Eye Candy #36 - "Raw Deal"

Raw Deal: Back when we could rely on the Governator to provide us reels and reels of darn-near mindless violence, “Raw Deal” was one of his first post-Conan films, along with “Commando” that showcased him on the cusp of the greatness that “Predator“, “Red Heat”, and other films would display. Here he’s an ex-FBI agent turned small-town sheriff (and by “small town”, we mean like Hazzard County, Georgia) who is hauled back into the game to exact some revenge for an old friend (played by Darren McGavin, under a terrible, terrible mustache). He goes undercover with the mob as a leg-breaker in Chicago to get close to those responsible. You just have to miss the 1980’s - back when we had syrupy pop soundtracks, synthesizer-laden score, gangs of criminals all wearing sports coats and sneakers, really bad acting, really bad hair. And it’s saying something when Arnold is actually one of the better actors in the film. There are some guys here chewing scenery (like Sam Wanamaker as mob boss Luigi Patrovita, who is just dreadful). We’ve also got some old character actor stalwarts like Robert Davi, Ed Lauter, Steven Hill (“Law and Order” seems so far, far away watching this), Joe Regalbuto, Sven-Ole “Moley” Thorsen. Has not aged well, and while I love some of other films of director John Irvin (“Hamburger Hill” and “The Dogs of War”, for two of them), “Raw Deal” is not the gem of his resume. It looks cheap, just a shade or two more expensive than TV episodes of the time, with poorly staged action sequences and criminal villains so dumb it’s a wonder they were ever a threat to anyone anyway. Woodchuck sez, “For nostalgia purposes only. Or if it’s really cheap.”