''Over the Top'' is a 1987 American

sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

starring

Sylvester Stallone Sylvester Gardenzio "Sly" Stallone (; born July 6, 1946) is an American actor and filmmaker. In a Sylvester Stallone filmography, film career spanning more than fifty years, Stallone has received List of awards and nominations received by Syl ...

as Lincoln Hawk, a long-haul truck driver who tries to win back his estranged son while becoming a champion arm wrestler. It was produced and directed by

Menahem Golan Menahem Golan (; May 31, 1929 – August 8, 2014, originally Menachem Globus) was an Israelis, Israeli film producer, screenwriter, and director. He co-owned The Cannon Group with his cousin Yoram Globus. Cannon specialized in producing low-to-mid ...

, and its screenplay was written by Stirling Silliphant and Stallone. Robert Loggia, Susan Blakely, and David Mendenhall are among the supporting cast. ''Over the Top'' was released on February 13, 1987, by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

in the United States. The film was a

box-office bomb A box-office bomb is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the combined production budget, marketing, and distribution costs exceed the revenue after release has te ...

, and received middling reviews from critics.

Plot

Lincoln Hawk is a truck driver who also arm wrestles for extra cash. His estranged wife Christina, who is suffering from heart disease, asks that Hawk pick up their young son Michael from military school and develop a relationship with him (Hawk had left them ten years earlier). Michael's wealthy grandfatherChristina's father, Jason Cutlerbelieves that Hawk has no right to be in his grandson's life. Michael distrusts Hawk initially and treats him with contempt. Over the course of a trip from

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, the two bond. When they arrive at the hospital, Christina has died from complications during surgery. Michael blames Hawk for delaying his arrival and leaves for his grandfather's estate. An attempt to retrieve Michael ends with Hawk being arrested when he resorts to ramraiding the gated mansion. Michael visits Hawk in jail and forgives him but says he feels safer living with his grandfather. As a condition of charges being dropped, Hawk is obliged to sign over custody of Michael to Cutler. Hawk leaves to compete in the World Armwrestling Championship in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, hoping to start his own trucking company with the prize money. Most other participants are much larger, including Bull Hurley, the undefeated world champion for the past five years. When Hawk arrives, he sells his truck and uses the proceeds to place a bet on himself (as a 20–1 long shot) to win. Meanwhile, Michael learns that his grandfather had driven his parents apart and had been hiding letters Hawk had regularly written to him. Stunned by his grandfather's deceptions, Michael steals a pickup truck and drives to Las Vegas to find Hawk. Hawk advances to the final eight competitors in the double-elimination tournament before suffering his first loss, injuring his arm in the process. Cutler, who is also in Las Vegas, summons Hawk to his hotel suite and offers him a chance for a fresh start: $500,000 and a top-of-the-line semi on the condition that he stay out of their lives for good, but Hawk refuses and vows to retrieve Michael after the tournament. He returns to the tournament with improved focus and advances to the final match against Hurley. Michael finds Hawk and apologizes for misjudging him, which gives Hawk the emotional support to compete. After a long match, Hawk beats Hurley and wins the tournament. A triumphant Hawk and Michael take their winnings and drive off to start a new life together.

Cast

as Lincoln "Linc" Hawk * Robert Loggia as Jason Cutler * Susan Blakely as Christina Hawk * Rick Zumwalt as Bob "Bull" Hurley * David Mendenhall as Michael "Mike" Hawk * Chris McCarty as Tim Salanger *

Terry Funk Terrance Dee Funk (June 30, 1944 – August 23, 2023) was an American professional wrestler and actor. Widely considered one of the most influential and greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Funk was known for the longevity of his car ...

as Ruker * Bruce Way as John Grizzly * Paul Sullivan as Carl Adams * Jimmy Keegan as Richie * Greg "Magic" Schwartz as Smasher *

Allan Graf Allan Lee Graf (born December 16, 1949) is an American athlete, actor, stuntman and director. A high school All-American football player at San Fernando in Los Angeles, California, Graf played offensive guard for the undefeated national champ ...

as Collins * John Braden as Col. Davis * Reggie Bennett as Female Arm Wrestler Multiple world armwrestling champions John Brzenk, Cleve Dean, Scott Norton, Allen Fisher, John Vreeland and Andrew "Cobra" Rhodes (who plays the final match referee) also make cameo appearances. Randy Raney who would appear with Stallone the following year in '' Rambo III'', plays Mad Dog Madison.

Production

Development and writing

In May 1984, it was reported Stallone would appear in the film for a fee of $12 million. Cannon Films presold the movie over the next few years, during which time Stallone appeared in ''Rhinestone'', ''Rambo: First Blood Part II'' and ''Rocky IV''. Cannon hired Stirling Silliphant to write the script. "It's an action love story with the emphasis on action," Silliphant says. "It's the story of a man trying to win back the love of his son and win the world arm-wrestling championship in Las Vegas." Although Stallone was a writer and had final cut on the film, Sillphant said "I don't anticipate any problem whatsoever. I'm a very difficult person to abuse... He doesn't have to do anything at this point. He has been very smart about what he can do. He has to protect that."

Filming

The film was shot for about 9 weeks from June 9 to August 15, 1986. The military academy scenes, portrayed as being in Colorado, were filmed at

Pomona College Pomona College ( ) is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalists ...

Claremont, California Claremont () is a suburban city in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States, east of Los Angeles. It lies in the Pomona Valley at the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census it had ...

in 1986. The Kirkeby mansion at 750 Bel Air Road, Los Angeles (also the home of the Clampett family on the CBS comedy ''

The Beverly Hillbillies ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from 1962 to 1971. It had an ensemble cast featuring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer Jr. as the Clampetts, a poor backwoods family ...

'') was used to portray the Cutler estate. Parts of the film were also shot in Monument Valley, Utah. Olive View–UCLA Medical Center was also used as the hospital.

Music

In late 1986, producer/director

selected Italian composer and record producer

Giorgio Moroder Giovanni Giorgio Moroder (, ; born 26 April 1940) is an Italian composer and music producer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Disco", Moroder is credited with pioneering Euro disco and electronic dance music. His work ...

as music supervisor for the soundtrack. Moroder was in charge of creating a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

with a compilation of new songs in different genres and diverse artists, writing most tracks on the record himself, in collaboration with Tom Whitlock. The album was issued on February 13, 1987, under CBS, to coincide with the release of the movie. It contains music by Frank Stallone,

Kenny Loggins Kenneth Clark "Kenny" Loggins (born January 7, 1948) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His early songs were recorded with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1970, which led to seven albums recorded with Jim Messina (musician), Jim Mess ...

(who performs the film's central theme, "

Meet Me Half Way "Meet Me Half Way" is a song by American singer Kenny Loggins written by Giorgio Moroder and Tom Whitlock for the film ''Over the Top (1987 film), Over the Top''. It also appears as the final track on his sixth studio album ''Back to Avalon''. It ...

"),

Eddie Money Edward Joseph Money ( Mahoney; March 21, 1949September 13, 2019) was an American singer and songwriter who, in the 1970s and 1980s, had eleven Top 40 songs, including " Baby Hold On", " Two Tickets to Paradise", " Think I'm in Love", " Shakin' ...

, and

Sammy Hagar Sam Roy Hagar (born October 13, 1947), also known as the Red Rocker, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s with the hard rock band Montrose before launching a ...

. John Wetton, lead singer of the rock group

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

, sang " Winner Takes It All" for the movie, but after performing the song, it was felt that his voice wasn't "mean" enough, so the track was offered to Hagar, whose version, featuring a bass guitar solo by Hagar's then- bandmate

Eddie Van Halen Edward Lodewijk Van Halen ( , ; January 26, 1955 – October 6, 2020) was an American musician. He was the guitarist, keyboardist, backing vocalist and primary songwriter of the rock band Van Halen, which he founded with his brother Alex V ...

, ended up being the one on the soundtrack. Asia is credited for the track "Gypsy Soul", but Wetton is the only Asia member who actually contributed to it. Track listing: # " Winner Takes It All" – Sammy Hagar # "In This Country" –

Robin Zander Robin Wayne Zander (born January 23, 1953) is an American musician, best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for the rock band Cheap Trick, but is also a solo artist. Zander was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016 as a ...

(international versions of the film had

singing instead) # "Take It Higher" – Larry Greene # "All I Need Is You" – Big Trouble # "Bad Nite" – Frank Stallone # "

" –

# "Gypsy Soul" – Asia # "The Fight (Instrumental)" –

# "Mind Over Matter" – Larry Greene # "I Will Be Strong" – Eddie Money Sylvester Stallone appears in the video for "Winner Takes It All", arm-wrestling Hagar. Hagar says in his video commentary on the DVD ''The Long Road to Cabo'' that he was unenthusiastic about the song. Hagar says that Stallone gave him his black cap at the end of the shoot, both signed it, and the cap went to charity, fetching around $10,000.

Reception

Box office

''Over the Top'' was released by

on Thursday, February 12, 1987, in New York and Los Angeles before expanding to 1,758 theaters on Friday, grossing $5.1 million over the

President's Day Presidents' Day, officially Washington's Birthday at the federal governmental level, is a holiday in the United States celebrated on the third Monday of February. It is often celebrated to honor all those who served as presidents of the United ...

weekend, finishing in fourth place. In total, the film earned $16 million in the US and Canada.

Critical response

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the film has an approval rating of 32% based on 31 reviews, with an average rating of 4.7/10. The site's consensus states: "The definitive film about arm-wrestling truck drivers fighting for custody of their children, ''Over the Top'' lives down to its title in the cheesiest of ways." On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, it has a score of 40 out of 100 based on reviews from 12 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data. Background Ed Mintz, who ...

gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale. '' Variety'' called it "routinely made in every respect".

Janet Maslin Janet R. Maslin (born August 12, 1949) is an American journalist, who served as a film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1977 to 1999, serving as chief critic for the last six years, and then a literary critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000, M ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' called it "muddled" and criticized the number of

product placement Product placement, also known as embedded marketing, is a marketing technique where references to specific brands or products are incorporated into another work, such as a film or television program, with specific promotional intent. Much of t ...

s. Rita Kempley of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' wrote that the film does not live up to Stallone's ''

Rocky ''Rocky'' is a 1976 American independent film, independent sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the first installment in the Rocky (film series), ''Rocky'' franchise and also star ...

'' films and is "virtually a feature-length video" because of all the rock songs. Movie historian

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic, film historian, and author. He is known for his book of film capsule reviews, '' Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide'', published from 1969 to 2014. Maltin was the film criti ...

seemed to agree: "Title merely begins to describe this heavy-handed variation on '' The Champ''... In trying to underplay, Stallone speaks so quietly that you often can't make out what he's saying." The film received three nominations at the 8th Golden Raspberry Awards in 1988. David Mendenhall won two for both Worst Supporting Actor and Worst New Star, and

was nominated for Worst Actor, which he lost to

Bill Cosby William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American retired comedian, actor, and media personality. Often cited as a trailblazer for African Americans in the entertainment industry, Cosby was a film, television, and stand-up comedy ...

for '' Leonard Part 6''. Stallone later said of the film, "I would have made it less glossy and set it more in an urban environment, for one. Next, I would've not used a never-ending stream of rock songs, but scored music instead, and most likely would've made the event in Vegas more ominous – not so carnival-like."

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Over The Top (Film) 1987 films 1980s chase films 1980s drama road movies 1980s sports drama films 1987 drama films American drama road movies American sports drama films 1980s English-language films Arm wrestling films American chase films Trucker films Golan-Globus films Warner Bros. films Films scored by Giorgio Moroder Films directed by Menahem Golan Films set in the Las Vegas Valley Films shot in Utah Films shot in Nevada Films shot in California Films with screenplays by Sylvester Stallone Films with screenplays by Stirling Silliphant Films about father–son relationships Films produced by Menahem Golan Golden Raspberry Award–winning films Films produced by Yoram Globus 1980s American films Films shot in Monument Valley Films with screenplays by Gary Conway English-language sports drama films English-language action drama films