If you take a look at the reviews collected Rotten tomatoes For 2002’s “Grand Champion,” you’ll see a quote from Jeff Strickler’s Minneapolis Star Tribune review that says, “This low-key family drama is so cheesy that its title character is named Hokey.” Is that title character actually a calf, that is actually called Hokey? Why? Well, that would require actually watching the film, which is almost impossible unless you want to buy this ill-fated family film on DVD. “Grand Champion” has essentially become lost media, but unlike the numerous Films that are only available on VHS and are well worth seeingThat doesn’t sound good at all.
Considering we’re in the streaming age, where almost everything ever made is right at your fingertips, it should tell you something about how cheesy “Grand Champion” actually is that it’s been around since its humble DVD release -Publication is no longer available. The Amazon product page describes it as “the story of a courageous boy named Buddy and his prize calf Hokey” as they climb the ranks of the Texas stock fairs to “ultimately win the coveted title of grand champion”: “Grand Champion.” “would have gone down in Hollywood history if it hadn’t starred stars like Bruce Willis and Julia Roberts.
Yes, Grand Champion, with a score of 20% based on five reviews Rotten tomatoesfeatures appearances from two of the biggest stars of all time – and at the height of their popularity. How? Why? Does this mean we actually have to watch “Grand Champion”? Allow me to explain.
Who do Willis and Roberts actually play in Grand Champion?
Even the one “fresh” rating for “Grand Champion” on Rotten Tomatoes comes from a review summed up with the phrase, “You won’t wish you could get your money back.” Well, that’s something, I suppose to. Other than that, there isn’t much information available about this film. According to reviews, the story actually sees poor old Hokey named the titular Grand Champ, only for Jacob Fisher’s Buddy to find out that this essentially means his beloved cow has been given a one-way ride to the slaughterhouse. Sounds like good old family fare, doesn’t it?
All of this only serves to make Grand Champion one of the most fascinating forgotten films, especially because it somehow stars Bruce Willis and Julia Roberts. The real stars of this film are George Strait, Fisher and Emma Roberts, the former apparently becoming a pretty damn successful country star. Meanwhile, Emma Roberts continues to work to this day and has built up a pretty good filmography, while Fisher stopped acting in 2007 (according to him). IMDb Page). But there’s no doubt that “Grand Champion” isn’t one of these three people’s finest moments, which further raises the question of how and why Willis and Julia Roberts are in it.
The two stars can be seen in the picture Trailer for the film, which suggests that Roberts is playing an affable receptionist named Jolene – which, considering she’s Emma Roberts’ aunt, makes at least some sense. As for Willis, maybe he’s playing the villain? It’s not entirely clear, but at one point Buddy says that Mr. Blandford will take Buddy home, suggesting that Willis’ character is the one who wants to feed Hokey through the meat grinder. But at the end of the trailer, Willis is seen telling Buddy to bring the damn cow home, so who knows.
Willis and Roberts were at the peak of their careers
While Julia Roberts appears to have had a cameo in Grand Champion, Bruce Willis appears to have at least a somewhat significant role as the guy who takes poor hokey from Buddy – which, one would assume, would give the producers every right would give to keep his name on the poster. Instead, neither of these two stars’ names appear, which is probably for the best.
In 2002, Willis had not yet entered the phase of his career where he starred in one mediocre action thriller after another, and had recently starred in this film M. Night Shyamalan’s “Unbreakable” – a superhero film that was way ahead of its time. Roberts’ previous work was 2001’s Ocean’s Eleven. Funnily enough, Willis regretted turning down the role of villain in this George Clooney-directed adventurein which he and Roberts could work together in a film that, if they get on each other’s nerves, is probably slightly better than “Grand Champion.” Anyway, the point is that both Willis and Roberts were truly at their best in 2002, which makes their performances in this lost children’s film even more inexplicable.
Two years after “Grand Champion” The pair reunited in 2004’s “Ocean’s Twelve.” in which Willis appeared in a cameo role as himself in a great little scene in which Roberts also played a character in the role of Julia Roberts. As confusing as that may sound, you can bet it was a lot better than the pair’s contributions to Grand Champion, although it may be unfair to say that since you haven’t seen the film yet. Will I buy the DVD to find out the truth? NO.
