Stay Hungry Movie Review

Jeff Bridges plays a wealthy real estate magnate tasked with evicting the employees of a local gym so he and his pals can raze the city block. This setup doesn't sound like much -- but Bob Rafelson's quirky production is difficult to resist, thanks to lively performances by Sally Field and a young Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Rafelson, who's lately been making films with titles like Tales of Erotica and Porn.com (the latter starring himself), knows how to put the right amount of oddball perversion into his movie. Bridges and Field (she's the manager of the gym) quickly start a torrid affair, which distracts from Bridges' ability to foreclose on the property. When Arnie appears, the setting morphs into the "Mr. Universe" competition as backdrop; the final scene of bodybuilders posing to homeless people on the street is priceless and worth the cost of a rental alone.

Unfortunately, amid all the chaos and silliness, the story gets a little muddy. Once Rafelson's camera gets sucked into the quest for Mr. Universe, the compelling part of the film -- the romance between the stuffy Bridges and the nutty, somewhat trashy Field -- gets lost. If you want to watch Arnold lift weights, oil up, and pose, you can check out Pumping Iron.

All told this is a capable effort, though now dated and ultimately a bit baffling.

Rafelson, Bridges, and Field offer a joint commentary track on the new (and long awaited) DVD.