42 - Body Slam

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.

41 - The Cannonball Run

Connection To CITY HUNTER - Jackie Chan

"It's not what you do, it's how you do it..."

I touched on my childhood viewing habits a bit when I wrote about Police Academy 4, and despite my back then and still lack of interest about cars I loved The Cannonball Run films to bits. The first and second movie (Fever I never owned on video but saw more then one thanks to television) where watched multiple times and was a main reason for wanting me to watch All Dogs Go To Heaven in that it had the voices of Burt Reynolds and Dom DeLuise, the film though not big with the critics where loved and are still loved by me to this very day.

So The Cannonball Run's plot is simple as in it's about an illegal cross country race but it's more about the characters then the actual race, which I guess simple is plot you can say about a lot of the cross country race films, the reason being for a stash or money or competition is just get the array of characters racing against each other.

The characters - the main pair are JJ (Reynolds) and (DeLuise) who are riding an ambulance and dressed as paramedics with a real but crazy doctor (Jack Elam), these supposed heroes actually pretty much kidnap Farrah Fawcett and drug her up at point point, ah the 80's sure where different (see also Revenge Of The Nerds).Victor also has the memorable of superhero alter-ego of Captain Chaos

We also have Roger Moore, who was still James Bond plays Seymour who believes he's Roger Moore... not James Bond mind, you know because of copyright and all, he even gets Bond sound alike music aswell as a bevvy of different women and gadgets but if the lawyers are reading I repeat he is not James Bond, it's fun though seeing Moore make fun of himself especially in a time before it became a common occurrence.

Dean Martin looks drunk for most of the movie - and the fact it's Dean Martin I will assume he was and he teams up with Rat Pack pal Sammy Davis Jr. as Priests they make fun "arch-nemesis" to the J.J/Victor pair

Among others we also have Jackie Chan and Michael Hui play a Japanese race team because you know close enough, the pair of buxom lady drivers played by Adrienne Babreau and Tara Buckman who use there erm... assets to evade authority and Jamie Farr as The Sheik (who is the only character who appears in all 3 movies) are the more standout other racers.

I think Elam as Doctor Van Helsing steals the show for me every time he's on screen he is hilarious whatever he does, another one of my favourite scenes involves The Sheik ordering fast food.

The absolute worst thing for me in the movie is Reynolds referring to Davis Jr. as a "Chocoalte Monk" feels so outdated for me now and sticks out as a negative against the movie.

The ending doesn't make sense when you think about it, the cannonballers all race towards the finish line on foot to see who gets there first however, the race is done by punching a clock with the time on and getting it punched at the other end and the scene earlier in the movie takes over 5 minutes so those that "win" probably don't especially since they are not the last to leave

Overall even after all these years I still find joy in this movie, across this movie and the second I enjoy spending time with the characters and maybe because you don't spend too long it makes the films speed by (damn me and puns lately).

P.S. this could be the answer to a trivia question - what film does Jackie Chan fight Peter Fonda?