Stay Hungry

Although "Stay Hungry" feels like the filmmakers made it up as they went along, it still gets you in mainly because of its overall quirkiness and interesting stars early in their careers.

The story centres on Jeff Bridges' character, Craig Blake, and his attempts to buy a gym in Alabama in order to redevelop the site. However he is drawn into the lives of the people he meets including gym receptionist, Mary Tate Farnsworth, played by Sally Field, and Joe Santo, played by Arnold Schwarzeneger, who is training for the Mr. Universe contest.

The story meanders all over the place with many sub plots and characters while everyone goes to town on their Southern accents - all except The Austrian Oak of course.

It's hard to place "Stay Hungry" in a genre; it's a comedy of sorts, but the humour is in the odd situations rather than in funny lines. To be honest, it needed editing; some scenes are interminable. For anyone watching it 40 years later, the appeal must surely be in seeing the stars before their careers really took off.

Arnie is arresting. This was his first speaking part; he looks big chested and powerful, but plays it low key; he's a sensitive guy, no "Hasta la vista baby" or "I'll be back" in this movie. His best scene is when he joins a group in the backwoods and indulges his passion for fiddle playing. Apparently he practiced the violin for months to look convincing.

Sally Field was 29 when she made this (a few years older than Jeff Bridges), but looks as though she would have needed proof of age to get into a nightclub - it actually makes her brief nude scene slightly disturbing. Even now she still looks way younger than her real age; check out 2015's "My Name is Doris" for confirmation.

These days Jeff Bridges looks his years, but like a bottle of Château Mouton Rothschild, he simply improves with age. He has some good scenes in "Stay Hungry", including one where he does a little Appalachian flatfooting.

With memories of Vietnam and Watergate still fresh, filmmakers seemed affected by the mood of disillusionment and mistrust of the 1970's. They came up with some off-the-wall movies, and the chaotic style of "Stay Hungry" fits perfectly into the era.

Short and simple, "Stay Hungry" kept my attention - that is, until the hokey, silly and very disappointing ending.

But up to that point, I was a pure movie fan: watching a young, hot- looking Jeff Bridges as country-club son, looking for his way after losing his parents, I was fascinated as I compared him to the 2010 Oscar Winner for "Crazy Heart." Catching Sally Field in one of her earliest film roles as an emotionally labile gym employee, I was impressed and even blushed a little during a brief nude scene, as I thought of the matriarch currently staring in ABC's "Brothers and Sisters." Roger E. Mosley (T.C. from "Magnum, P.I.") was funny in a supporting role; A young Robert Englund reminded me that he was an actor before he was Freddy Kruger; and a host of other actors that I only know from old TV shows (Fannie Flagg, Ed Begley, Jr. and Joanna Cassidy) put me in trivia heaven.

But it was Ah-nold...Arnold Schwarzenegger who truly surprised me, playing an attractive, low-key, approachable role as an aspiring body builder. There was nothing over-the-top or kitchy about his performance, and I enjoyed every scene he was in. If you can forgive the hokey ending (which made me think of a cheesy Gay Pride parade, although I'm sure that was unintentional), then you can really enjoy this movie.

If you don't enjoy catching actors from the 80's in their early years, might I suggest you be very bored, busy with other household activities and catching it on cable first - or else you'll just hate yourself afterward and wish for that time back.

This movie doesn't really make a lot of sense...

But Jeff Bridges and Sally Field still give it their all and act pretty well with a silly story.

It's also fun to see a bunch of people (Robert Englund, Arnold, Ed Begley etc) who went on to decent and/or great things.

Plus Sally Field looks pretty hot in the film...

All in all, it is weird but it manages to stay together until the end.

Most of its value is as a super-early Schwarzenegger film and a bit of a glimpse into 70s bodybuilding culture.

And yeah, Sally Field doesn't wear much...

For starters, this is not Schwarzenegger's first movie. It is one of his firsts but not the first time he appeared in a movie. Remembered for many things, Staying Hungry is an interesting movie that attempts to be too many things besides a quick comedy. The movie jumps into a drama too often to confuse its audience whether this is just a comedy or a dramatic movie. Although this movie stars Jeff Bridges, he is not the highlight of the movie. The supporting cast, which includes Sally Field, Arnold Schwarzenegger, R.G. Armstrong, Robert Englund, Helena Kallianiota, Ed Begley Jr. and Joe Spinelli not only add to the quality of the movie, but are in fact, the main draw to the story. While Bridges does a good job as the star of the film, he doesn't hold the movie together, the rest of the cast does. By the third act, the movie turns into something completely different than the comedy it opened up to be. A very different, yet interesting movie.

As I watched this film last night it occurred to me that it has a certain fun, Altmanesque element of found local color. The shady southern businessmen Jeff Bridges' character is involved with all talk in a hilarious retro jive, "I'm fine as wine!" and sport really sharp looking plaid blazers. Rafelson decides to throw in random things just for sheer fun; a car race, with 70's Monte Carlos shooting through the streets of Birmingham, Alabama and getting air like it's San Francisco, a whole crew of 70's bodybuilders running through the city streets and posing on top of buses. Arnold Schwarzeneggar puts in his only true serious acting turn, although I'm not sure how much it should be considered acting as he's playing his real self; philosophical and shrewd. Sally Field is hot in this movie, there's even a scene where she jumps out of bed in the nude, displaying a great ass. Jeff Bridges puts on his usual display of fine, unselfconscious screen acting. One of the nicest and most refreshing things about this movie is that it unfolds organically; we don't feel an overarching awareness of chugging plot structure like we do at today's movies.