Movie Review - Grudge Match

Grudge Match **½ (PG-13) Robert DeNiro and Sylvester Stallone have probably never been linked on anyone’s Thespian scale, but a shared lineage sets the table for this pairing as over-the-hill boxing rivals from Pittsburgh who wind up in the ring 30 years after they should have. In his prime, DeNiro won an Oscar for playing legendary Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull. Sly got an Oscar nomination for Rocky, before continuing that franchise well past his physical heyday.
 
In this action comedy, Sly’s “Razor” Sharp won the light heavyweight title from DeNiro’s Billy “The Kid” McDonnen, after first losing it to him in the early 1980s. Before the promoters could book a decisive third bout, Razor retired without explanation. He toiled quietly in a factory for the next three decades, while The Kid enjoyed moderate success in used car and sports bar businesses, while resenting Razor for ducking out on what could have been the defining battle (and huge payday) for both.           
 
For a couple of hours we follow the path to their overdue rematch which includes a considerable, if not excessive, amount of soap opera in learning why Razor walked away, what changed his mind, who needed to learn which Valuable Life Lessons, and prove what to whom. Support comes primarily from Alan Arkin as Razor’s mentor counterpart to Rocky’s Burgess Meredith; Kim Basinger as a woman whose history bound her to both guys; and Kevin Hart as the hyperkinetic son of the promoter who cheated them in the ‘80s, trying to make his own mark via the revived nostalgia fumes from their old enmity.
 
The screenplay delivers enough laughs to qualify for its comedy designation, but there’s too much sentimental business to keep it on that track. We slog through an overdose of melodrama en route to the inevitable climactic fight scene. The stars fare surprisingly well in that ring sequence for a couple of dudes in their late 60s. Mercifully, nothing in the script proffers another re-match. What may be the film’s funniest moments come after the credits start to roll, so don’t leave too quickly. (12/25/13)