So what do you get when a company that specializes in providing scripted "sports entertainment" decides to create a heartwarming comedy revolving around orphans and mixed martial arts? You get Knucklehead, World Wrestling Entertainment's latest attempt to display one of their "superstars" (this time Paul "The Big Show" Wight) in a feature film.
Wight stars as Walter Krunk, a 35 year-old orphan who never left the orphanage run by Sister Francesca (Wendy Malick), staying on as a handyman and role-model for the boys in the nun's care. When he accidentally sets fire to the orphanage's kitchen Walter joins up with Eddie Sullivan (Mark Feuerstein), a washed-up fight promoter, looking to pay off an outstanding debt to crooked promoter Memphis Earl (Dennis Farrina). Eddie and Walter travel along the amateur fighting circuit in order to raise money for the orphanage. They're joined by Mary (Melora Hardin), one of the orphans' caretakers, who has been sent to keep an eye on Eddie.
Knucklehead is a very predictable movie. The script (by the writers of Delta Farce, with some help from Adam Rifkin) tries very hard to be charming and funny and fails at both. The humor relies heavily on poorly timed bodily humor and flat one-liners. There is one somewhat funny sequence buried in the middle of the film, but it isn't really worth sitting through the rest of the movie for.
The cast is for the most part competent, working fairly well with the poor material that they are given. Wight shows potential for future comedic roles. I'd like to see what he can do with better material. The only actor that really seemed out of place was Feuerstein, who seems to be trying far too hard to be funny.
Overall Knucklehead isn't really worth seeing. It's poorly written and poorly paced. Even die-hard WWE fans will be scratch their heads and wonder why they bothered.
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