No Contest

This might be the poster child for 90's direct-to-video action flicks or at least a frontrunner. A 'Die Hard' clone with a high-rise beauty pageant starring Shannon Tweed, Andrew Dice Clay, Robert Davi and Roddy Piper. Never will you see a cast list like this ever again. Plus Toronto Canada passing as America, armed bracelet bombs, Shannon Tweed doing martial arts and shockingly no boobs at all.

There's not a lot of substance to talk about, but this flick wasn't nearly as painful as I was expecting it to be. It feels like it had a respectful budget and there were some bursts of action. Canadian actor Nicholas Campbell plays another good slimeball and head of the police response is an actor from Death Wish 4 who gets killed with an ice pick.

If you strip away the familiar faces this film would lose a lot of its charm. Dice gets to chew the scenery and makes for a decent villain. Tweed who made her name in the erotic thriller genre gets to flex the action muscle. Robert Davi is mostly inactive, but gets a character moment or two while Piper is in early form here as a b movie tuff.

The story is silly, stupid but you know that. A hostage taking scenario for profit with some lazy latched on politics and revenge angle. If you wanna take a trip down memory lane or enjoy low level 90's action with some known names, 'No Contest' makes for a half hearted fun view.

At first I was surprise that I never saw this Shannon Tweed flick during the Skinemax days, than I realized that there's no nudity in it. My lost, as the movie was entertaining to watch.

It's Die Hard at a beauty pageant as Shannon Tweed plays an once popular action star hosting the Ms. Galaxy pageant when a crew of kidnappers take the place hostage.

I've seen Shannon Tweed do a few kicks in her movies before, but she goes all out in this one trying to be Dolph Lundgren only with smaller boobs. She kicks some ass, she fires the gun and she goes after the bad guy. However you feel about female action stars (I'm definitely all for it), I thought the movie did a spectacular job with it and it was nothing but fun to watch.

Another highlight of the flick was Andrew Dice Clay who lead the kidnappers. It's like he took the clichés of all best movie villains and rolled it into one. He was the ultimate bad ass and the ultimate parody all at the same time, and it just put a huge grin on my face watching him.

It's a low budget b-action flick plan and simple, and it works for your amusement. You can catch the film on you tube like I did.

Many would consider this to be a ripoff of Die Hard, but other than locations and antagonist plotting, "No Contest" has a completely different mood. Firstly the primary protagonist is largely unwillingly and frightened, and Shannon Tweed is not terrible in giving a sense of realism to it. Secondly the villains are hilariously captivating, particularly Roddy Piper and Nicholas Campbell as henchmen with over the top cheesy dialogue.

The cinematography is also surprisingly good with competent angling and rendering. Overall it's actually fairly entertaining although it does run out of energy and ideas by the end.

Andrew Dice Clay and Shannon Tweed star in this film that is a action film, but like dice's Ford Fairlane, is a funny film past all of it's action. Tweed and Dice make a good pair as the heroine and villain. Not exactly the best acting, and no nudity from Tweed made me feel bad, but what can you do. Because with dice (in a action film so bad it is a hilarious comedy) you can't loose. A-

No Contest (1994) was a strange brew of a movie. This film starred the likes of Shannon Tweed, Andrew "Dice" Clay, Roddy Piper and Robert Davi. This film was a total cheese fest from the beginning until the end. A DIE-HARD rip-off that totally succeeds on it's own. Andrew "Dice" Clay stars as a desperate man who's henchmen (including his right-hand man Roddy Piper) storm a high ride building and holds it's occupants hostage. Shannon Tweed co-stars as a woman who launches her own rescue team from the inside. Her outside contact is a crippled Robert Davi.

Mnay questions are raised in this film. Why does the "Dice Man" go to such a great length to hold these people hostage? Will the local authorities save the day? Can Ms. Tweed kick butt and takes names? How does Robert Davi figure into the flow of the movie? Does Roddy Piper get to show off his nut-case side again? To find out the answers to these questions you'll have to watch NO CONTEST.

Not bad for a direct-to-video-film. I found this movie to be highly entertaining and dismissed for no apparent reason. People please remember it's supposed to be bad and these actors don't take themselves seriously at all.

Highly recommended.