play it to the bone is a punch - drunk mess of a movie . containing a good cast but awful acting ; an interesting premise but terrible execution , ron shelton ( white men ca n't jump ) gives us a rocky story with not one rocky
but two .
rocky no .
1 is vince boudreau ( woody harrelson , edtv ) , a bald , tattooed , newly converted christian , whose idea of christianity is not using the name of christ as a curse word .
. .
something that he has not yet successfully achieved .
rocky no . 2 is caesar dominguez ( antonio banderas , the 13th warrior ) , best friend of vince who is currently dating vince 's ex - girlfriend , grace .
both men are nearing the end of their " almost " careers when a fluke provides them with a redemptive opportunity .
when both fighters of the undercard of a vegas based mike tyson title fight become incapacitated , the fight promoters need to find a quick replacement .
our boys are tapped to fight each other , the winner of which is " promised " a shot at a future title fight .
the film is divided into two sections .
at first , we have a buddy road picture as our two heroes , in grace 's " sassy grassy " green muscle car , travel through the desert to vegas in order to make the fight scheduled for that day .
along the way we learn about their pasts and the opportunities that have come and gone by .
once in vegas , the movie settles down to the effectively staged fight sequences between vince and caesar .
both mr .
harrelson and mr .
banderas have provided us with stunning characterizations in the past ,
not that we 'd know it from their work here .
mr .
harrelson is uncomfortably awkward , apparently never having gotten a firm handle on vince .
the christian conversion angle simply falls flat and unbelievable .
mr .
banderas is uncharacteristically non - charismatic as caesar .
weak and ineffectual , there is little life in his screen performance .
the other actors involved merely play stereotypes of one sort or another .
tom sizemore ( saving private ryan ) , robert wagner ( austin powers ii : the spy who shagged me ) , and richard masur ( fire down below ) are crooked promoters , lucy
liu ( payback ) is a sex - starved hitchhiker looking for a good time , and lolita davidovich ( gods and monsters ) , is the shared girlfriend who ca n't make her mind up which boxer she prefers .
because of the weak characters and the lack of screen chemistry between them , the film flounders with all the appeal of a dead fish until the boxing match actually begins .
but even then , because the outcome is so predictably obvious , the suspense factor is negated and we are relegated to just watching two men pummel each other .
writer / director ron shelton clearly spent much time orchestrating the fight sequence as it is well photographed , well - choreographed , well - edited , and well - performed .
if only some of that same detailed attention had been diverted to the remaining parts of the film .
as it is , the scenes which require the characters to actually talk to one another are weak and laughable .
the title is actually the most interesting aspect of the film .
the phrase , " play it to the bone ' is a reference to seeing something all the way through or not quitting until you 've achieved your desired goal .
that is a biblical principle .
"
know
ye
not that they which run in a race run all , but one receiveth the prize ?
so run , that ye may obtain .
" 1 corinthians 9 : 24 [ kjv ] achieving anything worthy in life requires " playing it to the bone " .
we need to develop fully persuaded mindsets and commitment levels in order to endure and persevere past the obstacles and distractions which lay between us and our stated objectives .
this is true in practical matters of our physical lives as well as the in the developing maturity of our spiritual lives .
as a movie , play it to the bone is hardly worth our time .
but as a principle of life , the phrase " play it to the bone " are words to live by .
the outcome is so predictably obvious , the suspense factor is negated and we are relegated to just watching two men pummel each other are weak and laughable the weak characters and the lack of screen chemistry between them , the film flounders with all the appeal of a dead fish uncomfortably awkward , apparently never having gotten a firm handle uncharacteristically non - charismatic merely play stereotypes of one sort or another terrible execution simply falls flat and unbelievable not that we 'd know it from their work here weak and ineffectual , there is little life in his screen performance a punch - drunk mess of a movie awful acting hardly worth our time