Body Slam

Although this movie is quite dated (as is evidenced by Dirk Benedicts awesome 80's-style pleated leather pants at the beginning of the film) it is still a good representation of how the old wrestling territories/promoters used to operate before the WWF/NWA/WCW took over and essentially eliminated the need for them.

The movie is a nice time capsule if you were into wrestling in that era, and that is all. If you weren't a fan of wrestling, then you will find nothing of this movie that would appeal to you whatsoever (outside of the still smoking hot Tanya Roberts who looks AMAZING in this movie). It is about 1980's wrestling and 1980's wrestling promotion - period.

Still, despite the obvious cheesiness that the movie exudes and its ultra-adherence to 1980's fashion/fads, it is still fun for the particular demographic of movie fan that would appreciate it. I remember watching this movie on a rainy, boring Saturday afternoon as a kid on a local independent station back in 1987/1988 and instantly loved the movie. I could only recommend it for the true wrestling fans out there, but not for anyone else.

I have seen a majority of Roddy Piper's films and this one I saw long before cable brought tbs and nwa wrestling into my home. I only knew who he was because I had read about him in the wrestling magazines I bought as a kid. Wrestling is like a circus without the animals (at least the real kind lol). I thought the movie was well done for being a low budget film. I was entertained but I have been a Wrestling fan since the days of Bruno Sammartino. I enjoyed the nostalgia of the old school wrestlers and though I am not much of a Dirk Bennedict fan I do remember him from the A Team. The plot made sense and I felt though it was predictable it was still interesting enough to set through more than once. Roddy Piper plays a much more subdued version of his true ring persona and considering he has been wrestling since he was 15 I think he took the bumps well and delivered for his fans. If you hate this film remember a lot of folks grew up watching the pretend sport instead of the drawn out, treat it like a TV show wrestling we see on TV presently. I liked this film much better than the Verne Gagne movie The Wrestler, but it isn't in the same league as the Mickey Rourke film of present day. It examines the wrestlers going after the title much like All The Marbles and leaves you cheering and jeering through out the film.

Maybe it was the lack of sleep, or the fact that I was in a really great mood, but there was something about Body Slam that made me laugh almost non-stop. Of course, to say I laughed at any of the deliberate jokes in the film, would be a complete lie. I would not pretend that readers of this are complete idiots and such a farce would be believable to any of them. Whomever wrote this film is in dire need of some intelligence. But that utter lack of brains, that total undeniable inability to comprehend anything filled with wit or satire, made for one of the most laughable films I have ever witnessed in my life. I have gone on to be one of Dirk Benedict's biggest fans. He was perfect for this role. Anyone who thinks someone else should have played Harry is a complete fool, because only Mr. Benedict could get down the necessary nuances to be so implausibly stupid that we, as viewers, wonder if we're not becoming stupider as we watch the film.

Lots of cool wrestler cameos from the era but the lead is totally unlikeable and the plot a little preposterous. Still, it's fun for what it is and there's enough to hang your hat on to make it worth a watch. Plus you get to see Bruno Sammartino dance!

Bodyslam was one of the first films I can ever recall as youngster that made love the sport of wrestling. It's a good little comedy about a guy named Smeliack, a down on his luck music manager, he see's an oppurtunity in professional wrestling with Quick Rick Robbins (Roddy Piper) & Tonga Tom (The Tonga Kid). This film really ushered in the era of Rock N Wrestling back in the mid 80's, it was an awesome time to be a wrestling fan and the film couldn't have come out at a better time. Look for special cameos of Ric Flair, Bruno Samartino, and the late Classy Freddy Blassie.