''The Main Event'' is a 1979 American

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

romantic comedy film starring

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers awar ...

and

Ryan O'Neal Ryan O'Neal (born April 20, 1941) is an American actor and former boxer. He trained as an amateur boxer before beginning his career in acting in 1960. In 1964, he landed the role of Rodney Harrington on the ABC nighttime soap opera '' Peyton Place ...

, written by Gail Parent, directed by Howard Zieff, and produced by

Renée Missel Renee C. Missel (born 1947) is a Canadian-born film producer and former photojournalist who has been active since the 1970s. She is a voting member of the Motion Picture Academy, and serves as a judge for the MPAA Nicholl Screenplay competition, ...

and

Howard Rosenman Howard Rosenman (born February 1, 1945), also known as Zvi Howard Rosenman, is an American producer and motion picture executive. He specializes in producing romantic comedy films and documentary films. Some of his most popular productions in ...

. The film received negative reviews from critics, but was among the top 20 highest grossing films of the year at the box office. It was also the impetus for Streisand's first foray into

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric p ...

singing the

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...

-nominated theme song written by Paul Jabara and Bruce Roberts.

Plot

Perfume magnate Hillary Kramer (Streisand) loses her company and is financially ruined when her accountant embezzles from her and flees to South America. Among her few remaining assets, she finds a management contract with an inactive boxer, purchased as a tax

write-off A write-off is a reduction of the recognized value of something. In accounting, this is a recognition of the reduced or zero value of an asset. In income tax statements, this is a reduction of taxable income, as a recognition of certain expenses ...

. She decides to force Eddie "Kid Natural" Scanlon (Ryan O'Neal), who is now a driving instructor, back into the ring to recover her losses. Eddie thinks this will only get him killed, so he resists but relents. As Eddie's unconventional comeback progresses, he finds himself drawn into conflict and romance with his unlikely manager. Hillary attempts to train the Kid herself, although she displays a total ignorance of his sport. She reads a ‘how to’ book on boxing to Kid Natural while he practices in the ring. Finding a passage referring to footwork, she says, “I think that means kick him.” Hillary schemes to make a fortune by staging "the match that never was" with Hector Mantilla. Hector and Kid Natural were both disqualified years before at the

Pan Am Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

for misconduct before their match. Hector has since become a successful professional boxer. In the final scene, the Kid takes on Hector and is defeating him when Hillary suddenly realizes that if the Kid wins, their partnership will end and she will not see him again. Shockingly, she ends the match by throwing in the towel, runs into the ring, declares her love for the Kid and kisses him as the credits begin to roll.

Main cast

as Hillary Kramer *

as Eddie "Kid Natural" Scanlon * Paul Sand as David *

Whitman Mayo Whitman Blount Mayo Jr. (November 15, 1930 – May 22, 2001) was an American actor, best known for his role as Grady Wilson on the 1970s television sitcom ''Sanford and Son''. Biography Early years Whitman Blount Mayo, Jr. was born in New Yor ...

as Percy * Patti D'Arbanville as Donna * Chu Chu Malave as Luis * Richard Lawson as Hector Mantilla * James Gregory as Gough

Production

The film was originally offered to Ryan O'Neal when Goldie Hawn was going to star. Then the producers proposed

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups ...

to appear in the lead, but O'Neal refused. It was later learned that O'Neal and Ross had been in a brief relationship and had broken up acrimoniously.

Reception

Box office

''The Main Event'' was a box office success. It opened with grossed from 853 theaters in three days. It went on to gross $42.8 million, against a budget of $8 million. It was the 16th highest-grossing film of 1979.

Critical

Roger Ebert gave the film 2 stars out of 4 and called it "a Meet Cute from beginning to end, forced smiles, smarmy dialog and all. Barbra Streisand and Ryan O'Neal act so cute, indeed, that I was squirming."

Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who served as the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in ...

of ''The New York Times'' wrote "This sort of situation could only be funny if it's out of character, and it is out of character for Mr. O'Neal. The pushy cosmetics executive, however, seems to be an extension of the role played in real-life by Miss Streisand, who coproduced the movie, stars in it and seems to have ordered every close-up and line-reading. Miss Streisand has become a contradiction: she's too much without being enough." Dale Pollock of ''Variety'' called it "a film whose sum is way less than its parts," adding "Putting aside all of the ridiculous aspects of 'Main Event' (Streisand's glamorous wardrobe on a nickel-and-dime budget, the complete disregard for boxing rules and tradition, and the highly improbable ending), major disappointment is Streisand's apparent contentment to stay with a character she has now exhausted on the screen." Gene Siskel of the ''Chicago Tribune'' gave the film 3.5 stars out of 4 and wrote that Streisand "walks away with this film, and turns it into a romantic comedy acting lesson. She is as delightful here as she ever has been, and that includes ' Funny Girl' and a personal favorite, '

On A Clear Day You Can See Forever ''On a Clear Day You Can See Forever'' is a musical with music by Burton Lane and a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner based loosely on ''Berkeley Square'', written in 1926 by John L. Balderston. It concerns a woman who has ESP and has been re ...

'." Charles Champlin of the ''Los Angeles Times'' wrote of Streisand: "It is her first movie since ' A Star Is Born' and it is all hers. Every entrance, exit, composition and quip favors her, somewhat to the concealment of a suave and ingratiating performance by O'Neal, who really has become an amusing and debonair light comedy actor in a tradition not much honored in 'The Main Event.'" Gary Arnold of ''The Washington Post'' wrote "This premise looks remarkably unappealing on paper, and doesn't improve in the playing. New romantic comedies seem to be degenerating at the moment, and 'The Main Event' is nothing to rave about." David Ansen of ''Newsweek'' wrote "The stage is set for a knockabout romantic comedy, a sort of rolereversed ' Pat and Mike.' What develops, however, is only fitfully amusing — and sometimes downright annoying".

Accolades

; Golden Globe Awards * Best Original Song ( Paul Jabara and Bruce Roberts, for " The Main Event/Fight," nominated) ; People's Choice Awards, USA * Favorite Theme/Song from a Motion Picture , for " The Main Event/Fight," winner)

Soundtrack

In June 1979, a soundtrack was released on vinyl, cassette and

8-track tape The 8-track tape (formally Stereo 8; commonly called eight-track cartridge, eight-track tape, and eight-track) is a magnetic tape sound recording technology that was popular from the mid-1960s to the early 1980s, when the compact cassette, wh ...

. It peaked at #20 on ''Billboard''s Top 200 album chart and was certified gold. In October 1993, it was released on CD. The soundtrack contains an extended version of "The Main Event/Fight", containing a version which runs 11:39, an edited and slightly altered version at 4:54 (released as the single that hit number three on the U.S. pop charts and certified gold and number five in Canada), and a ballad version titled simply "The Main Event" as it omits the "Fight" parts. A bootleg of the recording sessions for the title song exists with Streisand commenting on the vocal challenges the song contains. A DJ-only promo 12" single was released for "The Main Event/Fight" as well as a 7" promo that featured a unique shorter 3:59 version backed with the single release. ; Track listing # " The Main Event/Fight" – Barbra Streisand # "The Body Shop" – Michalski and Ooversteen # "The Main Event/Fight" (short version) – Barbra Streisand # "Copeland Meets the Coasters/ Get a Job" – Michael Melvoin # "

Big Girls Don't Cry Big Girls Don't Cry may refer to: Music * ''Big Girls Don't Cry'' (Lynn Anderson album), 1968 * ''Big Girls Don't Cry'' (The Weather Girls album), 1986 * "Big Girls Don't Cry" (Fergie song), 2007 * "Big Girls Don't Cry" (The Four Seasons song), ...

" –

Frankie Valli Francesco Stephen Castelluccio (born May 3, 1934), better known by his stage name Frankie Valli, is an American singer, known as the frontman of the Four Seasons beginning in 1960. He is known for his unusually powerful lead falsetto voice. ...

and The Four Seasons # "It's Your Foot Again" – Michael Melvoin # "Angry Eyes" –

Loggins and Messina Loggins and Messina was an American rock-pop duo consisting of Kenny Loggins and Jim Messina, who achieved their success in the early to mid-1970s. Among their well-known songs are "Danny's Song", "House at Pooh Corner", and " Your Mama Don't D ...

# "I'd Clean a Fish for You" – Michael Melvoin # "The Main Event" (ballad) – Barbra Streisand

Charts

Certifications

References

External links

* * *
Barbra Streisand Archives: Records/The Main Event Soundtrack Album

{{DEFAULTSORT:Main Event, The 1970s American films 1979 films 1979 romantic comedy films 1970s sports comedy films American boxing films American romantic comedy films American sports comedy films 1970s English-language films Films directed by Howard Zieff Warner Bros. films First Artists films Barwood Films films Films produced by Jon Peters