Review of Pulling John (2009) by Mike C — 17 Jan 2012

Really? Someone made arm wrestling interesting? This little 72 minute documentary carries a 7.5 rating on imdb. Basically, it's the tale of three arm wrestling greats: one legend and two big guys trying to beat him. Like some other documentaries, namely King of Kong, it's a good character pitted against a less-likable one. That makes for good drama. Regardless, I enjoy any story with passion. It's clear that many people around the world have a passion for arm wrestling.

John Brzenk is the legend. He was the world champ for more than two decades I think. Pretty impressive to be world champ at anything, especially when he's outsized. And by the looks of him, you'd never guess he was known worldwide for this ability. When he was 18, took on an airline mechanic job that he kept all those years so he could fly free to competitions. How effing great is that!?

The other two guys are pretty burly. The Russian seems pretty cool. The American is basically a macho idiot. He's not completely unlikable because he grew up in shit, but he's quite a hot head. Either way, great drama in the world championships. Who will win!? I found myself cheering along quite a bit and am now looking forward to the event in the Olympics (I very nearly typed 2010 Olympics thinking those were coming up, but heck it must be 2014. I will have forgotten by then).