the audience applauded

Lack of good storyline.

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Play It to the Bone is problematic in that it fails with each of its target audiences, but that doesn't mean it can't shine with the right viewer.Sports fans who want frequent boxing action will be disillusioned with the incessant dialog that fills the majority of the film (including the first hour and a half). Those seeking a character driven comedy piece will be turned off by the limited info we receive about the protagonists and the simple plot.Yet, there is a certain sweet spot of viewers that are well-suited for the film. It's important that the audience be enthusiastic about boxing and the lifestyle of fighters, as the greatest payoffs come from Banderas and Harrelson's career back-stories and ultimate combative showdown. At the same time, moviegoers cannot be too pretentious or demand award-winning plot lines and ideologically challenging messages. Instead, it's important to take the film's purpose for what it is: to tell the story of two almost washed-up guys who learn they've reached a point in their lives that demands they lay everything on the line if they want any chance to still make a name for themselves.The fight scenes are superbly shot and are among the most realistic in movie history. You won't find Sly Stallone and Carl Weathers alternating between hay-makers here; instead shots are crisp, cuts and swelling look brutally realistic, and the announcers, cornermen, and patrons that are so distinctive to boxing's atmosphere are transposed from real life to the screen.This movie will not change your life. You will not be laughing out loud until your sides split. You already need to know enough about boxing to enjoy Play it to the Bone that you probably won't gain any insight about fighters from it. But, you'll have some laughs, remember some moments, and get paid off with some remarkable boxing action at the end of your two hour journey.

I found this to be a refreshing buddy movie. Refreshing in that the buddies, Vince (Woody Harrelson) and Cesar (Antonio Banderas), aren't so polar in their personalities that they aren't always clashing in the usual clichéd manner. That is, one isn't a lot more fast-talking than than the other, or more wilder, or more idiosyncratic. They're just a couple of sweet dim-bulb washed-up boxers who mean well and are the best of friends.When the under-card boxers for a big-time Vegas boxing event (Mike Tyson vs someone) both can't fight - seeing as one's dead and one's drugged-up to the max, Vince and Cesar get the call to take their places in the match that very night. They have to fight each other, yet it's their shot for each of them to redeem themselves in the boxing world.This flick's half road movie, half sports movie, and all buddy movie, and the structure works. During the road trip from L.A. to Vegas, we get to know these guys and their former girl friend, Grace (Lolita Davidovich). During the trip, their idiosyncrasies, usually forgiven through friendship, begin to grate on each other, and their secrets, and their feelings of rivalry and jealousies, which they usually keep hidden, come to the surface. All of it builds in tension as they get closer to Vegas and the big fight.But, when they arrive for the fight itself, we know that these guys still love each other, and we've come to like them. So who to root for during the boxing match? Seeing them prove that they're both good boxers and that either one of them could win makes for great dramatic tension, just the right stuff for a sports movie.The boxing itself is terrifically filmed as we feel every blow and wince for each one of them. The ending is kind of predictable, satisfying and yet dissatisfying at the same time. Do they actually redeem themselves? It's hard to tell.Lucy Lui makes an appearance, but she seems to be there just to be annoying and to have sex with Vince. It stirs up the frustrated Cesar, but, story-wise, that's about it. Fortunately, she doesn't stick around for long.There are some genuine laugh-out-loud moments in the movie and it's got a lot of heart. Harrelson, Banderas, and Davidovich are right-on in their performances. If you're looking for a straight-forward sports movie, you'll be disappointed. But Shelton's movies have always been more about character, anyway. It's all about a deep friendship that's truly tested in every way. This is a character-driven movie that builds up to some great boxing that's well worth the trip.

If you like Woody, Tom, Antonio or Lucy, and like comedies, this movie is worth the watch. It was not in Oscar contention, by any stretch, but then again, neither are many good movies. This is one of those movies that is perfect on a Sunday afternoon, when you just want to be entertained by someone else's life. The pancake scene is just plain funny. The characters are believable, and you find yourself sometimes relating their actions to people you may have known personally. Having been around boxers a lot growing up, this movie has enough realism from that world to be believable.All in all, it's a generally funny movie, and a feel good buddy road flick.

Now, there are fun bad movies, and there are bad bad movies. Play It to the Bone falls so deeply and terribly into the latter category, I cannot implore you enough to never, ever consider seeing it. Take this as a public service announcement. Play It to the Bone is quite simply the worst movie I have ever seen. There is nothing campy or redeeming about it. I'd watch "Gleaming the Cube" 11 times in a row before sitting through "Play It" half-way. Sadly, we cannot go back in time and prevent this brutally awful film from being made, but we can collectively do our best to remove it from the consciousness of movie-watchers by taking an oath to never subject a loved-one to it's inanity. I would not write this if I did not sincerely mean it. There is nothing you can watch out there that could ever hope to rival how truly bad this movie is.