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 .
Output: N