Raw Deal

Inarguably lesser Schwarzenegger, Flashback Friday takes us 40 years to 1986's Raw Deal when Hollywood was still struggling with turning the former bodybuilder into a consistent blockbuster action star. Perhaps not surprisingly, throwing Arnold Schwarzenegger into the middle of a crime drama as a blackballed cop turned small town sheriff working undercover with the mob, with no sense of humor given the absurdity of such an idea, isn't the most believable of scenarios.

The film struggles between its attempts to balance the more serious script and a crazy action sequences necessary for a Schwarzenegger film, before eventually throwing in the towel and letting Schwarzenegger kill as many bad guys as director John Irvin can fit on the screen for its finale.

For any sane casting director, I can't imagine Schwarzenegger was the first choice for the role. Years later Kindergarten Cop worked because it understood how ridiculous Arnold was as an undercover cop. Raw Deal, while attempting to cover him in suits to downplay his size, wants us to take the idea of this 6′2″ 240lb. Austrian with a heavy accent somehow not standing out like a sore thumb in every possible situation he finds himself.

There are some other familiar faces on hand including Robert Davi, Darren McGavin, and Ed Lauter with Kathryn Harrold cast as the main love interest, but no one was lauding this on their resume. While the film made money, it was far from the hit the studio expected lacking the sheer dumb fun of Commando (also released that same year). The good news for Arnold was the next year would deliver both Predator and The Running Man getting him back on track.

• Title: Raw Deal
• IMDb: link