Over the Top (1987)

• Year: 1987
• Released: 13 Feb 1987
• Country: United States
• Adwords: 4 wins & 2 nominations
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093692/
• Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/over_the_top
• Metacritics: https://www.metacritic.com/movie/over-the-top
• Available in: 720p, 1080p, 720p
• Language: English
• MPA Rating: PG
• Genre: Action, Drama, Sport
• Runtime: 93 min
• Writer: Gary Conway, David Engelbach, Stirling Silliphant
• Director: Menahem Golan
• Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Robert Loggia, Susan Blakely
• Keywords: sports, road trip, truck driver, arm wrestling, bad father-in-law,

	5.8/10
	40/100
	32% – Critics
	49% – Audience

Over the Top Storyline

After years of absence, the humble trucker, Lincoln Hawk, gets to see his estranged 12-year-old son, Michael, when his mortally-ill ex-wife, Christina, requests Lincoln to pick up their son from the military school on the day of his graduation. With the intention of making up for lost time, the father and son take a long drive home in the big rig; however, Hawk will soon realise that reconnecting with the troubled Michael is not an easy job–at least not until the boy discovers Lincoln’s talent for arm-wrestling. With the International Arm-Wrestling Championship in Las Vegas just around the corner, Hawk has only a couple of days to win back his son’s long-lost trust, and in the process, compete in a dangerous tournament against behemoths twice his size. Is Lincoln’s determination enough to put him over the top?

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Over the Top Movie Reviews

Bring on the haters because I have always, and still love this movie

Another reviewer said this about “Over The Top”, its impossible not to like it. Unfortunately that’s not true because even Sylvester Stallone has expressed his disappointment in this film, however I agree with that reviewer!! For me, personally, there is nothing but fun and good memories watching Over The Top. When I was in my early teens discovering Stallone for the first time (he’s an icon to me now) this was one of the movies I discovered and fell in love with. It’s cheesy and melodramatic and silly and so chock full of 80’s Goodness that it seeps with everything I love about a great 80’s film. Its also fun and sweet with a good story, great characters and good action (albeit sometimes misplaced action scenes.) I suppose I am simply biased in reviewing this because it is one of those movies from my childhood that I just can’t say anything bad about. Stallone being who he is, its inevitable that they would have to put some sort of action scenes in place. Something about him driving his enormous transport through the front gate of his rich father-in-law’s mansion and tossing a guy through a plate glass window doesn’t exactly fit in with the feel of the film and yet it works because he’s Stallone. Inevitable comparisons to Rocky are warranted as this is a terrific underdog story which Stallone is perfect for.

Sylvester Stallone is a love him or hate him kind of actor. I love him! His charisma is undeniable and his quiet determined but fallible Lincoln Hawk is a great character. He is far from perfect but trying to make amends and has this solid determination that is endearing. David Mendenhall is just nearly the perfect 80’s kid. He is spoiled and bratty but you root for him to come around and connect with his father. His acting ability isn’t perfect but for this type of movie he fits it so well. The chemistry between him and Stallone is surprisingly spot on. I would consider Robert Loggia a terrific character actor. He has been in some phenomenal and classic films. He is perfect in this movie as the overbearing and demanding rich Grandfather. He is the perfect adversary for Hawk and the only problem is there isn’t enough of him. He’s actually underused in many ways. Rick Zumwalt is the brutish, muscle bound arm wrestling champion. He is okay but he really is just the muscle that Stallone has to beat without any real character behind him. He’s like a wrestler and he’s there to look menacing and larger than life and he does that well.

Menahem Golan churned out movies like few other directors. He is like the king of B-Action flicks. You would probably not even recognize any of them. Still he clearly knows the cookie cutter recipe for making an 80’s flick. He knew his demographic and he knew who he was working with (rumour has it that he just kept offering Stallone more and more money until he said yes) and he doesn’t pretend that Over The Top is anything more than it is. Its not pretentious and doesn’t try to shove the story down your throat. It is a simple, fun, sweet movie that is ultimately very uplifted. And the soundtrack…is there literally another 80’s movie that just reeks of 80’s music like this one? Its all original music for the film and it is literally quintessential 80’s. Meet Me Halfway by Kenny Loggins has gotta be one of the greatest 80’s theme songs in the world and it nearly chokes me up every time I hear it. It is absolutely true that this film is overly sentimental to me so I am probably reviewing it better than what it might actually be to most. But I simply can’t deny the sweet and fun quality of the film. I recommend it to everyone, especially Stallone fans because it has so much heart. Plenty of action and the arm wrestling just makes it even more fun. You can’t go in expecting an Oscar worthy classic but just sit back and enjoy because it is simply fun. 9/10

This movie is insane

Stirling Silliphant wrote the Oscar-winning screenplay for 1967’s In the Heat of the Night, as well as The Towering Inferno, The Poseidon Adventure, Village of the Damned, Telefon, The Enforcer, Shaft In Africa and more than 700 hours of prime-time television drama to his credit. He was also a close friend and student of Bruce Lee, who he featured in the movie Marlowe and four episodes of the series Longstreet. They also worked together on a script called The Silent Flute, which was eventually filmed as Circle of Iron.

Those are some pretty amazing credits. Somehow, someway, he eventually found himself working with Sylvester Stallone to write the screenplay for the movie that would take arm wrestling from the bar to the mainstream. And who was ready to direct?

None other than Cannon Group co-owner Menahem Golan, the director of Delta Force, Enter the Ninja and The Apple. Yes, that Menahem Golan.

Lincoln Hawk (Stallone) is a man trying to rebuild his life. While he does that, he’s driving a truck and arm wrestling. His ex-wife Christina (Susan Blakely, My Mom’s a Werewolf, The Concorde … Airport ’79) wants him to bond with their son Michael (David Mendenhall, Space Raiders, Streets and the 12-year-old drug dealer in the Diff’rent Strokes episode where Nancy Reagan shows up), because she knows that she’s dying.

Michael’s been in military school and calls everyone sir. His grandfather, Jason Cutler (this movie is yet another in my question to see every film with Robert Loggia in it) hates Hawk and never wanted him in their family.

On the way from Colorado to California, Michael comes to love his father, who teaches him how to arm wrestle and be a man. Yet when they get to the hospital, Christina is already dead. Michael blames his father for not getting to see his mother before the end and goes back with his grandfather. Hawk tries to break him free but gets arrested. If the mansion that Cutler lives in looks familiar, that’s because it was also the home of The Beverly Hillbillies.

Michael visits him in jail, informing Hawk that he will stay with his grandfather, so our hero leaves to compete in the World Armwrestling Championship in Las Vegas, which has the prize of $100,000 and a brand new, larger semi-truck. He then makes a desperate bid by selling his truck and placing a $7,000 bet on himself at twenty to one odds to win it all. Then Michael finds the letters that everyone kept from him, with Hawk writing him for years and trying to connect.

Hawk advances to the final eight, but suffers his first loss in the double-elimination tournament and hurts his arm. Cutler summons our hero and tells him that he’s always been a loser, but he’ll give him $500,000 and a better truck than the prize if he leaves forever.

Hawk refuses and makes it to the finals, taking on his rival, the undefeated Bull Hurley. His son finds him and gives him the emotional energy he needs to survive, just as Hawk doesn’t only beat Bull, but gains his respect. Somehow, Cutler gets over ten years of being a complete jerk and is happy about Michael and Hawk being reunited, because that’s how eighties movies work. Oh yeah — the guys get so sweaty in the final battle that they have to get the strap, with people going wild for it. It’s pretty amazing and you’ll yell “Get the strap!” too.

If you’re into pro wrestling, Terry Funk, Reggie Bennett and Scott Norton both show up here (Ox Baker, who was in Escape from New York, as well as Manny Fernandez and The Barbarian almost made it into the movie). There are also plenty of professional arm wrestlers, like professional arm wrestling personalities such as Allen Fisher, John Vreeland, Andrew “Cobra” Rhodes, John Brzenk (who inspired the story) and Cleve Dean.

The music in this movie is astounding. You’ve got Kenny Loggins singing “Meet Me Halfway” numerous times, some Giorgio Moroder, some Asia, some Robin Zander, some Eddie Money and Sammy Hagar singing “Winner Takes It All,” which was also made into a music video to promote the film.

The film received three nominations at the 8th Golden Raspberry Awards in 1988. David Mendenhall won two for both Worst Supporting Actor and Worst New Star, which seems kind of crappy for them to abuse a kid. Sylvester Stallone was nominated for Worst Actor, an award he’s won four times, but this time he lost to Bill Cosby in Leonard Part 6.

Stallone has claimed that if he had directed this, he would’ve changed the setting to an urban environment, used scored music instead of rock songs, and made the Las Vegas finale more ominous. So why was he in it? He answered, “Menahem Golan kept offering me more and more money, until I finally thought, “What the hell – no one will see it!””

Speaking of Stirling Silliphant, he only did the screenplay. Actor/writer Gary Conway (American Ninja 2: The Confrontation) and director/writer David Engelbach (America 3000, Death Wish II) created the original story. Engelbach cried when he saw the finished movie, remarking that his original draft “wasn’t nearly as dumb as the final film and that it was more about truck driving and arm-wrestling than it should’ve been.”

When this movie came out, my brother and I were in our early teens and couldn’t wait for it. There was an entire line of toys that had knobs in their backs that allowed them to arm wrestle and even better, an actual competition table. We begged our parents for it nearly every single day for six months, but our mother continually just told us to use an actual table. She had no vision. At this point, I could have a father in law that hates me, a bedridden ex-wife and a son who doesn’t know me, but I could flash anyone and put their arm down in no time. Get the strap!

Even more magical, fifty miles from the filming of this movie, Sergio Martino had assembled an Italian/American crew to create Hands of Steel, the only Road Warrior by way of The Terminator truck driving movie that also has arm wrestling in it. Coincidence? Do you know anything of Italian cinema?

cheese

Accepting the wishes of his sick ex-wife (Susan Blakely), truck driver Lincoln Hawk (Sylvester Stallone) tries to reconnect with his son Mike after a ten year absence. The grandfather Jason Cutler (Robert Loggia) had put the boy in military school and prevented Lincoln from contacting him. Lincoln is a legendary arm wrestling champ and a struggling truck driver. The grandfather works to gain custody after his daughter death.

I don’t like the kid. A bratty kid is a well accepted trope but one that has never been my favorite. It’s not like he’s cute either. Annoying cute kids can be funny. This kid is basic annoyance. Stallone is restricted in their relationship. I’m not loving him either. It’s unreasonable for him to crash his truck through the gate. He hasn’t shown himself to be a violent man. It would be better if the guards start a fight which he ends by crashing his truck. It muddles up the moral superior position. It’s also pretty cheesy although some may find some fun with the cheese. If you’re one, then enjoy.