Body Slam (1986)

Pretty Good

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

The acting in this movie is really good.

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.

I am big wrestling fan and a big rock music fan so i think this film only made it into my collection for those two reasons. saying that it is so bad that it is great. with Cameo's from some really great wrestlers and a most unusual cast this film is a must see even if you only watch it once. Dirk Benedict was a regular in two of the most cheesy TV Series of all time (Battlestar Galactica and the A team) so it is no wonder that he will never be a major movie star. Roddy Piper has made some good and some truly awful films but you have to admire his perseverance. he is still one of the best wrestlers never to be world champion. Tanya Roberts was a huge fantasy of mine in my teens so it was nice to see her do a film that didn't involve her taking her clothes off. from a Wrestling Fan point of view it was fun to see Rikishi in his early days as a wrestler as well.

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.

This was a pretty funny movie, especially if you're a fan of pro wrestling and recognize the characters involved. Benedict plays a variation of his Face Man character, only no Mr. T to get him out of trouble (surprisingly). Throw in Charles Nelson Reilly, Billy Barty and a dancing Bruno Sammartino, you have to get some laughs, even accidentally.Well worth the two hours.