Over the Top (1987)
4/10
I went into Over the Top expecting a movie about arm-wrestling truckers, with a subplot about a father trying to win back his son’s love. What I got was a movie about a father trying to win back his son’s love, with a subplot about arm-wrestling truckers. The last third is full of what I came to see: an over-the-top arm-wrestling tournament in Las Vegas with lots of cheesy action, dated synth music, and cartoonish villains. But it still feels like too little, too late.
Lincoln Hawk (Sylvester Stallone) is a truck driver estranged from his wife Christina (Susan Blakely) and young son Michael (David Bendenhall), whom he left 10 years earlier. At the invitation of Christina, who is suffering from heart disease, he picks up Michael from military school and tries to develop a relationship with him as they drive across the country and Lincoln arm wrestles to supplement his income. Meanwhile, Michael’s grandfather Jason Cutler (Robert Loggia) is determined to gain custody and keep Lincoln out of his son’s life.
There’s little action in the first hour. We see just two arm-wrestling matches, one involving Lincoln and another Michael. There’s a brief car chase where two of Cutler’s goons try to kidnap Michael, which feels stupid and illogical. Surely there are better ways for someone as rich as Cutler to get his son back. Stallone’s confrontations with Loggia make for some of the most ridiculous moments, such as when Lincoln drives his truck through Cutler’s front gates into his mansion to get Michael back.
I had seen a few clips beforehand from early in the movie and while I don’t like to criticize child actors, I was worried Michael might prove to be one of the most annoying kids I’ve ever seen in a movie. Thankfully that wasn’t the case. Michael’s anger at his father is understandable, since Lincoln left him and Christina hid the letters Lincoln did send their son. Director and co-producer Menahem Golan presents the growing bond between father and son convincingly enough. Stallone delivers Reagan-era nuggets of wisdom such as, “The world meets nobody halfway. When you want something, you gotta take it.”
Stallone’s presence helps make the movie watchable, as does the always-welcome Loggia, who does what he can playing a two-dimensional villain. There are some beautiful shots of the American landscape, including scenes filmed in Monument Valley, Utah. Unfortunately, the tonal whiplash from the first two acts to the third is a bit much. Rick Zumwalt is fun as the physically imposing current arm-wrestling champion “Bull” Hurley—evoking the likes of Mr. T in Rocky III—as are the other arm wrestlers. But it’s hard for a movie that spent its first hour trying to focus on character drama turn into what feels like a Saturday morning cartoon.
Concerning the soundtrack, I’m a sucker for 1980s music. But aside from “Winner Takes It All”—a typical ’80s pop-rock anthem designed for a movie montage, elevated by my favourite Van Halen singer Sammy Hagar—the songs are subpar, despite being composed by Giorgio Moroder. I’ll admit they grew on me afterward. I’ve repeatedly listened to the soundtrack since I watched the movie. They do boost the film if you’re into this kind of music.
Over the Top can’t help but come off as inferior to the Rocky series at everything it attempts, from the gritty drama of the early films to the cheesy action of the third and fourth instalments. The arm-wrestling scenes are the main draw, and prove as hilarious as one hopes with close-ups of the competitors straining and making goofy faces. Michael plays the role of Adrian in the Rocky films as the loved one screaming encouragement from the sidelines—though the screenplay has him yell variations of “Come on, Dad!” so often, it does become annoying after a while.
This is a dumb, predictable movie that, rightly or wrongly, thinks its audience is also stupid. Why else does the tournament announcer explain at least four times that it’s a “double elimination” contest so we know even if Stallone loses a match, he’s still in the tournament? It has its entertaining moments. Overall though, the Ruthless Reviews ’80s Action Guide probably had it right when they asked, “How bad is it really?” and responded that “this is a film about arm wrestling truckers, which basically renders this section unnecessary.”