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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting Minor Film With Arnold Schwarzenegger!, July 14, 2002
For a film with the kind of ensemble star power that this art-film had, one woul d be surprised to find that it also was the first serious role for future mega-star Arnold Schwarzenegger, playing a suprisingly articulate and overwhelmingly personally irresistable bodybuilder, in essence, himself. yet this first attempt at serious acting was with the support of Jeff Bridges and Sally Field, both with big reputations , and also from famed director Bob Rafelson, who has done a lot of stellar work. The plot is a bit silly and contrived; Bridges plays a down on his luck good ole boy, who tries unsuccesfully at first to ploy his charm into talking the owner of a small and musty gym into relinquishing his lease so Bridges' shady real estate partners can go ahead with a big down-town development. The problem is that Bridges begins to empathize with and befriend this motley crew of off-beat character, including the ever-smiling and instantly likeable Arnold, who shows himself to be quite adept at handling a fiddle. And incidentally, that really is him playing as the film cranks away. The film never saw wide distribution, but is quite interesting because of who was in it as well as for some of the connections hovering just below the surface. The screen writer was also the author of the original novel, a guy named Charles Gaines, who had gone on to later co-author the smash best selling book, "Pumping Iron", whose primary focus of interest was, of course, Arnold Schwarzenegger. This is a good movie for a rainy afternoon, sweet and sentimental in all the right places, if somewhat insubstantial. Think of it as "Going My Way" on steroids! I think you'll be surprised how much you like it, in spite of some hokey moments. Enjoy!
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