Image credit: The Running Man, 1987
Greetings CinemaSips readers! This post has been guest-written by the semi-sophisticated gentleman at Splotch!™ The opinions expressed herein may not necessarily reflect those of Cinema Sips or its affiliates.
Let me tell you some of the things I love about The Running Man (DVD/Download).
This movie really knows how to get the party started. Arnold Schwarzenegger refuses to blow up some rioters, which leads to a military-grade fistfight in a flying helicopter with no doors! It’s insane. And it only gets better. Arnold (The Butcher of Bakersfield) is sent to prison for a crime he didn’t commit. But nobody’s ever built a prison that can hold the Governator. He stays almost long enough for the opening credits, but there aren’t enough faces to punch. So he leaves prison, meets the love of his life, goes to the airport, and somehow ends up on a TV game show. (I know, it sounds too good to be true.) As it turns out, the game show is the perfect vehicle for Arnold to show off his unparalleled mastery of the one-liner.
Here are some other things I love about The Running Man:
- Dystopian Hawaiian shirt (Arnold’s second worst look ever)
- A Danish strongman named Sven plays a strong Danish man named Sven
- The original host of Family Feud watches an old lady drop the F bomb on live TV
- Professor Tanaka (AKA the butler from PeeWee’s Big Adventure) plays hockey
- Cigar-chomping Schwarzenegger in a beard and suspenders (his best look ever)
- Frank Zappa’s son and the drummer from Fleetwood Mac make a great team
- A Venezuelan singer squares off against an electrified stalker in tighty whities
There’s so much I can say about this movie, I feel like I’ve just barely scratched the surface. The deeper you dig, the deeper it goes. But in the interest of brevity, let’s get to the drink.
The Plain Zero
2 oz silver tequila
1 oz Maraschino Liqueur
1 oz lime juice
Luxardo Maraschino cherries, in syrup
Fill a glass with crushed ice. Put the boozy stuff in about halfway. Drizzle cherry syrup on top. Look into the nearest camera and yell “NOW PLAIN ZERO!”
I hope you enjoy this movie as much as I do. And if you need more help living the Semi-Sophisticated Life, head over to Splotch!
Cinema Sips 