''The Main Event'' is a 1979 American

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...

romantic comedy film Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

starring

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers List ...

and

Ryan O'Neal Ryan O'Neal (born April 20, 1941) is an American actor and former boxer. He trained as an amateur boxer before beginning his career in acting in 1960. In 1964, he landed the role of Rodney Harrington on the ABC nighttime soap opera '' Peyton Place ...

, written by

Gail Parent Gail Parent (born August 12, 1940) is an American television screenwriter, producer, and author. Life and career Parent was born Gail Kostner in New York City, New York, the daughter of Ruth (née Goldberg) and Theodore Kostner, a Wall Street ...

, directed by

Howard Zieff Howard Buton Zieff (October 21, 1927 – February 22, 2009) (pronounced Zeef) was an American director, television commercial director, and advertising photographer. Early life Zieff was born to Jewish parents in Chicago, Illinois, then mov ...

, and produced by

Renée Missel Renee C. Missel (born 1947) is a Canadian-born film producer and former photojournalist who has been active since the 1970s. She is a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Motion Picture Academy, and serves as a judge f ...

and

Howard Rosenman Howard Rosenman (born February 1, 1945), also known as Zvi Howard Rosenman, is an American producer and motion picture executive. He specializes in producing romantic comedy films and documentary films. Some of his most popular productions in ...

. The film received negative reviews from critics, but was among the top 20 highest grossing films of the year at the box office. It was also the impetus for Streisand's first foray into

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

singing the Golden Globe-nominated theme song written by

Paul Jabara Paul Jabara, also known as Paul Frederick Jabara, (January 31, 1948 – September 29, 1992) was an American actor, singer, and songwriter of Lebanese ancestry, born in Brooklyn, New York. He wrote Donna Summer's Oscar-winning " Last Dance" from ...

and Bruce Roberts.

Plot

Perfume magnate Hillary Kramer (Streisand) loses her company and is financially ruined when her accountant embezzles from her and flees to South America. Among her few remaining assets, she finds a management contract with an inactive boxer, purchased as a tax

write-off A write-off is a reduction of the recognized value of something. In accounting, this is a recognition of the reduced or zero value of an asset. In income tax statements, this is a reduction of taxable income, as a recognition of certain expenses ...

. She decides to force Eddie "Kid Natural" Scanlon (Ryan O'Neal), who is now a driving instructor, back into the ring to recover her losses. Eddie thinks this will only get him killed, so he resists but relents. As Eddie's unconventional comeback progresses, he finds himself drawn into conflict and romance with his unlikely manager. Hillary attempts to train the Kid herself, although she displays a total ignorance of his sport. She reads a ‘how to’ book on boxing to Kid Natural while he practices in the ring. Finding a passage referring to footwork, she says, “I think that means kick him.” Hillary schemes to make a fortune by staging "the match that never was" with Hector Mantilla. Hector and Kid Natural were both disqualified years before at the

Pan Am Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

for misconduct before their match. Hector has since become a successful professional boxer. In the final scene, the Kid takes on Hector and is defeating him when Hillary suddenly realizes that if the Kid wins, their partnership will end and she will not see him again. Shockingly, she ends the match by

throwing in the towel A submission is a combat sports term for yielding to the opponent, and hence resulting in an immediate defeat. The submission – then also referred to as a "tap out" or "tapping out" – is often performed by visibly tapping the floor or the opp ...

, runs into the ring, declares her love for the Kid and kisses him as the credits begin to roll.

Main cast

as Hillary Kramer *

as Eddie "Kid Natural" Scanlon *

Paul Sand Paul Sand (born March 5, 1932) is an American actor and comedian. Background Sand was born Pablo Sanchez in Santa Monica, California, in 1932, the son of Ernest Rivera Sanchez, an aerospace tool designer, and Sonia Borodiansky (aka Sonia Stone) ...

as David *

Whitman Mayo Whitman Blount Mayo Jr. (November 15, 1930 – May 22, 2001) was an American actor, best known for his role as Grady Wilson on the 1970s television sitcom ''Sanford and Son''. Biography Early years Whitman Blount Mayo, Jr. was born in New Yor ...

as Percy *

Patti D'Arbanville Patricia D'Arbanville is an American actress known for her appearance in Andy Warhol projects. Career After ''Flesh'', D'Arbanville performed in Warhol's '' L'Amour'' (1973), and as the title character in the David Hamilton film '' Bilitis'' ...

as Donna *

Chu Chu Malave Edwin Malave (born August 4, 1950, New York City), better known as Chu Chu Malave, is a former professional boxer and an actor. Boxing career On February 23, 1970, at the age of 19, Malave, a two-time Golden New York Gloves champ, had his first ...

as Luis * Richard Lawson as Hector Mantilla * James Gregory as Gough

Production

The film was originally offered to Ryan O'Neal when

Goldie Hawn Goldie Jeanne Hawn (born November 21, 1945) is an American actress, dancer, producer, and singer. She rose to fame on the NBC sketch comedy program ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' (1968–1970), before going on to receive the Academy Award and Go ...

was going to star. Then the producers proposed

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...

to appear in the lead, but O'Neal refused. It was later learned that O'Neal and Ross had been in a brief relationship and had broken up acrimoniously.

Reception

Box office

''The Main Event'' was a box office success. It opened with grossed from 853 theaters in three days. It went on to gross $42.8 million, against a budget of $8 million. It was the 16th highest-grossing film of 1979.

Critical

Roger Ebert gave the film 2 stars out of 4 and called it "a

Meet Cute In film and television, a meet cute is a scene in which the two people who will form a future romantic couple meet for the first time, typically under unusual, humorous, or cute circumstances. This type of scene is a staple of romantic comedies, ...

from beginning to end, forced smiles, smarmy dialog and all. Barbra Streisand and Ryan O'Neal act so cute, indeed, that I was squirming."

Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who served as the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in ...

of ''The New York Times'' wrote "This sort of situation could only be funny if it's out of character, and it is out of character for Mr. O'Neal. The pushy cosmetics executive, however, seems to be an extension of the role played in real-life by Miss Streisand, who coproduced the movie, stars in it and seems to have ordered every close-up and line-reading. Miss Streisand has become a contradiction: she's too much without being enough." Dale Pollock of ''Variety'' called it "a film whose sum is way less than its parts," adding "Putting aside all of the ridiculous aspects of 'Main Event' (Streisand's glamorous wardrobe on a nickel-and-dime budget, the complete disregard for boxing rules and tradition, and the highly improbable ending), major disappointment is Streisand's apparent contentment to stay with a character she has now exhausted on the screen." Gene Siskel of the ''Chicago Tribune'' gave the film 3.5 stars out of 4 and wrote that Streisand "walks away with this film, and turns it into a romantic comedy acting lesson. She is as delightful here as she ever has been, and that includes ' Funny Girl' and a personal favorite, '

On A Clear Day You Can See Forever ''On a Clear Day You Can See Forever'' is a musical with music by Burton Lane and a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner based loosely on ''Berkeley Square'', written in 1926 by John L. Balderston. It concerns a woman who has ESP and has been re ...

'." Charles Champlin of the ''Los Angeles Times'' wrote of Streisand: "It is her first movie since ' A Star Is Born' and it is all hers. Every entrance, exit, composition and quip favors her, somewhat to the concealment of a suave and ingratiating performance by O'Neal, who really has become an amusing and debonair light comedy actor in a tradition not much honored in 'The Main Event.'" Gary Arnold of ''The Washington Post'' wrote "This premise looks remarkably unappealing on paper, and doesn't improve in the playing. New romantic comedies seem to be degenerating at the moment, and 'The Main Event' is nothing to rave about." David Ansen of ''Newsweek'' wrote "The stage is set for a knockabout romantic comedy, a sort of rolereversed '

Pat and Mike ''Pat and Mike'' is a 1952 American romantic comedy film starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. The movie was written by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin, and directed by George Cukor. Cukor directed '' The Philadelphia Story'' (1940) with H ...

.' What develops, however, is only fitfully amusing — and sometimes downright annoying".

Accolades

; Golden Globe Awards *

Best Original Song This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

(

and Bruce Roberts, for "

The Main Event/Fight "The Main Event/Fight" is a 1979 medley recorded by Barbra Streisand. The song is the title track and first and only single issued from the LP, ''The Main Event''. The album is the soundtrack for the movie, '' The Main Event'' starring Streisand ...

," nominated) ; People's Choice Awards, USA * Favorite Theme/Song from a Motion Picture , for "

," winner)

Soundtrack

In June 1979, a soundtrack was released on

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl m ...

cassette Cassette may refer to: Technology * Cassette tape (or ''musicassette'', ''audio cassette'', ''cassette tape'', or ''tape''), a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback ** Cassette single (or "Cassingle"), a music single in th ...

and

8-track tape The 8-track tape (formally Stereo 8; commonly called eight-track cartridge, eight-track tape, and eight-track) is a magnetic tape sound recording technology that was popular from the mid-1960s to the early 1980s, when the compact cassette, wh ...

. It peaked at #20 on ''Billboard''s Top 200 album chart and was certified gold. In October 1993, it was released on CD. The soundtrack contains an extended version of "The Main Event/Fight", containing a version which runs 11:39, an edited and slightly altered version at 4:54 (released as the single that hit number three on the U.S. pop charts and certified gold and number five in Canada), and a ballad version titled simply "The Main Event" as it omits the "Fight" parts. A bootleg of the recording sessions for the title song exists with Streisand commenting on the vocal challenges the song contains. A DJ-only promo 12" single was released for "The Main Event/Fight" as well as a 7" promo that featured a unique shorter 3:59 version backed with the single release. ; Track listing # "

" – Barbra Streisand # "The Body Shop" – Michalski and Ooversteen # "The Main Event/Fight" (short version) – Barbra Streisand # "Copeland Meets the Coasters/ Get a Job" – Michael Melvoin # "

Big Girls Don't Cry Big Girls Don't Cry may refer to: Music * ''Big Girls Don't Cry'' (Lynn Anderson album), 1968 * ''Big Girls Don't Cry'' (The Weather Girls album), 1986 * "Big Girls Don't Cry" (Fergie song), 2007 * "Big Girls Don't Cry" (The Four Seasons song), ...

" – Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons # "It's Your Foot Again" – Michael Melvoin # "Angry Eyes" –

Loggins and Messina Loggins and Messina was an American rock- pop duo consisting of Kenny Loggins and Jim Messina, who achieved their success in the early to mid-1970s. Among their well-known songs are "Danny's Song", "House at Pooh Corner", and "Your Mama Don't D ...

# "I'd Clean a Fish for You" – Michael Melvoin # "The Main Event" (ballad) – Barbra Streisand

Charts

Certifications

References

External links

* * *
Barbra Streisand Archives: Records/The Main Event Soundtrack Album

{{DEFAULTSORT:Main Event, The 1970s American films 1979 films 1979 romantic comedy films 1970s sports comedy films American boxing films American romantic comedy films American sports comedy films 1970s English-language films Films directed by Howard Zieff Warner Bros. films First Artists films Barwood Films films Films produced by Jon Peters