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

Hank Goody: Who's my date for the fight tonight, Rudy? I can't keep track of these things.
Rudy: Your wife.
Hank Goody: [Looks slightly confused] My wife?
Rudy: Yeah. You know, there's a lot of cameras there tonight. I figured your wife would be a good call.
Hank Goody: [Gives it some thought] My wife... You're right. Good call.

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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

Referenced in The Cinema Snob Movie (2012)

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Soundtracks

Here's to Life
Written by Artie Butler, Phyllis Molinary
Performed by Jacintha

User Reviews

Ultimately - boxing movie with no punch, road trip with no end

Here we go on the old merry-go-round again. A great premise, an attractive cast, a solid director, and ultimately, a bad combination. I myself had been salivating at the idea of Woody Harrleson and Ron Shelton teaming up again. And they say good things come to those who wait ... NOT TRUE!!! The only person who packs a punch here is Lolita Davidovich, who provides the ONLY reason that one would want to see this movie. Mr. Harrleson and Mr. Banderas have both proven that they have screen charisma, and they have it here too, but they are not given much good dialogue nor understandable actions to undertake, so Ms. Davidovich (especially in the red-dress scenes) easily knocks them both out of her way. If you want to see Mr. Harrleson, go rent THE PEOPLE VS. LARRY FLYNT, or turn on a re-run of CHEERS. For Mr. Banderas, rent DESPERADO and THE MASK OF ZORRO. For Mr. Shelton, rent WHITE MEN CAN'T JUMP (his previous collaboration with Mr. Harrleson), BULL DURHAM, COBB (also with Ms. Davidovich and with a super performance by Tommy Lee Jones as the original SOB himself), or TIN CUP. For Ms. Davidovich, rent BLAZE.