Stay Hungry

Craig Blake is a wealthy young man in Birmingham, Alabama, who has little interest in the family business he has inherited. A corrupt businessman recruits him to act as a front and buy a small gym called the Olympic, the last property standing in the way of a redevelopment deal. Once inside, Craig befriends the weightlifter Joe Santo, who is training for a bodybuilding title, and Mary Tate Farnsworth, who works at the gym. His attachment to them makes him want to withdraw from the scheme, and the dispute over the property turns hostile, leading to a fight at the gym and a confrontation at a bodybuilding competition.

Bob Rafelson directed and co-wrote the film with Charles Gaines, and it sits between Five Easy Pieces and The Postman Always Rings Twice in the seven features he directed. The cast includes Jeff Bridges, Sally Field and Arnold Schwarzenegger as Joe Santo, alongside R. G. Armstrong, Robert Englund and Helena Kallianiotes among 42 credited performers. It was produced by Harold Schneider and Rafelson for United Artists and Outov Productions.

The film cost about 5 million dollars and returned roughly 25 million worldwide. On IMDb it holds 5.6 out of 10 from around 5,600 votes, and on TMDB 5.6 out of 10 from a much smaller group of voters, while a critics' rating stands at 6.4 out of 10 from 16 reviews, slightly above the scores audiences give.