Split Decisions (1988)

User Rating:

5.2/10   

Director:

David Drury

Writers:

David Fallon (screenplay)
David Fallon (story)

Release Date:

11 November 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama

Plot Keywords:

Boxing | Busted Nose | Brother Brother Relationship | Sports Arena | Coach

Cast

Craig Sheffer	...	Eddie McGuinn
Jeff Fahey	...	Ray McGuinn
Gene Hackman	...	Dan McGuinn
John McLiam	...	Pop McGuinn
Jennifer Beals	...	Barbara Uribe
Eddie Velez	...	Julian 'Snake' Pedroza
Carmine Caridi	...	Lou Rubia
James Tolkan	...	Benny Pistone
David Labiosa	...	Rudy
Harry Van Dyke	...	Douby
Anthony Trujillo	...	Angel
Victor Campos	...	Santiago
Tom Bower	...	Detective Walsh
Julius Harris	...	Tony Leone
John Thomas	...	CSPRT Referee

Also Known As:

Kid Gloves (USA)

Runtime:

95 min | Germany:88 min (25 fps) (TV version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:16 | UK:15 | Sweden:15 | USA:R | Singapore:PG

Company:

New Century Entertainment Corporation

MAKES LITTLE SENSE

Gene Hackman plays the part of Dan McGuinn, a prizefighter as his father was and as his sons are, in this ragged tale of a scrappy Irish family in New York City, pointedly devoid of female members. All of the McGuinns, including sons Ray (Jeff Fahey), a professional, and Eddie (Craig Sheffer), a Golden Gloves champion and future Olympic aspirant, have been living together although Ray has moved elsewhere as the action begins, and as he attempts to climb into the upper ranks of the middleweight division. To do this, he has signed a contract to be managed by a rival of his father in order to better advance his chances, which creates an emotional fence between father and son. Partially filmed in the Hell's Kitchen district of New York, the work deals largely with Ray's unintentional involvement with a mob-connected boxing figure and the impact this has upon the four McGuinns. Publicity for the film avers that the ring backgrounds of director David Drury (an amateur in the U.K.) and of stunt boss Paul Stader lend authenticity to the fight scenes; however, this is far from the case. In fact, there is an enormous problem with the boxing footage being widely separate from reality, the final bout being grotesquely silly. Additionally, the direction fails to generate a sense of tension and largely bypasses that which would make a viewer buy into the scenario: exploration of the conflict between the N.Y.P.D. officer father and his wayward older son. Technical aspects of the editing are handled with competence but widespread cutting haunts the piece, increasing incredulity, particularly when joined by a poorly composed and cliche-flooded script. Fahey gives a strong performance, and his scenes with only Sheffer are probably the film's best (as released); Hackman gives his all, as is his custom, and James Tolkan is quite effective as a well-outfitted principal villain, but Jennifer Beals is lacklustre at best and her part easily could have been eliminated. Camerawork by Tim Suhrstedt and Michael Hanan's production design are top-flight but can do little to improve a motion picture honeycombed with nullity