men, but you’ll be surprised of the several curve balls you’re thrown while the film enters it’s final act. Stallone and De Niro might be two old men, but their performance in this film is superb. They both play off each other quite well and are impressive in their roles as retired boxers with interesting back stories that get the chance to step into the ring one last time.
Henry “Razor†Sharp, Stallone (“Rockyâ€) and Billy “The Kid†McDonnen are a pair of aging boxing rivals who are coaxed out of retirement to fight one last time 30 years after their last match. Sharp is a modest man and lives a simple life. He is a Blue Collar worker and lives in a junk box of a home in a poor neighborhood in Pittsburgh. Meanwhile McDonnen is an arrogant jerk who owns a restaurant and car dealership and is a womanizing drunk.
What makes “Grudge Match†spark the big screen are the back stories that Sharp and McDonnen have that lead to their final fight and the supporting cast that features Alan Arkin, (“Glenn Gary Glenn Rossâ€), who plays Louis “Lighting†Conlon, Sharp’s trainer and a cranky old man who demands a television set and boxing promoter Dante Slate Jr., played by the hilarious Kevin Hart. Both Hart and Arkin provide constant laughter as they insult each other when ever they are together on screen.
The opening of this movie will leave you impressed as you see a young Stallone and Deniro who resemble a Rocky and LaMotta CGI version of each other grace the screen in emphatic fashion as younger versions of themselves were shown as highlights 30 years ago. Not only did this film provide plenty of laughter to the audience, but it also had unexpected story lines involving each of the characters that made you appreciate the way both De Niro and Stallone even more as actors.
Although the training regiments that both of these characters did resemble a bit of the previous “Rocky†films such as Sly drinking raw Eggs and and lifting monster truck tires, the bottom line is that you can appreciate how hard both of these actors work in order to make us laugh and feel good during a film. The chemistry they both shared was perfect and no matter how much you thought it would be a rip off of their previous films, the end result was way better than expected.
Overall, “Grudge Match†is a feel good film about two old boxers trying to finish a final chapter in their lives that are each filled with shame, doubt and regret. The lead up to the fight was an all out laugh riot and the fight itself will make you smile and shed a tear of joy. Finally the moral to this story is that no matter how many times you screwed up in life or never did the right thing, you always have the chance to make things right. Both Sharp and McDonnen had that chance and they both took advantage of it. This film was not only a fun feel good story, but it was also an intriguing life lesson, an exciting knock out.
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