An aspiring country singer, whose money is disappearing faster than his career opportunities, enters a "Tough Man" amateur boxing contest to earn some cash to pay his bills. Amazingly enough, he wins it, and is picked to go onto the national finals. He's torn between his first love, music, and the glitz, glamor and money of the "Tough Man" world.
Dennis Quaid Carlene Watkins Stan Shaw Pam Grier Warren Oates Bruce McGill Wilford Brimley Fran Ryan Christopher Norris Terra Perry Big John Hamilton Steve Ward Susan Benn Mark Edson Steve 'Monk' Miller Jimmy Nickerson Rod Kieschnick Preston Salisbury Darryl Poafpybitty Tino Zaragoza Doug Lord Bob Watson Jackie Kallen Michael Brown Darlene O'Hara Domenico Seminara John McKee Paul Heckmann Lyle Kanouse Show All…
Der Fighter, Balegyenes, La Force de vaincre, El hombre más duro, Il duro più duro, 拼劲, Sede de Triunfo, Příliš tvrdý, L'homme le plus fort
AustraliaPG
USAPG
Australia
USA
Cinematic Time Capsule
1983 Marathon - Film #16
”Yeah, I’m the grappling guitar man”
Advertised as "Rocky Without Rules!" this mostly forgotten film stars Dennis Quaid as a down-on-his-luck country singer who gets roped into entering an amateur "toughman" competition.
Yes, it borrows pretty heavily from Rocky… but then again, the Rocky films never gave us a jingle-jangle good ‘ole boys banjo boxing montage, or a goofy Quaid serenading his kid with bizarre animal noises while singing an adorable congo mambo song.
As you can imagine, it comes as no surprise that Quaid’s abundance of goofy likable charm carries this movie and manages to make it watchable. However, I was suprised to read that in real life he’d actually been…
An aspiring Texas country singer (Dennis Quaid - doing his own crooning) ends up in a tough man contest (run by Warren Oates & Bruce McGill) in this southern fried ROCKY-type flick directed by genre stalwart Richard Fleischer (the year before he did CONAN THE DESTROYER & RED SONJA). Really enjoy this very affable and underrated boxing movie plus I love seeing Stan Shaw, Pam Grier & Wilford Brimley in nice supporting roles. Stan and Dennis make good buddies here and it’s also cool to have Stan as a boxer fifteen years before SNAKE EYES (forgot he had been in ROCKY too!). I’d been aware of the movie but finally pressed play a few years ago after hearing it discussed on Junkfood Cinema.
One of my favorite discoveries of the year and easily one of my favorite ROCKY Knock-offs. What a charming surprise of a film.
Stink-Eyed Soul: The Very Best of Hall and Oates
You know that feeling you get when the distance between social mores between now and a point in time like 1983 are so profoundly different, you start to feel untethered while watching a film? Because in a way, Tough Enough is like sticking your head through a window into 1983. Except it's not just 1983, it's 1983 in Fort Worth, Texas, and you find yourself in the hugest, shittiest bar imaginable. Warren Oates seems to be calling the shots somehow, which involve a wet t-shirt competition and Dennis Quaid singing abysmal country and western music. Dealing with hecklers the only way a true Texan man should - by jumping down off…
a young Dennis Quaid, redneck boxing & honky-tonks!
studios should remake this movie,
but also make it a prequel to The Substance💉
Pam Grier♥️
watched on YouTube ~~
another year, another new favorite fleischer
1983 In Review - March
#16
A C and W singer has a family to support so he boxes at a TOUGHMAN amateur boxing contest, hoping to win $5000 and maybe go on to the nationals and sing on national TV.
Dennis Quaid stars in this surprisingly enjoyable forgotten boxing film. He’s a country and western singer who needs cash so enters a Toughman competition run by the very shady Warren Oates. It’s not exactly Rocky but it’s very watchable with Dennis Quaid showing why he would go on to be a big star.
Richard Fleischer first directed a film in 1946 and worked consistently for over forty years in a Hollywood that changed beyond recognition. That kind of longevity should be respected, especially in relation to such an averagely talented (at best) director such as Fleischer. It's the equivalent of Taylor Hackford still churning them out in 2045, the mind boggles. That Tough Enough functions at all is something, that it looks and feels remarkably like your run of the mill Hollywood product of the 80s speaks volumes about Fleischer's ability to surround himself with people who could follow the trends as time moved on. That and that alone is the reason why I even considered giving this two stars.
It's an offensive…
What a weird and unpredictable filmography director Richard Fleischer left us: It includes the legendary sci-fi spectacles Soylent Green and Fantastic Voyage; the melodramaic noir explorations of The Narrow Margin and Violent Saturday; 80’s leftovers Conan the Destroyer and Red Sonja; the easy children’s fare of 1967’s Doctor Doolittle; and the bizarre trash mountain of 1975’s Mandingo. I know little about him other than that his father was animation legend Max Fleischer, but we’ve got to admire his adaptability and willingness to give every assignment his all.
Tough Enough comes toward the end of Fleischer’s run, and though it’s not quite an uncut gem, it’s at least a shiny pebble worth holding up to the light. Made in 1983, it…
For some reason the director of this movie chose to try and distance himself from it by using a pseudonym in the credits. I don't want to appear smug, but I figured out the real name of 'Richard O. Fleischer'.
My point, apart from showing how smart I am, is to say that I don't know what he thinks he's got to be so ashamed of. You can keep you're Rockys and your Raging Bull's (although maybe not your Penitentiarys), I'll take this any day.
Struggling to make a living as a country 'n western singer, Art Long (Dennis Quaid) decides to enter a 'toughman' competition with a $5000 prize.
These days a toughman competition would no…
Kicking off your 'Toughman' competition flick with a wet T-shirt contest... they sure don't waste time beating you over the head with those awful gender stereotypes.
Anyway, there's not much of a lead-up (and just one corny Rocky-montage), here. Them fellas put those gloves on fairly early on, and it's mostly boxing from there, hence the pacing's a little bit off. The fights are very well done, though. They're nicely shot and choreographed, the action's easy to follow. Quaid's songs, on the other hand, are like poor Billy Joe Shaver (Rest In Peace) imitations, and sadly his charms are only at 70% tops.
I want a singing toughman on national TV! What the hell do you want?!
The ever gorgeous Pam Grier, Wilford Brimley and Warren Oates!
Tough Enough's low stakes, barely any conflict fun - best enjoyed with a tall glass of ice cold Cherry Coke.
Shout-out to Gay Bob and his "close friend"!🌹
