Dir. by Michael W. Watkins - 1 hr. 40 min.
Official Trailer
by Clayton Hollifield
This is a movie that you'll likely enjoy much more if you don't have any real expectations going in. And certainly, when you've got a WWE Studios movie, starring a professional wrestler (The Big Show), and it's a comedy, odds are that you're going to get a somewhat low-brow formula movie. I've seen nearly all the movies that WWE Studios have put out, and it's safe to say that they're not going to reinvent the wheel. This is a continuation of their track record.
Big Show's Walter Krunk is 35 and living in an orphanage. A series of events puts him on the road with a sleazy fight promoter and a reformed dancer acting as his chaperon, sort of. Yes, it's another "save the house" movie (in this case, the orphanage)! Walter has to learn how to fight on the fly, in a series of dubious pseudo-MMA matches, culminating in a big fight in New Orleans. One of the things I actually liked about the movie is that it didn't pretend that it was in a low-budget version of the UFC. I have no idea what the rules of the fights were, and I love the idea that MMA purists will get bent out of shape because some of the fighters were wearing pro wrestling boots and the fighters were throwing wrestling punches instead of strikes - purists of any stripe are generally pretty boring, and should be angered at every opportunity.
The other main pleasure of "Knucklehead" is the Big Show. He's one funny dude, and threw himself into the acting more than I figured he would. If you've watched him as a wrestler (or on a talk show, or wherever you might have seen him), you'd expect that was a distinct possibility. It was a pleasant relief that he managed to carry the lead role just fine, and I'd definitely check out whatever movie he does next.
2.5 / 5 - DVD
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