Connection To THE CANNONBALL RUN - Director Hal Needham.
Up until the 2008's The Wrestler, films about wrestling where consider bad - Ready To Rumble and No Holds Barred are two productions funded by wrestling companies themselves which in the case of Ready To Rumble made their fans out to be idiots. The (then) WWF produced No Holds Barred, wCw produced Ready To Rumble in 2000 and an insane attempt at cross-promotion put the companies world title on the star David Arquette, in an unrelated matter wCw which made 60 million in 1996 went out of business the year after after Ready To Rumble (the WWE brought them out if you didn't know), whilst No Holds Barred had the attempt of cross-promoting the match on PPV with Zeus (Tommy Lister) wanting to get revenge in a WWF ring - the audiences for both the film and these promotion tactics didn't really go for it.
I should mention now - for over 20 years I've been a wrestling fan - not as a guilty pleasure I'll happily admit it, I've been to live events multiple times, owned videos, DVDs, figures (even as an adult), autographs, so yeah I've had all the years of it's fake etc - which is probably a dumb thing to say to a fan because you know we know there not really out there trying to hurt each other, it's a show, you know just like what these people watch (it's always most ironic coming from a fan of reality TV for obvious reasons). So yeah I wanted to have this disclaimer because a film involving a wrestler whether there amazing (The Princess Bride) or piss poor (so, so many) I'm likely going to get that enjoyment of seeing a wrestler in it.
So, Body Slam - it's took me a bit to actually get to about the movie I am mean't to be talking about, is a film I know I've seen from television showings back in the day but really my memory of it is all so fuzzy so in many ways it is a brand new watch for me.
And you know what I recognized it was a bad movie but it was very, very enjoyable - yes it's one of those films where professional wrestling is all real and is about M. Harry Smilac (Dirk Benedict), a struggling music producer, with one sole client (the rock band Kicks), he agrees to do a fundraiser for a politician and struggling to find acts he mistakes pro wrestler Rick Roberts (Roddy Piper) for a musican and hires him, he ends up finding out he's a pro wrestler and decides to stick with him and becomes a pro wrestling manager booking matches for Roberts and Tonga Tom (The Tonga Kid), the team are successful but clash with Rick's ex-manager Captain Lou Murano (played by Captain Lou Albano, proving they didn't strain too many brain cells with thinking of the names here). After Captain Lou's Cannibals team injure Harry and the wrestlers in a match where there where cheap shot, Harry wants to give it up but its on the idea of the "Rock N Wrestling" format for his tag-team and the band which end up becoming a huge success.
To add another word to bad - it's silly but it's got such charm, it's fun seeing a bunch of wrestlers in roles sometimes as characters (The Wild Samoans, The Barbarbian) or as themselves (Classy Freddie Blassie, Ric Flair and Bruno Sammartino and in the crowd in the finale). I think Piper showed he was a better actor then he does here but he's still decent enough, his niece his played by Kellie Martin, who went onto have an actual career - it's actually not clear why she is with her uncle like if something happened to her parents), Benedict is actually a likable lead and it's a shame he had no real leading roles once A-Team finished.
Some of the other none-wrestlers in roles including Tanya Roberts in a wasted role as the love interest, Charles Nelson Reilly, John Astin and Billy Barty as midget manager Tim McClusky who is entertaining despite what I will get to next.
I think I already covered this already or something similar, whilst appearing on Reilly's characters show (one of the most popular in America according to Piper's character not sure if he was taking the piss), the Barty character likes to use the term "faggot" as a slur, it's just something I personally disagree with, one person's sign in that crowd even has simply that.
Overall dumb, cheesy 80's fun, maybe it's my love of wrestling helps me enjoy that but I think people who don't like wrestling but like 80's cheese will enjoy this.
I should mention now - for over 20 years I've been a wrestling fan - not as a guilty pleasure I'll happily admit it, I've been to live events multiple times, owned videos, DVDs, figures (even as an adult), autographs, so yeah I've had all the years of it's fake etc - which is probably a dumb thing to say to a fan because you know we know there not really out there trying to hurt each other, it's a show, you know just like what these people watch (it's always most ironic coming from a fan of reality TV for obvious reasons). So yeah I wanted to have this disclaimer because a film involving a wrestler whether there amazing (The Princess Bride) or piss poor (so, so many) I'm likely going to get that enjoyment of seeing a wrestler in it.
So, Body Slam - it's took me a bit to actually get to about the movie I am mean't to be talking about, is a film I know I've seen from television showings back in the day but really my memory of it is all so fuzzy so in many ways it is a brand new watch for me.
And you know what I recognized it was a bad movie but it was very, very enjoyable - yes it's one of those films where professional wrestling is all real and is about M. Harry Smilac (Dirk Benedict), a struggling music producer, with one sole client (the rock band Kicks), he agrees to do a fundraiser for a politician and struggling to find acts he mistakes pro wrestler Rick Roberts (Roddy Piper) for a musican and hires him, he ends up finding out he's a pro wrestler and decides to stick with him and becomes a pro wrestling manager booking matches for Roberts and Tonga Tom (The Tonga Kid), the team are successful but clash with Rick's ex-manager Captain Lou Murano (played by Captain Lou Albano, proving they didn't strain too many brain cells with thinking of the names here). After Captain Lou's Cannibals team injure Harry and the wrestlers in a match where there where cheap shot, Harry wants to give it up but its on the idea of the "Rock N Wrestling" format for his tag-team and the band which end up becoming a huge success.
To add another word to bad - it's silly but it's got such charm, it's fun seeing a bunch of wrestlers in roles sometimes as characters (The Wild Samoans, The Barbarbian) or as themselves (Classy Freddie Blassie, Ric Flair and Bruno Sammartino and in the crowd in the finale). I think Piper showed he was a better actor then he does here but he's still decent enough, his niece his played by Kellie Martin, who went onto have an actual career - it's actually not clear why she is with her uncle like if something happened to her parents), Benedict is actually a likable lead and it's a shame he had no real leading roles once A-Team finished.
Some of the other none-wrestlers in roles including Tanya Roberts in a wasted role as the love interest, Charles Nelson Reilly, John Astin and Billy Barty as midget manager Tim McClusky who is entertaining despite what I will get to next.
I think I already covered this already or something similar, whilst appearing on Reilly's characters show (one of the most popular in America according to Piper's character not sure if he was taking the piss), the Barty character likes to use the term "faggot" as a slur, it's just something I personally disagree with, one person's sign in that crowd even has simply that.
Overall dumb, cheesy 80's fun, maybe it's my love of wrestling helps me enjoy that but I think people who don't like wrestling but like 80's cheese will enjoy this.
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