Directed by Ron Shelton
Produced by Stephen Chin, Kellie Davis, David V. Lester
Written by Ron Shelton
Starring Antonio Banderas, Woody Harrelson, Lolita Davidovich, Tom Sizemore, Lucy Liu, Robert Wagner, Tony Curtis, Wesley Snipes, Mike Tyson, Kevin Costner, Rod Stewart, Jennifer Tilly, Natasha Gregson Wagner, Drew Carey
Music by Alex Wurman
Cinematography Mark Vargo
Editing by Patrick Flannery, Paul Seydor
Distributed by Touchstone Pictures
Release date(s) December 25, 1999
Running time 124 min.

Play It to the Bone is a 1999 sports/comedy-drama film, starring Antonio Banderas and Woody Harrelson, written and directed by Ron Shelton.

It follows the adventures of two boxers and best friends who travel to Las Vegas in order to fight each other for the sake of a chance to compete for the middleweight title. The film also starred Lolita Davidovich, Tom Sizemore, Lucy Liu, and Robert Wagner.

Cameo appearances include: Tony Curtis, Wesley Snipes, Mike Tyson, Kevin Costner, Rod Stewart, Jennifer Tilly, Natasha Gregson Wagner and Drew Carey.

Plot

Aging prizefighters and longtime pals Cesar Dominguez (Banderas) and Vince Boudreau (Harrelson) always regretted not getting one last shot. Out of the blue, such an opportunity comes their way — except it is to fight each other.

Boxing promoter Joe Domino (Sizemore) has a problem on his hands. The fighters scheduled to be on his undercard in Vegas, a preliminary to a main event featuring heavyweight Mike Tyson, suddenly become unavailable at the last minute. He needs replacements fast, so a call is made to a gym in Los Angeles to see if Dominguez and Boudreau would be willing to step into the ring against one another.

The boxers negotiate one condition: that the winner will be given a chance to fight for the middleweight championship. Domino agrees, although the untrustworthy promoter is not necessarily a man of his word.

Cesar and Vince have only a day to get to the fight. They decide to drive rather than fly, so they call upon their friend Grace (Davidovich) to drive them in her lime green Oldsmobile 442. Grace is a former love interest of both. Grace’s own plan is to pitch her various money-making ideas to Vegas bigshots like hotel and casino boss Hank Goody (Wagner) and raise venture capital. Along the way, they pick up a hitchhiker (Liu) whose insults finally result in Grace’s flattening her with a solid right cross worthy of her traveling companions.

The fight between the two friends is sparsely attended, ringside fans and celebrities remaining uninterested until the night’s main event. Cesar and Vince mix it up so savagely, however, beating each other to a bloody pulp, that fans in the arena begin paying more and more attention, as do commentators on TV.

When the action-packed and dramatic bout comes to an end, Cesar and Vince are paid off, but promptly spend most of their money in the casino. Grace, too, comes away bruised and empty-handed, except for her everlasting relationship between a couple of hard-headed but soft-hearted guys.

Reception

The film garnered a generally poor reception, with Rotten Tomatoes giving it an average rating of 3.9 out of 10.^[1] Professional critical reception was similar, with Empire magazine giving it just 2 stars out of 5.^[2]

References

Links

• Play It to the Bone at the Internet Movie Database

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.

Directed by: Gil Cates Jr
Produced by: Michael Arata, Steve Austin, Albert J. Salzer
Written by: Gil Cates Jr, Mark Weinstock
Starring: Bret Harrison, Burt Reynolds, Charles Durning, Vincent Van Patten, Michael Sexton, with Jennifer Tilly and Shannon Elizabeth
Music by: Peter Rafelson
Cinematography: Tom Harting
Editing by: Jonathan Cates
Distributed by: MGM Pictures (USA), Seven Arts Pictures (non-USA)
Release date: 2008
Running time: 85 min
Country: United States
Language: English

Deal is a 2008 drama film starring film actor Burt Reynolds, with Bret Harrison, and Shannon Elizabeth. It tells the story of a former poker player (Reynolds) who tutors a younger player (Harrison). The film’s climax is a fictional World Poker Tour championship.

World Poker Tour commentators Mike Sexton, Vince Van Patten and Courtney Friel play themselves. A number of other professional poker players and poker-playing celebrities, including Phil Laak, Antonio Esfandiari, Greg Raymer, Chris Moneymaker and Isabelle Mercier are in the cast.

Cast

Bret Harrison as Alex Stillman
Burt Reynolds as Tommy Vinson
Shannon Elizabeth as Michelle
Charles Durning as Charlie Adler
Jennifer Tilly as Karen ‘Razor’ Jones
Maria Mason as Helen Vinson
Gary Grubbs as Mr. Stillman
Caroline McKinley as Mrs. Stillman
Brandon Olive as Ben Thomas
Jon Eyez as Mike ‘Double Diamond’ Jackson
J.D. Evermore as Tex Button
Courtney Friel as Herself
Phil Laak as Himself
Antonio Esfandiari as Himself
Vincent Van Patten as Himself
Scott Lazar as Himself
Chris Moneymaker as Himself
Greg Raymer as Himself
Isabelle Mercier as Herself
Mike Sexton as Himself

Production

The World Poker Tour set was shipped to New Orleans for filming.

During the production, Charles Durning treated the cast and crew to a tour of the National World War II Museum in New Orleans and recounted his own World War II experience at Normandy during the D-Day invasion and in the Battle of the Bulge, where he was wounded and taken prisoner.

Reception

The film received extremely negative reviews by getting 0% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 26 reviews. Metacritic rated it 35% based on 9 reviews.

Box office performance

With a 5 million dollar budget, the movie opened taking $35,281 from 50 theaters ($705 average). As of May 11, it has grossed $61,626 domestically.

The Filmwatchers of America (FOA) have ranked this particular film as the worst movie ever made and ever to be made.

Links

• Official site
• Deal at the Internet Movie Database
• Deal at Rotten Tomatoes
• Deal at Metacritic
• Deal at Box Office Mojo
• Deal at Allmovie

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.