Play It To The Bone Details

Writer/director Ron Shelton specialises in movies about men in sport (Bull Durham, Tin Cup), so it was only a matter of time before he turned his wry gaze on the fight game. In this sports comedy drama, Antonio Banderas and White Men Can't Jump star Woody Harrelson play second-rate pugilists who get a shot at the big time when they are asked to box each other on the same bill as a Mike Tyson bout. The catch is they have less than 12 hours to get to Vegas, so the two friends hit the road with fiery Grace (Lolita Davidovich) at the wheel. Too much chat and the aggravating presence of Lucy Liu as a hitchhiking nymphomaniac make the road trip a long haul, but things pick up during the climactic fisticuffs, with a host of star cameos (James Woods, Kevin Costner, Tony Curtis) suggesting Shelton's name still opens doors in Tinseltown.

Episodic account of a couple of would-be contenders that goes nowhere; it is understandably cynical about professional boxing, but at the same time suggests its participants are to be admired.