Starring: Dirk Benedict, Tanya Roberts, Roddy Piper, Lou Albano
Written by: Steve Burkow, Shel Lytton
Directed by: Hal Needham
Rock ‘n’ Wrestling, square-cut ties, and the eternal question: is pro wrestling real? Yes, it’s 1987, and you’re watching Body Slam.
Body Slam joins the legion of other guaranteed cult classics such as 1984’s Breakin and 1989’s The Wizard, which capitalized on Breakdancing and Nintendo respectively, as a feature film crafted around a given pop culture craze. These types of films are usually thinly-veiled promotional enterprises, but, as mentioned, have built-in audiences that will watch them again and again.
Body Slam does try its best to elevate itself above being a simple grab at the popularity of pro wrestling, and in particular, the Rock ‘n’ Wrestling connection — which was more or less over by the time the movie came out on video. Benedict and Piper in particular deliver very good performances, especially in the absolutely by-the-book second act turning point when Piper tries to talk Benedict out of the dumps and renew his enthusiasm. It’s a hard scene to write and a killer scene to pull off, but the sincerity of those two actors, Benedict with his experience and Piper with his underrated subtlety, made it happen.
Maybe it’s the sentimental part of me that can’t chastise the film for failing to provide more than a razor-thin plot, but it’s hard to fault a movie for simply living up to its own expectations. This is far from a serious movie from a time when wrestling was taken far more seriously.
RELATED LINK
https://slamwrestling.net/index.php/2006/05/18/body-slam-a-blast-for-benedict/
