Over the Top – It's Like a Switch

Over the Top is an 80s treasure. Set amidst the backdrop of long-haul trucking and arm wrestling, it's a patently absurd film about a father reuniting with his son. More important, though, it's oozing with machismo and righteous tunes.

It's honestly all the best things about the decade rolled into one undersized, sweat-infused, cut-off shirt. And it must be seen.

Produced by the legendary B-movie assembly line Cannon Films, Over the Top embodies much of their spirit. For one, it thinks it's a much better film than it actually is. It also paid an absurd amount of money to Sylvester Stallone (anywhere from $12 to $15 million of its $25 million dollar budget) under the assumption that his onscreen presence would make the movie a hit.

Spoiler: It was not. And, much like  Masters of the Universe—another of their big bets—Cannon's wasteful spending on star power blew up in their face. It recouped only half its budget, and the reviews were equally brutal.

Its skewering even earned two Razzie wins for Stallone's onscreen son David Mendenhall (who played Michael Cutler). Equal parts cruel and tragic. Shame on you, Razzies. He was just a boy.

Yet, I implore you to ignore the bad. From the overabundance of testosterone to Lincoln Hawk's (Stallone) poignant, arm wrestling-centric life lessons, this is a true cult classic.

So sit back, take a Lost Highway Double Black IPA from Mother Road Brewing Co. over the top, and turn those hats around! I, the Thunderous Wizard (@WriterTLK), Capt. Cash, Chumpzilla, and Mayor McCheese are heading to Vegas to drive trucks and break arms!

This Week’s Segments:

• Introduction/Plot Breakdown – Best dad. Best arm wrestler. Best man to ever live. Lincoln Hawk! (00:00)
• Name the Movie to Feature this Song – Inspired by the Sammy Hagar classic, "Winner Takes It All," I challenge the crew to name the movie that each of these classic songs was written for or featured in. (1:04:24)
• Recommendations – We offer our picks for the week, and next up in our "Tango and Captain Cash" series: Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot. (1:13:45)

And, as always, hit us up on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram to check out all the interesting factoids—the banging soundtrack and more—from this week’s episode!

You can find this episode of Hops and Box Office Flops on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, Podbean, Spotify, Acast, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, and Amazon Music!

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