Grudge Match (2013)
Certified: 12A
Duration: 113 minutes
Directed by: Peter Segal
Starring: Robert De Niro, Sylvester Stallone, Kevin Hart, Alan Arkin,Kim Basinger, Ireland Baldwin, Jon Bernthal, Joey Diaz, LL Cool J, Anthony Anderson, Don Lake
KRS release
Sylvester Stallone and Robert De Niro play Henry ‘Razor’ Sharp and Billy ‘The Kid’ McDonnen who were both lightweight boxing champions in the 1980s.
However, the clear winner between the two had never been determined.
Today, Henry works at a Pittsburgh mill where he had started off, while Billy runs a car dealership, a restaurant and a diner.
Dante Slate Jr (Kevin Hart), the son of the promoter who used to arrange their bouts, brings them back to the boxing world for a day’s work. He wants to take video footage of them and insert them in a video game.
The two are soon at each other’s throats and their clashes are filmed and put online.
Dante turns this into a call for a rematch between the two in real life. Billy wants it and Henry hesitatingly agrees.
Sally (Kim Basinger) was Henry’s girlfriend but had cheated on him with Billy. The result was a son named B.J. (Jon Bernthal) who is today a strength conditioning coach.
The presence of Stallone with his usual gruff approach and De Niro in a relaxed fashion is, in itself, entertaining
The latter has a son (Camden Gray) and is very reluctant to start a relationship with the father he just got to know about.
Billy tries to get Frankie Brite (LL Cool J) to coach him but he is not available, and so manages to rope in B.J.
Meanwhile, Henry brings in his ex-coach, Louis ‘Lightning’ Conlon (Alan Arkin), who now lives in a nursing home. For the two, it’s now a race against time to get back into fighting fit condition and also settle all the other troubles between them.
Grudge Match brings together the spirit of Raging Bull and the Rocky movies but 30 years after. At one point, one of the characters is told that the best is behind them but he answers back saying that the present is what they have now.
Bringing together Stallone and De Niro was obviously a cinematic gimmick. But the production milks this factor well and includes plenty of inside jokes that fans will lap up.
The presence of Stallone with his usual gruff approach and De Niro in a relaxed fashion is, in itself, entertaining. And watching old men misbehaving so gleefully, as already evidenced by the recent Last Vegas, has a certain charm to it.
The film is written by Tim Kelleher and Rodney Rothman who have most experience on television and, in fact, bring a sitcom element to the proceedings. Combine this with director Peter Segal’s attempt to emphasise the difference between the two actors and Grudge Match emerges to be quite a hoot.
From the supporting cast, Arkin shows that experience goes a long way as he runs circles around the likes of Kevin Hart and ups him in the funny stakes. Basinger delivers an emotional aspect while Bernthal makes a nice addition to his filmography that already includes The Wolf of Wall Street.
Whether two aging men can actually return to the boxing ring is realistic or not should be put aside.
The film should be enjoyed for its symbolic nature, its plentiful entertaining factors and a sense of nostalgia that it skilfully exudes.