Grudge Match is a 2013 American sports comedy film directed by Peter Segal. The film stars Sylvester Stallone and Robert De Niro as aging boxers stepping into the ring for one last bout. Stallone and De Niro have both previously been in successful boxing films (Rocky and Raging Bull, respectively) and worked together in Cop Land. It was previously scheduled for a January 10, 2014 release, but was moved up to December 25, 2013.[2]
Plot
In their prime, Pittsburgh boxers Henry "Razor" Sharp and Billy "The Kid" McDonnen become rivals after two fights, one in which Kid beats Razor and one in which Razor beats Kid, the only defeats of their careers. Before they have a rematch, Razor announces his retirement without explanation, infuriating Kid and costing them a big payday.
Years later, Razor is low on money and working in a shipyard when he is visited by promoter Dante Slate Jr., who wants Razor to provide a motion capture performance for a video game. It was Dante's father whose shady business dealings ended up leaving Razor in dire financial straits. The soft-spoken Razor wants no part of this stunt. Kid, a showoff who runs a bar and a car dealership, is all for it. Razor begrudgingly accepts $15,000 needed to care for his ailing former trainer Lightning Conlon and pay his overdue bills.
At the recording studio, Razor is surprised and taunted by Kid, who was also invited by Dante. The two get into a fight and damage the studio before being arrested. Cellphone footage of the fight is uploaded on YouTube and goes viral, giving Dante the idea of organizing a final grudge match between Razor and Kid, which he will promote as "Grudgement Day".
Kid eagerly accepts. Razor is forced to do so as well, not receiving his $15,000 and then learning he has been fired from the shipyard. At the press conference to announce the grudge match, Razor is approached by his ex-girlfriend Sally-Rose Henderson, who cheated on him with Kid during their youth and ended up becoming pregnant. Now widowed, Sally wants to reconnect with Razor, but he is reluctant.
Razor asks old trainer Lightning to get him back in shape. Kid expects gym owner Frankie Brite to train him, but Frankie mocks the fight and is of little help. Kid is approached by his estranged biological son, B. J., against Sally's wishes. The two begin to bond after B. J. gives Kid helpful advice regarding his technique, and is invited to be his trainer.
Lightning finds out Razor is blind in one eye. Realizing that a fight could cause permanent damage, Lightning and Sally both implore Razor to call it off, but he decides to go through with the fight.
Kid takes his grandson Trey to celebrate the news that the grudge match is sold out. B. J. believes they are going to a movie, but Kid takes the child to a bar, then leaves him on his own while hooking up with a groupie. Trey ends up accidentally starting Kid's car while he is in the backseat having sex. Kid prevents an accident, but he is arrested, and B. J. is infuriated that he endangered the boy. Kid apologizes to B. J. and gives him a scrapbook that he kept of B. J.'s sports career in school, proving he had not been disinterested in him throughout the years. B. J. forgives him.
When the grudge match begins, Kid gains the upper hand, severely beating Razor by unknowingly exploiting his blind eye. Upon learning of Razor's condition, however, Kid stops focusing on the eye and helps Razor to his feet. Razor turns the fight to his favor, but likewise helps Kid on his feet after nearly knocking him out. The fight ends and the judges decide it on points. Razor is declared the winner by a very close split decision. He celebrates with Sally and Lightning, while a satisfied Kid enjoys the company of B. J. and Trey, who are proud of what he has accomplished.
In a post-credits scene, Razor has a new TV, on which he and Lightning view a performance by Kid on Dancing with the Stars and quickly deduce that he is having sex with his partner. In another, Dante tries to set up another grudge match between Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield. Holyfield refuses several increasingly higher offers to fight Tyson before showing interest when Slate offers Holyfield a role in a fourth Hangover film. Tyson, frustrated by this, approaches Dante angrily before the scene ends.
Doug Ellin was brought on to provide rewrites in early 2012. He was left uncredited for his work.[3]
In preparation for the film, both actors trained with boxing trainer Bob Sale. During training, Stallone went down to 168 pounds, his lowest weight since 1981.[4]
Grudge Match grossed $7 million in its opening weekend, finishing in 11th place at the box office. Made on a $40 million budget, the film made $45 million worldwide.[1]
Critical response
Grudge Match received generally negative reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 30% based on 145 reviews, with an average rating of 4.5/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Grudge Match is sporadically funny but meandering, and its strong cast is largely mired in a plot that's overrun with cliches."[7] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 35 out of 100 based on 32 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[8] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[9]
Andrew Barker of Variety wrote: "Essentially recasting Grumpy Old Men with the senescent specters of Rocky Balboa and Jake LaMotta, the result is sporadically amusing, with some chucklesome sight gags and crowdpleasing supporting turns from Alan Arkin and Kevin Hart, yet it's all so overcooked that it defeats its own purpose."[10]
Peter Travers of Rolling Stone wrote: "Watching De Niro and Stallone piss all over their most iconic roles provides no pleasure. It made me feel – Sad. Sad. Sad."[11]
John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter wrote: "The movie only wakes up when Hart or Arkin are on screen (preferably together)."[12]
Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian called the film "A preposterous, worthless mediocrity. ... Never have I yearned more passionately to climb into my time machine and journey back to before my memory of Raging Bull was needlessly trashed by this incredibly depressing and worthless mediocrity".[13]
In a 2018 chat with Interview, Kim Basinger briefly disclosed that she didn't personally enjoy her experience filming Grudge Match.[14][15]
