Kevin Waldorf

In 1987, there were two movies that I saw that had a real impact upon me. One was Children of a Lesser God, and the other Over The Top. Born in Long Beach, California and living in the UK at the time. I had been thinking for some time that would like to return to the US and take a look. I wanted placenames on documents and passports to become real places where I had ridden the buses, walked the streets and talked with people. Having been to see these two movies, I bought a plane ticket to Los Angeles and planned my trip. The word that I heard so often in reviews of Over The Top is 'cheesy'. But in the movie, what we see is a believable portrayal of real human emotions, especially in the truck. Feelings understandably run high. What's cheesy about real human emotions, between a young lad and his estranged father. My own parents divorced virtually as I was being born. Family mess, and my mother chased my father to Australia to regain custody of my sister. The film raises questions of who lost what, what were the consequences, and how did life proceed afterwards. In court, my mother was awarded custody of both me and my sister, and my father was banned from seeing the children. Again, who lost what, and what were the consequences? There were only two occasions when I saw my father, at age 19 and again at age 29. Spoke to him by phone many times, but it is not the same thing. He died of cancer in 2007. Had an email from my half-sister Mei Ling on the day he died, and she said "He wished he had been part of your life". I don't think I will ever let go of that. I wish that I had had a relationship with my father like the one between Lincoln and Michael on screen. The way that love grows and what it becomes can be so unpredictable. Online I have read about Stallone's unwillingness to take part in the movie. But I think that he turns in a great performance, as does David Mendenhall as Michael. Along the way, we meet colorful characters like Bull Hurley, played by Rick Zumwalt. During the armwrestling tournament, we meet a host of colorful characters and we hear a great 1980s soundtrack, songs like Gypsy Soul, In This Country and Take It Higher. The are greater movies, but they can wait. Enjoy this one for now.