Tough Enough (1983)

User Rating:

5.1/10   

Director:

Richard Fleischer

Writer:

John Leone (writer)

Release Date:

20 May 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Romance | Sport

Tagline:

"Rocky" without rules

Plot:

An aspiring country/western singer, whose money is disappearing faster than his career opportunities...

Plot Keywords:

Boxing

US TV Schedule:

Wed. Nov. 18

7:00 AM

MAX

Cast

Dennis Quaid	...	Art Long
Carlene Watkins	...	Caroline Long
Stan Shaw	...	P.T. (Paul Thomas) Coolidge
Pam Grier	...	Myra
Warren Oates	...	James Neese
Bruce McGill	...	Tony Fallon
Wilford Brimley	...	Bill Long
Fran Ryan	...	Gert Long
Christopher Norris	...	Christopher Long
Terra Perry	...	Wet T-Shirt Girl
Big John Hamilton	...	Big John
Steve Ward	...	Heckler in Torreyson's
Susan Benn	...	Girl in Torreyson's
Mark Edson	...	Janitor in Torreyson's
Steve 'Monk' Miller	...	Tigran Baldasarian

Runtime:

106 min | West Germany:101 min (video)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG | Iceland:12 | USA:PG | Norway:(Banned) (1983-2003) (cinema release)

Filming Locations:

Fort Worth, Texas, USA

Company:

American Cinema Productions

Trivia:

Warren Oates' final film.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the final fight, blood is spattered across the front of Tony Fallon's suit but when shown shortly afterward, the blood has disappeared.

Quotes:

Bill Long: Did you get a look at that big meat-headed sonofabitch?
Art Long: What'd they say he was? Albanian?
Bill Long: I know one thing: he's some kind of goddamned foreigner, and there ain't but one way to whip 'em.
Art Long: What's that?
Bill Long: Kick him right square in the nuts, and then tell him his mother's whore.
Art Long: Thanks a lot, Dad. Will you just shut up, please?
Bill Long: I'm just tryin' to help you, Son. You're the one that's gotta go in there and fight this big dumb sonofabitch. Look at him. Probably some kind of a goddamned... Communist savage.

Movie Connections:

References Rocky (1976)

Soundtrack:

Rainbows Never Touch The Ground

Quaid makes it very watchable

A guy who fights for the money but dreams of being a singer...sounds a lot like a script that had Elvis' fingerprints on it. Dennis Quaid is perfectly cast in this small, non-offensive drama, as a guy with a dream, a mean streak and a guitar who uses his status as a fighter to get a recording contract. He is helped by Stan Shaw and Pam Grier and his wife and makes it to Detroit for the National Tough Man competition. Nice to see Stan Shaw play a character who isn't barefoot and in overalls - he patented the backwards kid in the back woods in such movies as "The Great Santini" and "Fried Green Tomatoes."

Movie is a little dated and there's not a whole lot that is memorable, but on the other hand its not a waste of time either.