Over the Top (film) - a stupid story that somehow worked

Remember back when Sylvester Stallone could do no wrong and was in a close race with Arnold for the best action hero on the market? He was so good that he started (like Arnold) to branch out to other types of films that weren't necessarily 100% action films? Well Over the Top came out during Sly's heyday and although it has a completely dumb plot, somehow this film actually worked.

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Lincoln Hawk (seriously, that was the character's name) is a truck driver struggling to make ends meet and while on the road he manages to stay in unbelievable shape - I guess there is a gym in the cab of his truck. To make ends meet he does arm-wrestling on the side to make some extra cash (I'm LOL-ing as I write this but it really is the story.)

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Because this isn't enough of a story on its own we needed to introduce the wild card scenario of Lincoln also being a deadbeat dad who hasn't raised his son at all. His estranged wife (I think they were still married but he was too lazy to do the divorce paperwork) contacts him to inform him that she is really ill and needs Sly to look after their son, who he has never been involved with.

As it turns out his son is instrumental in inspiring him to win contest after contest in the arm-wrestling circuit and while I presume this is actually a thing, I think it is awfully convenient that the grand prize is both money and a semi-truck that just so happens to be exactly what Hawk needs to sort his life out.

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10 year old kids who don't know their father are probably pretty reluctant to accept the person into their lives but one way you can get them to trust you is to rescue your son from kidnappers (this really happens) and it is at that point the Lincoln Hawk's son truly trusts him and wants to live with him.

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The characters that he faces in the tournament are amazing. My favorite was a guy named Grizzly who is a bit crazy and is so dedicated to the arm-wrestling way of life that he drinks motor oil during the matches (wait... what?)

It should come as very little surprise that this movie was a box office failure that was ripped to shreds by the critics. I admit that it is not a great film but for some reason it holds a special place in my heart. I think this is because of the fact that Sly and Arnold types were so inexplicably popular back in the day that the studios would make just about anything that had either one of them in it. This movie personifies the frivolity of the late 80's and if for no other reason that the ridiculous nature of the overall theme, it is worth watching.

on a scale of "urgh!" to "Wowsers!" I give Over the Top an overall rating of