MovieChat Forums > The Main Event (1979) Discussion > A pretty good, under-rated film

A pretty good, under-rated film

posted 14 years ago by tomtkh
6 replies | jump to latest

I really liked this film, I thought it was not only funny, but it was good to see Ryan in a regular-guy type of role, as opposed to his nerdy kinda role in "What's Up Doc?" (which is one of my FAVORITE movies!) I admit the chemistry wasn't quite there between Barbra and Ryan like it was in "What's Up Doc?" but the film is still well written and funny. I love Barbra's line after Ryan complains about the debt and "we made love last night" and she says "...and that cost me $47,000???" in that typical Barbra accent!
This was one of the first movies to have LONG ending credits. Before this, ending credits were only a few seconds long, not a few minutes.

[–] WarpedRecord 13 years ago

As far as disco boxing movies go, this is one of the better ones. It's definitely a throwback to the screwball comedies of the '40s, though it feels a lot more '70s than the Bogdanovich films you mentioned. I miss this kind of silly fun at the movies.

And you're right about the credits. I wonder what were the major influences in flopping the credits from a few screens at the beginning of the film to a mini-movie in themselves at the end? I suspect a lot of had to do with effects-heavy films like "Star Wars" and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" -- and probably some union pressure.

[–] tomtkh 13 years ago

Yes, and WHY do ALL movies have to have a solid black background with the credits rolling on and on and on?? There are RARE exceptions, but most of them are the same!!
>:O

[–] WarpedRecord 13 years ago

Indeed. As a music fan, I also hate that they put the music credits right before the very end, generally in two or three columns, with the performer several lines below the song title (generally after the songwriter and publisher).

Even with freezing DVDs, I find these hard to read. The best boys, key grips and gaffers (whatever they are) get their own line, but the music credits are a muddled mess. I just want to know who did what song, and it's a chore to find it.

[–] tomtkh 13 years ago

It's because the Hollywood people are afraid to think outside the box, and do something creative with closing credits. It may be a union thing to cram all those credits in, but almost EVERY movie follows the same pattern, and yes music credits are pretty much always at the end!!
>: o

[–] spookyrat1 10 years ago

As far as disco boxing movies go, this is one of the better ones.

Interesting sub-genre.

It was a pretty big success in its day. I'm kind of surprised they never did any more together after this one.

[–] WarpedRecord 10 years ago

I would have loved to have seen another Streisand-O'Neal film. They were also good together in "What's Up, Doc?"