Successful soccer player Rod Turner spirals into drunken self-pity until he develops a friendship with an inspirational orphan and a beautiful singer. Learning from them what truly matters in life, Rod regroups and returns to form.
USA
UK
UK
USA
The quintessential sports British story. A cold but valiant lead looking for a second chance amidst addiction and rocky romance. Very lovely.
Neil Leifer’s British drama in which a has-been, alcoholic former soccer star (Ian McShane) is determined to make a comeback with the help of his ex-girlfriend (Suzanne Somers).
The story concerns an orphan and a singer (Suzanne Somers) who assist an alcoholic previous soccer star (Ian McShane) locate the asset he needs to make a return.
Ian McShane gives an unconvincing performance in his part as Rod Turner, the former soccer star who shows no determination in attempting to make a comeback, which is incredibly annoying, while Suzanne Somers offers no support as Cloudy Martin, rather more interested in singing.
Damian and Cary Elwes are two disco dancers, while the best thing about the movie is John Motson’s commentary –…
Ian McShane is a very good actor trapped in a very bad movie. He phones in his performance, not that the rotten script gives him much to work with. I've never thought much of Suzanne Somers and here she shows that she can't sing well, she can't dance well and she can't act well.....a bizarre kind of triple threat!
"He plays for the glory, he plays for the feeling inside."
Ridiculously cheesy late 70s romp from the nonsensical pen of the late Jackie Collins that mixes football with the music industry and stars Ian McShane, Paul Nicholas, Adam Faith and Suzanne Somers.
Collins does a cut and paste job of every scandalous headline from the sports pages to create the George Best like Rod Turner (McShane) a washed up drunk of a footballer whose fall from grace has sent him plummeting to the depths of the lower divisions and their churned up mud splattered pitches on a season of harsh unforgiving wintry Saturdays. That is until rock star club chairman Clint Simon (Paul Nicholas, currently enjoying a resurgence as…
Top Flight Time Machine sent me here…..
Cliched. Trashy. Minimal story with zero realism. Ill-judged singing scenes. Yet….. I can’t say I didn’t enjoy it 😂
A prime piece of late 1970s' fluff starring Ian McShane as a (sort of) George Best character and Paul Nicholas as a wealthy pop star who has bought into a football club (I'm guessing this part of the film was inspired by Elton John's involvement with Watford FC). Written by renown football expert Jackie Collins, and also starring Suzanne Somers as Cloudy, the type of female character name you could only get in a film written by Jackie Collins ...with Alan Lake in all his medallion man glory, who appears to have done more lines offscreen than he gets onscreen.
Whereas most movies with Jackie Collins' name attached to them were ubiquitous during the VHS era (especially The Stud and The Bitch) this one mysteriously never made it to video in the UK, but has been dusted off a few times recently by Talking Pictures TV.
I used to be addicted to the trashy softcore romance novels about the rich and famous written by Jackie Collins; along with Jilly Cooper's country squires these were the poster boys of forbidden fantasy.
This film takes her original story about a washed-up footballer who drinks too much and mixes him with a varied cocktail of bimbos and pop star investors in a setting as grimy and unpolished as the poverty league pitches on which our 'hero' (a hugely attractive Ian McShane, himself the son of a professional in the beautiful game) finds himself kicking a ball on a miserable weekend afternoon.
The trouble is, nothing rings true in the story or the acting. Glynis Barber is…
Drunken, burnt out premier league footballer trying to make a comeback, with the assistance of a pop star who just happens to own a football team (Saints). Cue lots of trashy musical interludes and football action .Ian Mcshane channels his inner George Best in what can only be described as Match Of The Day meets Saturday Night Fever, its a total mess but I simply had to see it, as its one of those forgotten films from the 70s no one talks about. The diabolical soundtrack has to be heard to be believed.
Appalling music and poor cinematography let this down unnecessarily. There are actually more than a few good scenes, great period feel, and Faith and McShane are really very good actors in their own way. The script is fairly corny, yes, but it’s still an enjoyable snapshot of the U.K. then. Alan Lake is brilliant, the music exceedingly bad.
The training montage set to twee disco pap perfectly encapsulates the problem when your writer doesn't understand or like football and your director is not one.
Aww, first thing he ever did but HE ONLY PLAYS A DISCO DANCER FOR FUCK SAKE!?!? WHY BOTHER? UGH.
