WRESTLING ERNEST HEMINGWAY (1993) - Movie Review

Director: Randa Haines
Starring: Robert Duvall, Richard Harris, Shirley MacLaine, Sandra Bullock, Micole Mercurio, Piper Laurie
Genre: Drama, Romance
Writer: Steve Conrad
Runtime: 123 min
Rated: PG-13 for language
Buy This Movie: DVD (Amazon), Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV

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Synopsis:

They're retirees who are anything but retiring. Robert Duvall and Richard Harris deliver "two of the year's most spectacular performances" (Bob Campbell, Newhouse Newspapers) as a reserved ex-barber and a salty former sea captain, beached in a quiet Florida town and living solitary lives. But after meeting in the local park one afternoon, these polar opposites soon become the unlikeliest of friends. Randa Haines (Children of a Lesser God, The Doctor) directs and Shirley MacLaine, Piper Laurie and Sandra Bullock co-star in this wonderful film that shows how friendship opens up the two men to life's riches. If you like movies brimming with characters who linger in the memory, Wrestling Ernest Hemingway is "the perfect tonic" (Susan Wloszczyna, USA Today).

Review:

Here's one you've probably never heard about. "Wrestling Ernest Hemingway" is a lovely forgotten drama directed by Randa Haines ("Children of a Lesser God") from a script by Steve Conrad ("Wonder", "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty", "The Weather Man"). In case you're wondering, no, it has nothing to do with Ernest Hemingway. Released in 1993, the film was a box-office bomb and was relegated to cinematic obscurity. Unjustly so, I would add, because the story of two old men played by Richard Harris and Robert Duvall who strike up an unlikely friendship is perhaps no timeless classic, but it's pretty darn good all the same.

You might be tricked into thinking it's a comedy in the vein of "Grumpy Old Men", but it's most certainly not. It's a melodrama about odd-couple friends and the difficulties of growing old. While the drama is heavy-handed and the story covers familiar territory, there's also something inescapably heart-warming and sincere about it that is hard to dismiss outright. Much of its authenticity comes from the two lead performances, which are absolutely enticing.

Duvall plays Walter, a courteous retired Cuban barber, and Harris stars as Frank, a loud-mouthed, crude, heavy-drinking former Irish sea captain. The trope of polar opposites finding common ground is well-worn, but these two incredible actors reach far beyond the limits of the screenplay and flesh out a pair of believable three-dimensional human beings, revealing subtle hints of what may be hiding underneath the stereotypical exterior.

The supporting cast is another element that works in the movie's favor. Veteran actresses Shirley MacLaine and Piper Laurie, as well as Sandra Bullock, who at the time was a relative newcomer, add a dose of charm and sparks of personality that keep the movie from buckling under the weight of its sappiness. With little in the way of plot, the movie relies heavily on dialogue, and while it's not ground-breaking writing, the depth of its poignancy by the time it's over comes as a surprise.

"Wrestling Ernest Hemingway" can get dull at times, and it's longer than it needed to be. It's undeniably sappy and predictable, but it's also a surprisingly endearing story and a reasonably interesting character study that can get under your skin and tug on you heart strings even if you're well aware what to expect from a movie like this. I'd say it deserves a watch, even if only for Duvall and Harris' wonderful performances.

SCORE: 7/10