Rating: 
Summary: Plays it too safe to be interesting
Review: I don't like sports movies. I rarely see them and even more rarely enjoy them. I liken them to those insipid films like Backdraft or Days of Thunder - "revealing the gritty reality of ____ (fill in your favorite hazardous career)." Of the few sports films I did enjoy, Ron Shelton made Bull Durham and White Men Can't Jump. Luckily though, this is not a sports film at all. It's really about a road trip. Maybe that's where he went wrong this time. Cesar Dominguez (Antonio Banderas) and Vince Boudreau (Woody Harrelson) are washed up boxers given the opportunity to open for a Mike Tyson fight in Vegas. They have 6 hours or so to get there from LA and the winner gets a shot at the middle weight title. They snatch up Grace Pasic (Lolita Davidovich) and head off across the desert mountains to beat each other senseless. This is the entirety of the plot. Even given this paltry reason for existence, Banderas and Harrelson are almost able to make something interesting out of this film. Banderas especially does an excellent job with what he's given, considering that his only task is to argue with Harrelson. And Shelton's confusion over where this film should be driving tends to leave the audience hemmed in along with the actors. Add to this the fact that both men are in love with Davidovich's noncommital Grace and that she may or may not be in love with one or more of them and it's no wonder the audience may feel more than a little confused as well. Even the climactic fight scene, however well choreagraphed, doesn't have the cahones required to make this story into the film that you can sense is lying in wait just behind this one - a film in which the disregard for political correctness does more than make low-blow jokes. What Play it to the Bone needs is someone like the Coen brothers who can see it for what it is and take advantage of it's strengths (namely the cast) and wouldn't hinder it with feel good sapiness. Shelton's made a good pitch for the film that he should have made. Too bad for us he didn't live up to it.
Rating:
Summary: Just plain boring
Review: I was really disapointed with this movie. Just a quick overview. Two friends are offered $100,000 to fight each other. They accept. They get a ride. On the way they meet a trampy girl. They get there. They fight. It's over. Lucy Lui plays the trampy girl - horribly. Lolita Davidovich was the only character worth watching. And I like Woody Harrelson. But not in this movie. Antonio Banderas was a whiny boxer. Woody Harrelson was a Christian boxer who sees Jesus occasionally. The first 1 Hour & 15 minutes is the ride to Vegas. Why didn't they just fly? It would have been more enjoyable for the audience. Do Not waste your money on this movie. It is pretty pointlesss.
Rating:
Summary: Movie has no idea of what it is doing
Review: Major disappointment. I admit, for the first half hour or so, I was into it. The premise seemed like fun, Woody and Antonio were interesting. But then, the movie falls flat on its face. The first hour and more turns into a rambling "road movie" as Vince (Harrelson) and Cesar (Banderas) head to Vegas as a last minute substitution on a Tyson undercard. Vince and Cesar are friends that are going to fight each other publically for the first time. The premise was workable and the actors were talented enough to pull it off. Lolita Davidovich and Lucy Liu, are also solid - you just wonder why they would take roles so beneath them. The plot and the directing needed a lot of work. If you're anything like me, the beginning of the movie will have you saying "Gee, this is better than I thought," but then you'll be slowly turned off as it progresses into a blithering waste of time. No resolution, no lesson's learned, nothing. The movie chooses to not take risks, not make any decisions. To polish it off, the DVD is bereft of any special features worth noting. This movie is a pointless waste of two hours. The only reason it gets two stars instead of one is that the actors really tried to make it better than it was.
Rating:
Summary: ...DEFINITELY A BIT WEAK
Review: My real rating is "2 & a Half Stars" for "Play It To The Bone" ....It is definitely weak in many areas, but it still managed to make me laugh more than a few times. Just go into it expecting a comedy instead of a serious boxing movie. The fight at the end was pretty realistic-looking and cool, even though the ending was very predictable. ....
Rating: 
Summary: Eu gostei
Review: Nao entendo as palavras negativas p'ra este filme. Wood Harrelson e Ron Shelton formou um equipo bem.
Rating: 
Summary: Eu gostei
Review: Nao entendo os que nao gostaram deste filme. P'ra mim, Woody Harrilson e um bom ator, e Ron Shelton direitou bem
Rating:
Summary: All work, no play...
Review: Ron Shelton likes to make sports movies. Nothing is wrong with that. But, where something is askew is the declining quality, the plummeting creativity and interest since the smart, witty BULL DURHAM. The film PLAY IT TO THE BONE boasts a star power cast, some gorgeous photography of Las Vegas and an experienced Writer/Director. What it doesn't have is anything worth fighting for. The first hour of the film is a slow, episodic road trip where we get to know the characters. And the last 45 minutes is when the best friends meet in the ring for a brutal fight. Surprisingly, neither fighter learns anything during the trip and the lack of growth is channeled throughout the film. For a better boxing film, ROCKY and RAGING BULL come to mind... But, then again, the worst of the Rocky films would be more entertaining.
Rating:
Summary: All work, no play...
Review: Ron Shelton likes to make sports movies. Nothing is wrong with that. But, where something is askew is the declining cretaivity and interest since the smart, witty BULL DURHAM. The film PLAY IT TO THE BONE boasts a star power cast, some gorgeous photography of Las Vegas and an experienced Writer/Director. What it doesn't have is anything worth fighting for. The first hour of the film is a slow, episodic road trip where we get to know the characters. And the last 45 minutes is when the best friends meet in the ring for a brutal fight. Surprisingly, neither fighter learns anything during the trip and the lack of growth is channeled throughout the film. For a better boxing film, ROCKY and RAGING BULL come to mind... But, then again, the worst of the Rocky films would be more entertaining.
Rating:
Summary: Not Shelton's Best
Review: Ron Shelton loves stories about fringe-dwelling losers: Bull Durham, White Men Can't Jump, and Tin Cup...wonderful movies that all present characters who are interesting, funny, and complex beyond the probability of their lives. Much of this "complexity" comes from the characters they rub elbows with, and the situations they find themselves in. Play it to the Bone has similar losers--a couple of boxers who had shots at a title, and blew it, and are given a second chance. Unbelievably, two fighters who were to open for a Tyson bout in Vegas are disabled, one killed in a car wreck, and one OD'd, hours before the fight. Tom Sizemore's character, a fat, sleazy promoter, enlists our heroes, played by Harrelson and Banderas, to fight one another. Together, with Lolita Davidovich, they drive to Vegas. Hi jinx ensue. Harrelson's character sees Jesus. Jesus appears to him behind a cheap restaurant, during fights...it could be funny, but it isn't. They pick up a hitchhiker, ultra-yummy Lucy Liu, just long enough to kill some movie time that apparently they couldn't think of another, clever way to fill--time passed by Woody having sex with her behind a gas station. It's a little funny, but not much. I guess what dissatisfies me about this movie is that the sum isn't greater than its parts. One thing happens after another, without adding up to anything in particular. There is not even a sense of denouement at the end, because we know with a fair certainty how the Big Fight will end. Nuthin' builds towards nuthin'. Lolita Davidovich's character digs muscle cars and convertibles with a zeal that is inconsistent with the way she comports herself--she isn't loud, or brassy, or cheap. Shelton directs her as though she's playing an ad exectutive, not a peddler of cheap, gimmicky sportswear. Generally, though, actors do well with weak material. It's worth renting on video, I suppose, but forget to bring it back on time...it isn't really worth late fees.
Rating: 
Summary: Not a Knock Out!
Review: The fight scenes in this moive were very good but the lack of action and the boring drive to the fight made this film not as good as it could have been. Boxing fans will recognize lots of big named extras at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, where the big fight scene takes palce. I enjoyed the soundtrack very much too. This movie was a good rental but nothing you would want to watch a second time or own.
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