Play It to the Bone (1999)

Two best friends and former middleweight contenders travel to Las Vegas to fight each other for the first time.

Director:

Ron Shelton

Writer:

Ron Shelton

Stars:

Woody Harrelson, Antonio Banderas, Lolita Davidovich

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Antonio Banderas	...	Cesar Dominguez
Woody Harrelson	...	Vince Boudreau
Lolita Davidovich	...	Grace Pasic
Marie Park	...	Waitress in Cafe
Tom Sizemore	...	Joe Domino
Lucy Liu	...	Lia
Robert Wagner	...	Hank Goody
Richard Masur	...	Artie
Willie Garson	...	Cappie Caplan
Cylk Cozart	...	Rudy
Jack Carter	...	Dante Solomon
Aida Turturro	...	Mad Greek Waitress
Louie Leonardo	...	Freddy Green
Slade Barnett	...	Vegas Cop
Cameron Milzer	...	Vegas Paramedic

Storyline

Two aging fighters in LA, friends, get a call from a Vegas promoter because his undercard fighters for a Mike Tyson bout that night are suddenly unavailable. He wants them to box each other. They agree as long as the winner gets a shot at the middleweight title. They enlist Grace, Cesar's current and Vinnie's ex girlfriend, to drive them to Vegas. On the trip, we see flashbacks to their previous title shots, their competitive friendship, and Grace's motivational wiles. (She has her own entrepreneurial dreams.) The fight itself is historic: ten rounds of savagery and courage. Who will win, who'll get the title shot, who gets Grace, and where will she find venture capital?

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Plot Keywords:

bare chested male | friendship | highway travel | boxing movie | road movie | 

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Taglines:

No one hits as hard as your best friend.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for brutal ring violence, strong sexuality including dialogue, nudity, pervasive language and some drug content

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 January 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Play It

Filming Locations:

Baker, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$24,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,366, 26 December 1999, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$8,427,204, 12 March 2000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Play It Inc., Shanghai'd Films, Touchstone Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (DeLuxe)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: in the flashback, Vince Boudreau (Woody Harrelson) has a tattoo that says Grace on his back. Later during the fight, it says Peace. However, you can clearly see that he had Grace changed to read Peace. Most likely due to the fact he's not with Grace anymore.

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Goofs

Blood on Vince's face during the final fight scene.

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Quotes

Grace Pasic: I love church music...
Vince Boudreau: Church music? It's too good for the church. JESUS was too good for the church, ya' ask me. You know, he shook things up. He was, uh, he was an ANARCHIST, ya' know? He, uh, he threw the money lenders outta' the temple. First thing he's gonna' do when he comes back is torch the Vatican!
Grace Pasic: Vince, come on!

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Alternate Versions

Italian and German theatrical release are approx. 15 minutes shorter than the original US version, removing one sex scene and some dialogue.

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Connections

References Rocky (1976)

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Soundtracks

Why Are You So Mean to Me?
Written by James A. Lane
Performed by Jimmie Rodgers

User Reviews

Nothing to get excited over

This film isn't much. Dumb plot, few laughs, and a good boxing bout between two men who were given a second chance to show the people that they got what it takes to become a champ. Neither of them walk away a winner- (predictable) but instead walk away with a newly improved friendship. This is surely a forgettable film, but doesn't fail to entertain. If you go to Blockbuster at 9:00 on a Friday night and 2/3's of their movies are rented out. Rent this one...Its good for a few laughs. 5.8/10