Midnight Sting [Diggstown] (1992, James Woods, Louis Gossett Jr, Bruce Dern) – Classic Movie Review 10,036

Director Michael Ritchie’s 1992 Midnight Sting [Diggstown] stars James Woods as Gabriel Caine, a conman fresh out of jail who gets middle-aged prize-fighter ‘Honey’ Roy Palmer (Louis Gossett Jr) to help him win a bet with mean, scheming boxing-hall owner John Gillon (Bruce Dern), boss of a boxing-mad town called Diggstown.

Steven McKay’s clumsy script is an attempt to mix Rocky with The Sting, but alas there is far too much boxing and far too little sting. You wait for the scam of the title and, when it eventually comes, it is obvious and you are past caring.

The main problem, apart from the thinness of the yarn, is that, although it does have a sense of humour, it is an unpleasant, sadistic one. On the plus side are three very competent star performances, with Dern stealing the show, and a useful bunch of character actors, including Oliver Platt, Thomas Wilson Brown, Heather Graham, Randall ‘Tex’ Cobb and Diane Davis.

McKay’s script is based on Leonard Wise’s novel The Diggstown Ringers.

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 10,036

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