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Over the Top The Rewatchables
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Half-Assed Internet Research

Stallone’s critique and fee; budget; injury; ending reconciliation; Wetton recording; casting; mansion; Razzies; Zumwalt; real tournament

In the discussion (13)
Approx. transcript time · 00:15:04Read transcript
  • Stallone later distanced himself, saying he would use an urban setting, omit pop music and make the Vegas finale more ominous.
  • Stallone reportedly accepted a record $12 million after his agent’s attempted rejection of a $10 million offer backfired into a higher bid.
  • The reported budget is about $25 million including Stallone’s fee, against $16 million earned; Mannequin beat it on opening weekend.
  • The elbow injury reportedly occurred unexpectedly to a real German champion during tournament filming; his transcript name is uncertain.
  • Loggia can be seen in the distant final shot, suggesting reconciliation despite little explanatory dialogue.
  • John Wetton reportedly originally recorded Winner Takes It All before Hagar replaced him to provide more aggression.
  • Zumwalt reportedly received $10,000 to shave his head and kept the look.
  • The grandfather’s mansion reportedly also served as the Clampett home in The Beverly Hillbillies.
  • Mendenhall won Razzies for supporting actor and new star; Stallone lost worst actor to Bill Cosby in Leonard Part 6.
  • Zumwalt reportedly achieved sobriety, helped people with substance problems and died of a heart attack in 2003.
  • A real international tournament was staged for the film, culminating in an 18-hour Vegas competition; Stallone filmed his material afterward.
  • Randy Raney played Mad Dog Madison and later fought Stallone in Rambo III.
  • The real truckers-class champion won a truck and trailer worth roughly $250,000 and reportedly inspired Lincoln; the transcript’s name is uncertain.
Over the Top The Rewatchables
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Over the Top

Roger Ebert's review

Rating not yet verified
In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:22:34Read transcript
  • No written Ebert review is identified, but the television review gave a thumbs-down and criticized the child and family plot.
  • Ebert preferred concentrating on arm wrestling rather than the wife, son, grandfather and Stallone; Siskel criticized the child actor, while the podcast distinguishes the acting from the bad character.
  • Siskel and Ebert revisited the film on their worst-of-1987 program.
Over the Top The Rewatchables
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Most Rewatchable Scene

Final tournament

In the discussion (19)
Approx. transcript time · 00:25:13Read transcript
  • Lincoln’s first diner arm-wrestling match, with cap turn and the over-the-top move, starts the rewatchable action.
  • The Smasher’s wildly intense dialogue is a standout in the diner sequence.
  • Hurley’s challenge after the match and threats about Vegas are highlights.
  • Most father-son scenes are rejected, although the child attempting to drive is mildly entertaining.
  • Mike’s arcade match is a candidate, with an intimidating older opponent and an initially crushing defeat.
  • Lincoln’s “world meets nobody halfway” speech is enjoyed despite skepticism that it could change the outcome.
  • Mike’s comeback is a memorably absurd upset after only two days of training.
  • Lincoln arriving at the grandfather’s mansion to retrieve Mike is the next nominated scene.
  • Lincoln crashing his truck through the grandfather’s gates and property is enjoyable excess, ending with five officers arresting him.
  • Winner Takes It All and the tournament montage transform the movie’s final 35minutes.
  • The documentary-style interviews supply memorable boasts, including Lincoln’s cap switch, Bosco’s engine metaphor and Hurley’s “second sucks.”
  • The straps, double-elimination rules and visible elbow injury make the tournament’s world exciting and dangerous.
  • Lincoln rejects the grandfather’s money and throws Terry Funk through glass doors in the hotel suite.
  • Lincoln’s earlier loss and rematch with Grizzly add vulnerability before his comeback.
  • Lincoln defeats Grizzly and Mad Dog Madison before the disputed Bosco semifinal.
  • Bosco’s quick defeat after grip and shoulder disputes is confusing because he protests that he was not ready.
  • The final strap raises the stakes, followed by a bloody nose and Hurley’s repeated threats.
  • Stallone’s exaggerated facial strain helps sell an activity with limited visible movement.
  • The tournament’s final 30minutes are the decisive rewatchable choice, with Hagar’s song essential to the appeal.
Over the Top The Rewatchables
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Picking Nits

Finger move; Mike’s comeback and travel; double elimination; letters; prize; odds; cab sleeping; punch; route

In the discussion (12)
Approx. transcript time · 00:25:59Read transcript
  • The over-the-top finger repositioning seems to sacrifice leverage and should let an opponent win immediately, yet it works even against Hurley.
  • A motivational speech cannot plausibly reverse the strength mismatch into two straight victories.
  • A humiliated twelve-year-old who leaves crying seems unlikely to return voluntarily.
  • Double elimination is explained repeatedly, yet undefeated Hurley is eliminated after one final loss without explaining a rule change.
  • Letters alone cannot explain lost contact when telephones were available.
  • Mike’s unaided drive from Bel Air to LAX, ticket purchase, flight escape and tournament arrival strain belief at age eleven or twelve.
  • A $250,000 truck plus $100,000 cash seems an enormous 1987 arm-wrestling prize.
  • No other competitor apparently knows Lincoln’s finger-repositioning move.
  • Twenty-to-one odds seem too short for a newcomer in a 500-person field dominated by an unbeaten champion;70-to-one is suggested.
  • Lincoln should spend some of his $1,000 win on a motel instead of making his frightened child sleep upright in the cab.
  • Hurley should be penalized or disqualified for punching Lincoln; counting it as a loss could repair the double-elimination contradiction, but the film does not explain that.
  • The route through Colorado, California, Arizona and Utah is confusing; a brief pickup explanation does not clarify the aimless travel.
Over the Top The Rewatchables
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The Dion Waiters Award for Best Heat Check Performance

Broken-elbow competitor; Hurley ruled ineligible; Terry Funk honorable mention

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:41:07Read transcript
  • The wrestler whose elbow snaps is an early heat-check candidate.
  • Hurley is considered, then ruled too prominent; the wrestler with the broken elbow becomes the final choice.
  • Terry Funk receives honorable mention but is overshadowed by Hurley.
Over the Top The Rewatchables
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What’s Aged the Best?

Self-bet; bad dialogue; tournament; Hurley; Loggia; songs; Cannon credit; SNL; Grizzly; truck workout; funeral trope; father admiration

In the discussion (11)
Approx. transcript time · 00:50:07Read transcript
  • Lincoln betting all $7,000 from his truck sale on himself is admired.
  • The cholesterol-poisoning exchange is enjoyed for its terrible dialogue.
  • Tournament structure and Rick Zumwalt’s imposing Bull Hurley casting work well.
  • Evil Robert Loggia is a strength.
  • The Hagar music video and a Golan-Globus production credit promise enjoyable excess.
  • The SNL sketch in which Norm Macdonald mocks Stallone’s movies after an accident is recommended.
  • Larry Greene’s opening song is considered underrated and better than Meet Me Half Way.
  • The repeated double-elimination explanations, strap and John Grizzly’s eccentric performance remain enjoyable.
  • The truck’s exercise apparatus remains a childhood favorite, despite likely producing an uneven physique.
  • Arriving midway through a funeral, silently dropping flowers and leaving is enjoyed as an absurd recurring movie convention.
  • A child watching an estranged father do something impressive captures a powerful emotional experience.
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