Over the top - Starring Sylvester Stallone, Robert Loggia, Susan Blakely and Rick Zumwalt - Released in 1987

Released in 1987, the action drama Over the Top stars Sylvester Stallone as Lincoln Hawk, a
trucker. The film was directed by Menahem Golan (The Delta Force), the screenplay was co- written by Stallone. Despite criticism, fans loved the film with its mushy story about a father trying to make amends with his estranged son after the death of the wife.

Lincoln Hawk and Christina Cutler (Susan Blakeley) were married against the wishes of Christina’s father, rich and powerful bully, trucking magnate - Jason Cutler (Robert Loggia). The cold hearted and shrewd old man would rather that his grandson Michael (David Mendenhall) lived with him than Hawk. Lincoln and Cristina are now estranged, thanks to Jason, and now that his wife is ill, she makes an emotional appeal to Hawks to bond with their son, who is away at military school. For the ten years they’ve been apart, Lincoln has juggled making a living long hauling and arm wrestling - less than honorable means which his father-in-law disdains.

On the other hand, Jason has taken advantage of the situation in the couple’s lives - he poisons Michael against his father, and the boy resents Hawk for abandoning his family. Christina is suffering from a heart ailment, and she wants Lincoln to pick up Michael from Military School, where he is graduating from, and drive him from Colorado to California, hoping against hope that her twelve year old son will grow to like his father.

During the trip, Hawk and Michael gradually (the kid somewhat grudgingly!) grow fond of each other, especially after Lincoln saves the child from a kidnapping bid on him; a ploy hatched by Jason to wrestle his grandson away from Lincoln. When the duo return to meet Christina, they are informed that she lost her battle to death, and passed away in surgery. This spurs Michael to feel guilty for not being there by her side when she died - he goes back to his grandfather. Heartbroken, Lincoln makes an attempt to break into Cutler’s mansion and take his son away - this only makes matters worse, and he is jailed. Michael comes to meet his father in prison, saying he understands and forgives him, but thinks his life is with Jason.

Post prison, Hawk competed in the World Arm Wrestling Championship in Las Vegas, his hopes are pinned on a victory which rakes in the moolah - $100000! He also wins a custom made truck and gets to try his hand as an entrepreneur! Everyone knows that Lincoln Hawk is the underdog, he isn’t built like an arm wrestler, and he doesn’t foot the bill! He tries to deal with his financial crunch by selling off his truck, placing a bet and entering the contest.

Back in home, Michael is stunned to find out that his grandfather had concealed the letters Lincoln wrote to him and how Jason is responsible for the separation of his parents. He runs away to Vegas, to meet Hawks. Lincoln is injured in the match, almost at the flag end of tournament, where he has advanced to the final eight. In the interim of the match, he is summoned by Cutler, who offers him $500000 to stay away from Michael, Hawks refuses.

Despite the injury to his arm, he defeats his opponent, overpowering another two, advancing steadily to the final against Bull Hurley (Rick Zumwalt) - an old opponent, yet undefeated. Michael finds his father, and tells him he’s sorry for having misjudged him for all those years, now that he has the support of his son - Hawks is determined to win, and he does.

Even Cutler has grudging respect for his son-in-law, for having stood up against a bully like himself to win his son’s affection. A feel good family film, with the message of love and sacrifice, hard work and honest approach to relationships - a winning formula that Stallone mastered after Rocky!

Film - Raising Arizona - Starring Nicholas Cage and Holly Hunter (released in 1987)

Sometimes you have movies that do not do great when they are released, but then attain the status of a cult classic over a period of time, and this ends up benefiting the DVD sales of the movie. The movie was made on a low budget of $6 million and earned $22 million, so one really cannot claim that it was a big hit at the time of release. However, it now finds mention in the list of top 100 comedy films, especially with the background that is a Coen brother film (some of their other films include Fargo, No country for old men, The Big Lebowski, etc). The brothers had made their previous film Blood Simple as a crime film, and wanted to make a different kind of film, one that was more optimistic and full of life. The movie stars Nicholas Cage, Holly Hunter, William Forsythe, Frances McDormand, and Randall 'Tex' Cobb.
Raising Arizona was shot in a short period of time, taking a total of 13 weeks to shoot. On release, the critical review was mixed with many reviewers liking the style of the movies, and others having the same reaction, complaining that the movie focused more on style than on substance. However, recent reviews have been more positive, and the movie has an enviable rating on the Rotten Tomatoes site. The scene depicting the bank robbery has come in for a lot of praise.




The movie takes the life of Herbert I. "Hi" McDunnough (played by Nicolas Cage) and policewoman Edwina "Ed" (played by Holly Hunter). Their meeting is very interesting, since Hi is a criminal who Ed met when he was in jail, and they continue meeting when Hi is in jail. When he gets out of jail, they decide that they want to live together and get married, and start living in a mobile home in the desert. Next, they want to have a baby, and that is where the problem starts. They discover that Ed is infertile, and they will not be able to adopt a child because of the past criminal record of Hi. So what to do ? They hear of the 5 sons of the local rich man, the furniture king Nathan Arizona and decide to kidnap one of these sons, this boy being Nathan Junior.
However, life is never so simple. They get a visit from his former prison buddies, Evelle and Gale; with their presence, there is a lot of temptation for Hi to back to doing the stuff he used to do earlier, even though he is now married. And then, his supervisor Glen (played by Sam McMurray) proposes a wife swapping, leading to Hi assaulting him. And then, in a comic caper, Hi decides to steal some diapers for the baby, and is seen by Ed, and pursued by the police and by the cashiers of the store he was stealing from. Ed does rescue him, but there is tension between them now. Things get even worse the next day. His supervisor has learned the identity of the child and wants it, and Evelle and Gale hear this and also turn on Hi, binding him and taking junior. They decide to rob a bank, and the fun starts; Ed and Hi decide to get the baby back, and so does Nathan Arizona as well as a bounty hunter who had offered to get the child back.
What happens next ? Well, you need to see the movie and enjoy for yourself.

Film - Moonstruck - A hit romantic comedy starring Nicolas Cage and Cher (released in 1987)

Moonstruck was a romantic comedy released in 1987, and was very well received by critics and by the audience, becoming a bit hit. This was in the 1980's, when movies really did not make above $100 million that they so easily make nowadays (heck, movies nowadays cost more than that to make, with production and marketing costs making them significantly more expensive), so at that time, for Moonstruck to make a total of around $80 million on a budget of $15 million was great. In addition, the movie wowed critics and earned a number of Oscar nominations:

Won:

Best Actress - Cher

Best Supporting Actress - Olympia Dukakis

Original Screenplay - John Patrick Shanley

Nominated but did not win:

Best Picture

Best Supporting Actor - Vincent Gardenia

Best Director - Norman Jewison

The movie also did pretty well in being recognized as being among the top 100 comedies and some of the top 10 romantic comedies.

The movies starred Cher, Nicolas Cage, Vincent Gardenia, Danny Aiello, and Olympia Dukakis, with Cher and Nicolas Cage in the lead roles.

The movie is about this lady and her relationship with her would-be brother-in-law and how it turns into a romantic relationship between them, and the problems it causes emotionally for them. Loretta Castorini (played by Cher) is an Italian widow whose husband had died after being hit by a bus. She believes, somewhat strangely, that he died because they did not have a proper marriage, in church, with flowers and the whole arrangement. And why did they not have a proper marriage, well it was because her father Cosmo (Vincent Gardenia) did not approve of the marriage and hence they had to get married at City Hall rather than at church. This time, she is determined that she will get married properly, and insists that her fiancee, Johnny Cammareri (played by Danny Aiello) propose to her with a ring and on his knees. However, he has to leave soon for Sicily since his mother is dying and he has to be there for her. However, he wants Loretta to invite his estranged brother Ronny (Nicolas Cage), younger to Johnny, to come to the wedding.
The next morning, Loretta talks to Johnny but when she finds out that he has not told her about the wedding, urges Johnny to tell her about the wedding before she is dead. In turn, Johnny asks her whether she has spoken to Ronny, which was also not done. So, Loretta visits Ronny at his bakery and learns why they do not speak to each other. It turned out that some time earlier, Ronny was engaged and once when Johnny had visited him, Ronny hand got cut in the slicer and his fiancee left him as a result. Ronny blames Johnny for that accident. She tries to console him since he has got emotional, and they go to his apartment where she cooks for him and they drink, and you know it, they have sex. At night, there is a bright moon - hence Moonstruck. In the morning, Loretta feels the guilt and does not want to meet Ronny again, but he persuades her to come to the opera with him in the evening. Does she go ? What happens to their relationship and her engagement ? Watch this delightful movie and find out.

Roxanne (released in 1987) - a comedy in a small town, starring Steve Martin and Daryl Hannah

Roxanne, starring Steve Martin and Daryl Hannah in the lead was released in 1987. This comedy is adapted from the verse play Cyrano de Bergerac by the French Author Edmond Rostand. The screen play was written by Steve Martin and is directed by Fred Shepisi.
Napoleon had once famously remarked that he preferred men with long noses, but CD Bales the Fire chief of Pacific North west would beg to differ. Steve Martin stars as Bales, the acrobatic do gooder fire chief who has a humongous nose. This fleshy accessory on his face makes his life miserable and his love life bitter. Bales is very sensitive about his nose matters and people who know him never mention this twitchy subject. The object of his affection is Roxanne, an astronomer, beautiful as a star she watches. Roxanne is in love with Chris, a dim witted fireman whom Bales cannot stand.
But the gallant Bales does not come in between Roxanne's love and suppresses his feelings. His only outlet being the poems he writes which he allows Chris to submit before his lady love as his own. Another person in this loop is Dixie, Bale's sister who keeps this secret. Life moves on with Roxanne watching comets, and Bale's trying to move on with his life with another woman.



Roxanne soon finds herself dumped by Chris, who falls for another woman in another town. He leaves town after writing her a long letter. Dixie tells her the truth about the poems and a devastated Roxanne confronts Bales. She accuses him of leading her on with a doomed relationship with an incompatible guy. A cornered Bales hits back telling Roxanne, that her quest for a perfect handsome guy was the root cause for her condition. As they argue and part but somewhere a spark is lit. In the end they discover the true love for each other and are soon engaged. Roxanne tells her besotted lover that his long nose gives him character and now would consider a flat nose too bland and boring. As the nosy angst ends for C.D. Bales, curtain draws on this happy ending.
Steve Martin was widely appreciated for his role as CD Bales and this won him a Golden Globe nomination for the Best Actor. He also won the National Society of Film Critics Award, Writers Guild of America Award and Los Angeles Film Critics Award for Best Actor. This delightful romantic comedy also finds its place among Bravo's “100 funniest movies of the century”. Steve Martin who essays the role of CD Bales pays homage to the original by taking the name of Cyreno de Bergerac (CD) and considered this as a watershed movie of his career.
This movie has many slapstick comedy moments which tickles your funny bone. Just do not go looking for high brow satire for you will be sorely disappointed. Enjoy the show and see the funny nosy man win his love and I can guarantee that you will not be disappointed.