The critics hated it. The movie going public didn’t care for it. It is hardly ever shown on cable reruns. It is barely remembered. Still, its star is Sylvester Stallone, an icon of the F.A.H.O.F., and though it did not deliver and was corny and somewhat unrealistic, are we wrong that we want to give “Sly” a pass? Even with that pass, the film is not great, and Stallone and company were not able to deliver a good (though visually appealing) Formula One film. That was too bad, as at that time in sports world was ready to embrace one.
“The Hammer” may not have had a large box office return, but the critics did like it, and we can argue that this was the funniest boxing portrayal ever, and it was done by a comedian who actually knew what he was doing in the ring (Carolla competed in the Golden Gloves). We grant that this is a dark horse candidate, but check this film out; it will be worth your time.
The fictitious former Rookie of the Year for the Montreal Canadians had somehow lost his will to play Hockey and found himself working for Elsinore Brewery on the line where he was mysteriously under the spell of the evil Brewmeister. If you haven’t figured this out; yes this is a Canadian film, and will likely be a cult hit forever North of the United States. Of course, the McKenzie Brothers saved the day, and we can’t think of anything more Canadian than that. Now “Take off, eh?”
He showed up out of shape, unmotivated and disinterested, but James “The Grim Reaper” Roper was the Heavyweight Boxing Champion of the world, and in 1996, no white man was going to take that away. That may touch on racial nerves, but let’s face it, that was the only logical assumption in 1996! Incidentally (spoiler alert) this turned out to be the right assumption.
