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Storyline
Jimmy Connelly, an English bachelor milkman, 'accidentally' knocks down his boxing club's champion as stand-in sparring partner. The champ was scheduled for a title fight against the reigning, American world champion. So the sleazy manager decides to substitute him with Jimmy, who is now groomed for stardom. Naive Jimmy does everything the crook says, only to be blamed when it all explodes in their faces big time. Will he keep taking it or stand his ground before his whole career and private life are ruined? Written by
KGF Vissers
Plot Summary
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Taglines:
It takes a lotta bottle to be the champ
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Did You Know?
Trivia
Jamie Gambell:
when Stan is fighting with various people in the bar, the guy that he is wrestling with on the pool table is the second boom operator.
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Quotes
Jimmy:
If you're trying to scare me, you'd be better off by saying BOO!
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Connections
Spoofs
Rocky II (1979)
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Soundtracks
"Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll"
(
Ian Dury (as Dury) /
Chaz Jankel (as Jankel))
Performed by
Ian Dury
Courtesy of Templemill Music Ltd
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I've read all the terrible reviews; I wasn't expecting much, especially since I'm unlikely to get any British humor (being in the US and growing up in Asia). But the movie really surprised me at how many times it made me laugh out loud.
The performances are great fun to watch. Yes, the characters are cliché and very 1-D, but they are played with enough enthusiasm and charm to make up for the 'weak' script. There are places where the movie falls on the 'wrong/bad' side of cringe-worthy, like some scenes with Herbie(the manager) and Stan (the best friend), but overall, it's an enjoyable way to spend two hours.
And then, there's Jimmy (Orlando Bloom's character), who with his naivete and haplessness, manages to 'preach' without ever sounding preachy or cheesy. I know this is no Oscar movie, but it isn't as mindless as some comedies out there. At its heart, spoken through Jimmy's dad's quotes, are some good really messages. It's almost a shame that the movie isn't cut for a younger audience. It'd be a good diversion from the usual 'teen queen' movies flooding the cinemas these days.