Rocky But With Arm Wrestling And A Kid

Rating: 7/10 (9 January 2016)

Continuing my plan to watch every Sly Stallone movie in order, I come to 1987's Over The Top.
Plot In A Paragraph: Lincoln Hawk (Stallone) is a trucker who arm wrestles to make extra cash. Hawk's estranged wife Christina, who is ill, asks him pick up their son Michael (David Mendenhall) from military school so that the two of them can get to know each other; (Hawk had left them ten years earlier) Michael's controlling grandfather Jason Cutler (Robert Loggia), a very wealthy man, hates Hawk and believes that he has no right to be in his grandson's life, and does everything he can to ensure he isn't in it for long.
This is a funny picture in Sly's filmography, as it was the first time he took a role since 'Rocky' purely for the money (although he still had a hand in the screenplay) Years later, he explained why he agreed to appear in this movie, saying, "(The producer and movies director) Menahem Golan kept offering me more and more money, until I finally thought, 'What the hell - no one will see it!'" It's rumoured the price that made him change his mind was $12 million
Basically Rocky with arm wrestling, Stallone is always at his best as the under dog, and Over The Top is no exception, Loggia is as reliable as always, and Susan Blakely (who previously starred with Stallone in 'Lords Of Flatbush' and 'Capone') is fine in her small role, whilst the movie has a great soundtrack with some catchy rock songs.
That said it's very much a product of it time, with Producers Golan & Globus producing a lot of movies each year, and with none of them getting preferential treatment. Get them made and get them out seemed to be the motto.
On my scoring system, this would rank a 6/10, but (as with Rocky IV) I'm adding an extra point for nostalgia, as I loved the movie as a kid.