lifestyle THURSDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2013 FEATURES ‘Grudge Match’ Review: De Niro and Stallone’s reputations take another dive ylvester Stallone has built an entire late-stage career out of nos- Stalgia, from periodically dredging up Rocky and Rambo for random sequels to a decades-too-late team-up with Arnold Schwarzenegger in “Escape Plan” to crafting the entire “Expendables” franchise around the gag of “I used to be an action star.” Robert De Niro, meanwhile, has chipped away at his reputation as one of this genera- tion’s finest screen actors with films that spoof his on-screen image (“Analyze This,” “The Family”) and ones that are just outright embarrassing (“Red Lights,” “Righteous Kill,” and a list that goes on and on down to “The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle”). It was perhaps inevitable, then, that these two would meet up in a boxing movie that would capitalize on the clash between an over-the-hill Rocky Balboa and an AARP-ready Jake LaMotta (the real-life boxer De Niro won This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Robert De Niro as Billy This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows, from left, Sylvester an Oscar for portraying in “Raging Bull”). ‘The Kid’ McDonnen, left, and Sylvester Stallone as Henry ‘Razor’ Sharp, in a Stallone as Henry “Razor” Sharp, Kevin Hart as Dante Slate, Jr, and Robert De Such a pairing isn’t the worst idea for a scene from ‘Grudge Match.’ — AP photos Niro as Billy “The Kid” McDonnen in a scene from “Grudge Match.” screen comedy, but the execution of screwed out of his money by fight pro- into a pricier nursing home, Razor takes so utterly stultifying until it picks up relief from the afterlife, grateful to have “Grudge Match” turns out to be so utter- moter Dante Slate (Anthony Bean), but the gig. some steam with the big climactic fight been spared this rotten screenplay. ly dismal that the movie feels like the The Kid managed to parlay his win- The Kid shows up at the recording sequence? Director Peter Segal (“Get Even with the, you’ll pardon the final insult on what’s left of both actors’ nings and his local fame into owning a session, and when a fight between the Smart,” “50 First Dates”) and scribes Tim expression, dramatic heavyweights in reputations. bar and an auto dealership. His finan- two retired boxers (both wearing those Kelleher (“First Kid”) and Rodney the lead roles, it’s Bernthal (also current- The premise is pretty much what cial success, however, hasn’t kept him green tights with the ping pong balls Rothman (a former head writer for “Late ly appearing in “The Wolf of Wall you’d expect: In the early 1980s, the from stewing over Razor’s refusal to glued on them) goes viral, public Night With David Letterman”) can’t Street”) who comes off as the movie’s boxing world was captivated by the fight him again to determine who was demand leads them to agree to their seem to craft believable situations or most natural and compelling performer. rivalry between two Pittsburgh-based the better boxer. long-delayed grudge match. Dredging witty dialogue to save their lives. Even De Niro mugs, Stallone mumbles, light-heavyweights: Henry “Razor” Cut to the present day, when Dante up the past means the return of Sally worse, they fall back on a lazy mix of Basinger struggles to make facial Sharp (Stallone) and Billy “The Kid” Slate, Jr. (Kevin Hart) approaches Razor (Kim Basinger) and her son B.J. (Jon homophobia, transphobia (per IMDB, expressions and even the usually reli- McDonnen (De Niro). Both fighters about doing motion-capture for a Bernthal), both of whom have a compli- there’s actually a credited character list- able Arkin and Hart are saddled with were undefeated except for the one video game company that wants to put cated history with Razor and The Kid. ed as “Tranny Hooker”) and misogyny. jokes that aren’t remotely funny. Go match each lost to the other; before out a Razor vs. The Kid simulation. At So you’ve got a game cast and a sto- When we’re introduced to Arkin’s char- watch “Rocky” and “Raging Bull” again. they could have a tie-breaker, however, first, Razor’s not interested, but when ry that pretty much writes itself (and acter while he complains about getting Because, as they say at closed-casket Razor left the fight game and went the plant closes and his old manager that plays into the public perception of sponge baths from a male nurse, I could funerals, it’s better to remember them back to his factory job. Razor got Louis (Alan Arkin) needs to be moved its actors) - why, then, is “Grudge Match” feel Burgess Meredith sighing with as they were. — Reuters Q&A: Ben Stiller dreams of a shift with ‘Mitty’ Indian Bollywood actors Anil George, Zeena Bhatia, Niharika Singh and Nawazuddin Siddiqui attend the first look of upcom- ing Hindi film ‘Miss This film image released by 20th Century Fox shows Ben Stiller in ‘The Secret Lovely’ in Mumbai Life of Walter Mitty’. — AP on December 23, en Stiller’s commonality with the like that, or something that all of sudden 2013. — AFP hero of his new film hasn’t gone became its own little movie. I remember Bunnoticed. “The Secret Life of Walter one sketch we did that was a restaurant Mitty,” starring and directed by Stiller, is where they were serving human beings. It adapted from James Thurber’s classic short was like a ‘Soylent Green’ sort of thing. We ‘Saving Mr Banks’ director to rewrite story that first appeared in The New Yorker had been canceled and we knew we were in 1939. Since then, Walter Mitty (a mild- canceled, and we were shooting our last mannered man who enlivens a mundane episode. It was this 11-page sketch that MGM’s ‘Magnificent Seven’; Tom Cruise out day with a series of fantasies) has been syn- was a little sort of horror movie. I remem- onymous with daydreaming and flights of ber having one of the best experiences on aving Mr Banks’ director John Lee Hancock has come on to rewrite imagination. Stiller, too, hopes for some- the show doing that one. It was like making MGM’s remake of “The Magnificent Seven,” which Tom Cruise is no thing a little different for his life: He wants a little movie. ‘Slonger involved with, TheWrap has learned. “True Detective” scribe to direct more movies and make films out- AP: Do you ever wish you limited your- Nic Pizzolatto wrote the initial draft of the script. John Sturges directed the side of the comedies he’s best known for. self more to directing? original 1960 Western, which itself was based on Akira Kurosawa’s 1954 “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” a kind Stiller: It’s not something I think about classic “Seven Samurai.” “Magnificent Seven” starred Yul Brynner, Steve of remake of the 1947 Danny Kaye version, in terms of: ‘Oh, if I had just not been an McQueen, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Robert Vaughn, Brad Dexter is a big-budget, big-scale shift for the 48- actor, people would think of me as a direc- and Horst Buchholz as a group of American gunmen hired to protect a year-old Stiller. It’s his fifth time directing a tor, or take me more seriously or something small Mexican village from a group of savage bandits led by Calvera (Eli movie (from “Reality Bites” to “Tropic like that. I’ve always enjoyed directing, and Wallach). The film was followed by three sequels and remade as a CBS series Thunder”), but his first time helming a film that’s always been something that I’ve in 1998-2000. that, while funny, isn’t quite a comedy. known in my head that that’s where I see Cruise first became interested in “Magnificent Seven” back in May 2012, Having just wrapped shooting on another myself ending up, anyway. when MGM began developing a remake of its library title, though with his film with “Greenberg” director Noah AP: Even when you haven’t directed, busy schedule, the project was never in his immediate plans. Pizzolatto was Baumbach in Brooklyn, Stiller recently met you’ve surrounded yourself with ensembles hired in August 2012 thanks to heat generated by HBO’s upcoming minis- with a reporter in New York to discuss his and been a strong voice in shaping the eries “True Detective,” which stars Matthew McConaughey and Woody new trajectory. films. Harrelson. MGM remains focused on mining its library titles to generate Stiller: What I learned early on when I new profits. In addition to upcoming reboots of the “RoboCop” and AP: With “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” started being the main character in movies, “Poltergeist” franchises, the studio is also developing remakes of “Death opening on a crowded Christmas for I realized that there’s a responsibility with Wish” and “WarGames.” Hancock is no stranger to the Western genre, having This image released by Disney shows Tom Hanks as Walt Disney, left, moviegoing, do you feel particular pres- that in terms of what the audience is going co-written and directed “The Alamo” for Disney, which has maintained faith and Emma Thompson as author PL Travers in a scene from ‘Saving Mr sure? to see. An audience doesn’t delineate who in the filmmaker despite that film’s disappointing box office performance. Banks’. — AP Stiller: (Laughs.) Honestly, I think I feel produced that, or who directed that.