Diggstown Reviews

Michael Ritchie's DIGGSTOWN attempts to blend the boxing excitement of the ROCKY series with the comic con man shenanigans of THE STING. When the screenplay deals with matters outside the ring, however, the film can't compete with its models. Con man Gabriel Caine (James Woods), convicted of peddling phony fine art, continues to do business from behind bars in a Georgia prison. Caine directs the prison's boxing matches and helps convicts escape. Caine sends his partner Fitz (Oliver Platt) to a small Southern community called Diggstown, where he promptly cheats locals by pretending to be a rube and then winning big at cards and pool. After Caine is released from jail, to the chagrin of his enemy, Warden Bates (Marshall Bell), he joins Fitz and tangles with John Gillon (Bruce Dern), a ruthless businessman who owns all of Diggstown's land. Caine bets Gillon that his boxer "Honey" Roy Palmer (Louis Gossett, Jr.) can defeat any ten of Diggstown's top male fighters in a twenty-four-hour period. The major challenge for Caine, however, is convincing forty-eight-year-old, washed-up Palmer to step again into the ring. Although he mistrusts Caine, Palmer eventually agrees to the scheme. Caine gets financial backing from mobster Victor Corsini (Orestes Matacena) in his bet with Gillon. Meanwhile, he also romances Emily Forrester (Heather Graham), the beautiful sister of a boxer convict Caine befriended in jail. As Palmer trains, he is inspired by Charles Macum Diggs (Wilhelm Von Homburg), the wheelchair-bound, mute former pugilist the town is named after. When the fights commence, however, Gillon has plenty of aces up his sleeve, including Hammerhead Hagan (Willie Green), the only opponent to have ever defeated Palmer in his pro career. The fighter valiantly beats Hagan and eight others, but then Gillon, with the help of Warden Bates, brings out an awesome fighter from Caine's former jail. Caine gives a signal, however, and the fighter lets Palmer win. Boxing scenes in movies usually can't lose, and DIGGSTOWN delivers the goods in a loud, fast, frenetic style. Its director, Michael Ritchie, has shown skill with such sports movies as THE BAD NEWS BEARS and SEMI TOUGH. Since DIGGSTOWN's screenplay, by Steven McKay, is poor, Ritchie has the right idea: speed past the cliches as quickly as possible, getting to the more dynamic fight scenes. He seems to shoot from every kind of angle, flashing from the fight, to the bell, to the crowd, to Caine, to Palmer and to Gillon. It's dizzying, yet effective. Unfortunately, Ritchie's technique can't hide the film's many flaws. Most importantly, Woods's jumpy acting makes it impossible for you to enjoy his character's cons. Dressed in "Miami Vice"-style blazers, loafers and shades, he can hardly stand still. And Woods can't be sympathetic, even when the screenplay forces him into gooey scenes with Heather Graham, who plays the most obvious of love interests (and who inexplicably disappears near the end of the movie). Gossett doesn't fare much better--he's obviously too old and out-of-shape for the part. You find yourself staring at his little paunch. Meanwhile, Dern is so oily he might as well be playing Woods's part. The movie's most glaring problem, however, is the screenplay. One of its many idiocies shows Palmer's glimpses of Charles Diggs, who has become a vegetable due to Gillon's chicanery. Near the end, when it looks as though Palmer will lose, he spots Diggs in the stands. If you don't think Diggs's suddenly alive look will propel Palmer to victory, you've seen very few films. And whenever screenwriter McKay needs a cheap laugh, he gives Woods a dick joke. Woods is actually most funny when he stands quietly in a long-sleeved, droopy sweater, listening to Gossett rant and rave. But McKay is intent on overwriting. Bursts of important plot material will suddenly appear as dialogue in an action scene. You can't concentrate on what's happening. Video watchers may want to fast-forward to the boxing scenes; otherwise, DIGGSTOWN is a bust. (Violence, profanity, adult situations.)