Writer/director Ron Shelton makes movies about sports. He has a baseball movie ("Bull Durham"), a basketball movie ("White Men Can't Jump"), a golf film ("Tin Cup") and now a boxing movie called "Play It to the Bone."

So, what is boxing? It's certainly about machismo. It's about being hard. It's somewhat about destruction of the human body. Or, at the very least, the punishment the human body can take. That's why Shelton makes his two main characters into both a slightly hypocritical religious zealot and a slightly sexually confused modern male. Shelton toys with these ideas which seem in direct conflict with the machismo of the sport of boxing.

That being said, I can't imagine who the film is for. Guys will like the last 20 minutes of the film, the boxing match, because it is, well, a boxing match. It's a bloody and brutal confrontation. But the first 2 hours are sort of meandering character development that is almost diametrically opposed to this. There will certainly be some guys squirming in their seats. Women will feel just the opposite. The first two hours are an interesting story, but the final conclusion is so monstrous and bloody that it will turn them off. So who is this film for anyway?

As a character film, it does have a lot to offer, even if many of the ideas it gets into will be new ground for everyday avid boxing fans. Woody Harrelson and Antonio Banderas take their time as the main characters and allow their performances to sort of wash over us. The beginning of the film, after the typical set-up, seems a bit weird and slow. Harrelson spends some time talking about religion and Banderas takes an extended moment to rant in Spanish. It seems sort of dull and pointless at first, but eventually it all begins to pay off. Lolita Davidovich acts as impetus for much of what is discussed. She has history with both characters, so as they ride through the desert into Las Vegas for their bout, while in her classic muscle car, she asks questions and discusses their thoughts and feelings with them and we get to know them, as well as her, through this exposition method. Lucy Liu, meanwhile, only spends 20 minutes or so with the trio but her interruption into the proceedings gives the film the explosiveness it requires at exactly the right moment.

Shelton has developed a script that is quite interesting. Like many character driven films, it takes a while to get into it. But when we finally do begin to care, the film really opens up to us. There are pinpointed moments here and there that are clumsy or do not work well, but overall the film is quite good.

Shelton doesn't film the piece with inordinate cinematic artiness. At times, visually, the film can be kinda dull. But, perhaps, the barren landscapes and roadside diners are an adequate reflection of the characters being developed here. One thing Shelton does do, which is inordinately cool and almost too subtle to be noticed, is people the background with huge machines. In addition to the "muscle care," trains and 18-wheelers ramble through some backgrounds here providing not only unusual yet perfectly placed real scenery, but also a reminder of the characters here. These guys are bulls in the proverbial china shop going through their emotions, their friendship, their careers, their feelings and their lives. The rambling, massive machinery in the background is the perfect symbolism to represent how these guys are, and how they are perceived by the real world.

"Play It to the Bone" isn't a perfect film, but it's damn good. And it's male leads will draw both genders into the cinema. I'm just not sure they are going to be able to easily digest all the film has to say. But maybe, through the blood and the laughter and the cool yet typical travelogue images of Vegas, an idea or two will slip into their heads. A tiny piece of the understanding of human nature will glide in and lodge itself into their reasoning apparatus. And that can't be a bad thing.

Notes:

With small roles played by Richard Massur, Tom Sizemore, Robert Wagner and Jack Carter. Cameos by Rod Stewart, Kevin Costner, George Foreman, Mike Tyson, Steve Lawrence, and James Woods. I assume their are many boxing dignitaries in the film in cameo as well.

AKA as "Play It."

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