Rating: 
Summary: Good boxing, weak characters
Review: 'Play It To The Bone' is really two movies. One is a movie about boxing and the other is a comedic character study of the boxers. As a boxing film, it succeeds nicely. As a comedy it has its moments. As a character study, it hits the canvas hard.The storyline was sort of 'Rocky' times two. Two washed up middleweight boxers Vince and Cesar (Woody Harrelson and Antonio Banderas), who are also best friends, get a last minute chance to fight in Las Vegas on the undercard of a Mike Tyson heavyweight bout when the two scheduled fighters are unable to fight. They are promised that the winner will get a chance to fight for the championship, but they have to be in Las Vegas tonight. The trouble is, they have to fight each other. So they climb into a car with Cesar's girlfriend (and Vince's ex-girlfriend) Grace (Lolita Davidovich) and drive from L.A. to Las Vegas. Most of the rest of the movie is about the drive followed by the fight. Director Ron Shelton has had quite a few sports oriented success stories to his credit (Bull Durham, White Men Can't Jump and Tin Cup). The best part of the film was the boxing. The boxing was well choreographed and both actors were athletic and fought like real boxers. Shelton was also excellent at creating the feel of a boxing match. Anyone who has ever watched an HBO bout will recognize ring announcers Jim Lampley, Larry Merchant and George Foreman. Mike Tyson made a cameo as well as numerous celebrity boxing fans (Kevin Costner, Rod Stewart, Wesley Snipes and a host of others). The makeup for the cuts and puffiness was also very realistic. Unfortunately, the rest of the film was not as good as the fight. Shelton spends a good deal of time developing the characters, but it is all for naught because they have no substance. They are two hapless jocks, obvious mental lightweights, who spend most of the trip to Las Vegas fighting over Grace, cutting up and strutting around like peacocks. Shelton takes great pains to try to make us love these characters equally by making them equally pathetic. But that doesn't work because it leaves the audience without anyone to pull for in the fight. The ending is utterly predictable and the film whimpers off into the sunset with no more than a stagger. Banderas and Harrelson both gave journeyman performances. They had good chemistry and some decent comedy between them, but there was nothing special here. The best performance by far was by Davidovich who transcended her normal sex kitten role and took command of the entire film with a character that was a manipulative vixen. She was smart, tough and sexy, and dominated every scene. Once again, she shows that she is talented as well as attractive, which makes me wonder why she has never gotten roles that are more substantial. This is a tough one to rate because it does some things very well and other things poorly. I gave it a 6/10. It had some good comedic moments, but not enough of them. It had some excellent boxing scenes, but a disappointing outcome. In addition, the character study simply failed due to vacant characters. If you like boxing, Harrelson, Banderas or especially Davidovich, you will enjoy this film. Otherwise, enter at your own risk.
Rating:
Summary: One question to Mr. Shelton...
Review: ..."What happened?" I mean, this is the man that gave us "White Men Can't Jump" and "Bull Durham." The ending was ludicrous. Shelton isn't known for taking the easy way out in his movies. Still, it's worth 3 stars: one apiece for Lolita Davidovich and Lucy Liu, and one for the spectacular camera work in the fight between Harrelson and Banderas.
Rating: 
Summary: Tedious Triviality
Review: A "vehicle" movie, contrived to give one actress and two demi actors something to do. Keep 'em working, they always say. In this case, it's the writer-director Ron Shelton's wife who needs to stay up there on the silver screen, and this fabricated piece of superficiality is what resulted. The funny thing is, she, Lolita Davidovich, is the only element that lends some base of style and credibility to the journey. This is an actress who should be in much greater demand than she is. Her poise, intelligence and singular beauty are a wonder to behold, even in such poor trappings. The angle is that the two guys (Woody Harrelson and Antonio Banderas) are boxers and great buddies. They've fallen on hard times in terms of careers but suddenly are offered a substitution slot in an upcoming big fight in Vegas. Only, they have to fight each other, which they're loathe to do. After a tedious mix of testosterone and one-upmanship, they do, of course, fight, and the proceedings are as predictable as can be. ~~ The Filmiliar Cineaste
Rating:
Summary: Comedy Blended With Action Works Out in this film
Review: Antonio Banderas & Woody Harelson Play well against one another in a very funny and poignent film about friendship and the competive nature of professinal Boxing. Ceaser and Vince are two down on their luck prizefighters who get a chance of a lifetime to win $100.00 dollers in a highly publiced match problem is its agasint one another. True friendship is tested when their on the road together. Great lines delivered from Banderas & Harrelson, these two are cast well in their roles. The Director Ron Shelton who made sport-comedies in the past has scored again with 'PLAY IT TO THE BONE' And it was much more funnier than TIN CUP Back in 1996.
Rating: 
Summary: Worst Movie Ever
Review: Antonio Banderas and Woody Harrelson hook up with a current/ex girlfriend who gives them a ride to Vegas, where they will be boxing one another in a high profile bout. That is the basic premise of the film. At first glance, one would think that such a decent cast would make something of this movie.
Instead, we get a lot of useless yacking, arguing, and spilling of inner most secrets on the road that leave viewers yawning. How I made it to the last half hour of the movie still amazes me, because I did end up asking myself why I was watching this crap when there was probably a more interesting weather report on somewhere. The characters are not even remotely likable.
The fight itself is filled with confusing imagery that really makes little sense. Sex and boxing do not come together well.
This film is so bad that it isn't even entertaining in its horrendocity (new word?). There are bad films a person can watch without feeling as though they have been robbed of two hours of their life. This is not one of them, and I am confident in calling it the worst movie ever made.
I wouldn't recommend this movie to my worst enemy. If I could give it negative numbers of stars, I would.
Rating:
Summary: fair, but not much more
Review: As a woman and a serious boxing enthusiast, I found this movie to be intriguiging, but it's not something I would recommend for most people. The boxing scenes are extremely well done, intermingled with POV fantasy shots of what the boxers are thinking. This really isn't a movie about boxing, but a character study about the female lead played by Lolita Davidovich. The ending is exceptionally disappointing, ruining what little interest the movie generates. Save your pennies for "Rocky" or maybe "Diggstown" if you're looking for a good boxing movie. But if you're looking for harmless entertainment, try this one.
Rating:
Summary: Fast Forward to last 50 minutes
Review: At the beginning of this movie I was wide-awake but about 45 mins into the movie I could feel myself falling asleep. This movie doesn't really do anything for me until the last 50 mins. But before that all it is is a boring road trip that last forever and isn't funny. I loved the boxing scenes b/c they were brutal and it reminded me of Rocky and Raging Bull. I kinda predicted the outcome of the match halfway into the fight but it was still fun watching them beat each other up. If you love Banderas and Harrelson then you might like this movie more than I do, but if u don't, don't see it. Last words, I wouldn't buy it.
Rating:
Summary: A profanely funny shaggy-dog story
Review: Cesar (Antonio Banderas) and Vince (Woody Harrelson) are great friends and not-so-great boxers who get a chance to salvage their careers in a highly publicized Las Vegas extravaganza. But there's a catch: The two guys have to fight each other. Brimming with vividly drawn characters and delightfully idiosyncratic dialogue, this latest effort by writer-director Ron Shelton ("Bull Durham," "Tin Cup") is a profanely funny shaggy-dog story with a surprisingly affecting emotional undercurrent. The under-rated Lolita Davidovich shines as Grace, the smart and sexy woman loved by both boxers.
Rating:
Summary: Just plain Boring
Review: Here's the story. Two has been boxers get offered $100,000 to fight each other on the undercard of Mike Tyson. They accept. They get a ride. They pick up a trampy girl. They get to Vegas. They fight. I'll let you figure out the rest. Lolita Davidovich is the only interesting character in this entire movie. Woody Harrelson & Antonio Banderas are just boring. The first 2/3 of theis movie is their drive to Vegas. They pick up Lucy Lui - who is just so annoying. The best part of the movie is when Lolita Davidovich punches her out. The last 1/3 of this movie is decent. It's the fight. Although it is plagued with images of naked women...why - we don't know - it's still semi-interesting. The ending is just so predictable. I don't even need to elaborate on it. Don't waste your money buying or renting this one. Wait for it to come out on cable.
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty good despite bad reviews
Review: I don't know whether it is my own lack of intelligence, or this movie simply appeals to me for some reason - I don't even know why, but I really liked it. For some strange reason the movie felt refreshing, at times exciting and overall pleasant despite broken eyes, jaws and bloody everything at the end. I thought the characters were plausible, actions and emotions were credible for the most part, music was good. It seemed like a medium-to small- budget movie, definitely off beat, but heck, it takes all kinds, doesn't it? The only character I did not at all dig was Lucy Liu's. She simply was too trashy for my taste. Besides, I think she is too ugly to play an arm candy... But that's just my humble opinion.
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