Released in 1984, the film stars Jack Howitzer as Bruno, a washed up alcoholic and former push-up champion who now works as an insurance man. His fall from grace has caused his first wife to leave him for a tennis coach and his son Timmy no longer shows him respect. Bruno's current wife has also left him (though she later returns to his side, which Timmy claims is to "bang [Bruno] for coke money"). In order to regain the respect of his son, Bruno begins training hard in order to regain fitness and represent the United States in a push-up contest being held in Tokyo, where his opponent is a Russian man representing the "Collective System of Oppression" (Soviet Union).