The Sylvester Stallone Boxing Comedy Hidden Gem You Can Catch On Hulu
Like movies about boxing and spoofs of classic films? If so, there's a hidden gem of a film you might have missed from 2013, which is streaming now on Hulu. This is a movie that's been pretty widely panned by critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a Tomatometer score of just 31%, although the audience score is higher at 46%. And it was, by all accounts, a dud when it first released, bringing in just $44.9 million against a budget of $40 million (via Box Office Mojo).
So why would you want to see this? Well, check out the cast: The film stars Sylvester Stallone, Robert De Niro, Kim Basinger, Kevin Hart, Alan Arkin, and LL Cool J, among others. You might also enjoy the premise: "Grudge Match" stars Stallone and De Niro as aging championship boxers who meet up for a rematch of epic proportions. Yes, that's right. Rocky Balboa of the "Rocky" movies meets Jake LaMotta of "Raging Bull" fame, only they're grumpy, old (but iconic) men. While it's true that both Stallone and De Niro received nominations for Worst Actor at the Razzie Awards in 2014 for this movie, that shouldn't deter fans, because come on — that's an amazing setup.
Intrigued? We thought so.
Don't count Grudge Match out until you've tried it
In "Grudge Match," Sylvester Stallone plays Henry "Razor" Sharp, while Robert De Niro plays Billy "The Kid" McDonnen. They are boxers whose personal and professional lives have intertwined over the years, and each tendered the other the only defeat of their respective careers in two separate matches. Their third match would have broken the tie, but Razer decides to retire a week before the match, leaving the question of who is the best unanswered. Thirty years later, the two still can't stand to be in a room with each other. Then, Dante Slate Jr. (Hart) wants the two to record their voices and movements for a video game, but Razor's session is interrupted by the Kid, and the ensuing fight becomes viral legend. Demand for a rematch follows.
The movie includes a father-son subplot, plus cameos from Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield in a post-credits scene. Definitely don't count it out because of the bad reviews — on IMDb, the movie actually comes in with a 6.4/10 rating overall and some reviewers gave the film a 9/10 rating on the strength of it being, as fan reviewer herni260 put it, "solid entertainment with a soul."
"This is a light hearted, nostalgic film with lots of great jokes and a fantastic cast," wrote IMDb reviewer kramerkosmo.
"The movie had heart and if you let it, Grudge Match will win you over," sharpobject2424 concurred.
While others would agree the film is predictable, it's also sincerely funny, the reviewers say, making it worth a watch if you're looking for something to entertain you for a couple of hours.