Director: Steven Nesbit
Writer: Brad Moore, Steven Nesbit (Screenplay)
Starring: Brad Moore, Greg Orvis, Ricky Tomlinson, Paul Barber, Denis Van Outen, Laurie Kynaston, Alexei Sayle
Plot: This is the story of Doug, a fantastic fighter but not so fantastic businessman, who must save his beloved gym by training a gentle giant for a bare-knuckle fight.
Runtime: 1 Hour 38 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Low Key Dodgeball
Story: Gloves Off starts as we meet gym owner Doug (Moore) a once great fighter, who has turned his life to helping people train, with his close group, Mick (Tomlinson), Albert (Barber), Riz (Silva) and the newest member Donny (Kynaston), he has been struggling to keep the gym open, with cooperate men wanting to turn it franchise, unless Doug can raise the money to keep it open.
Doug has the support of his friends, with a plan that Donny’s Uncle Nosher (Orvis) being trained to fight to raise the money, can the unlikely crew take on the cooperate crew and save the gym.
Thoughts on Gloves Off
Characters – Doug is the down on his luck gym owner, he has lost his daughter to an ex, he has no money or a home left, all he has is the gym, which he is about to lose. He must come up with a plan to save his gym, his friends and move on with his life once again, proving he was always a great fighter. Nosher is the slow-witted gypsy that is selected for the fight, he must learn discipline, the one thing that is difficult to teach him. Mick is one of the regulars in the gym, used more for hanging out, he always has a plan without taking any centre stage in the events. Albert is the oldest member of the gym, he has years of experience when it comes to boxing, something he will always use to teach people to improve.
Performances – The performances in the film are solid enough, Brad Moore in the leading role does make us believe his down on his luck figure, while the rest of the cast do bring us laughs along the way.
Story – The story here follows a down on his luck gym owner that must make money to save his gym and is joined by his loyal members. This story does seem to use the same concept as Dodgeball, only it does keep everything a lot calmer, it does show how loyalty will keep groups of people together as they look to take a stand against people who are trying to take advantage of them. It is a series of trying to prepare for a fight which will be against the odds, we know how it will end and it is more the journey getting there, with Doug needing to learn about his friends.
Comedy – The film does use comedy to get laughs along the way, only it not everything gets a crazy as it could do.
Settings – The film does use the settings to show use the beat down gym the cooperate offices and how the gypsies travel to make money with a code of honour.
Scene of the Movie – The big fight.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – It is trying to be funnier than it is.
Final Thoughts – This is a sports comedy that doesn’t hit the highest points easily, though it does have a good message about getting on with your life.
Overall: Fun comedy.
