Cinderella Man [Region 2]
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DVD Reviews of Cinderella Man [Region 2]
DVD Review: "You're the champion of my heart, James J. Braddock"
Summary: 4 Stars
Barring the above, groan-inducing quote, this movie is very good.
"Cinderella Man," Ron Howard's latest directorial work featuring the acting talents of A-List celebrities Russel Crowe, Renee Zellwegger and Paul Giamatti, purports to be the true-to-life videography of the life of boxing's former world heavyweight champion, James J. Braddock.
The basic formula of this story (young hero rises to the top, suffers a series of agonizing setbacks which batter his body but build his character, has a second chance at redemption, and succeeds -- and inspires others in the process -- despite being the underdog), is neither new nor creative, however it succeeds in its main goal of pure entertainment.
The movie opens with the movie's main protagonist, a 23-year old James J. Braddock winning a 1928 fight in defense of his light-heavyweight title, and then triumphantly returning home in company of his manager (portrayed by Paul Giamatti, in a superb performance) via swank NYC Manhattan cab to his even swankier house (swanky, despite being in 'Jersey, a city that Braddock himself criticizes as being "smelly" in the movie). He is met there by his wife Mae (portrayed by Renee Zelwegger) and their children in a scene that demonstrates that Jim Braddock is a regular family man outside of the ring.
The movie then transports the viewer five years into the future, where various injuries (including a badly-dislocated right hand) and The Great Depression have derailed Braddock's once-promising career, and have transformed his lush lifestyle into one of low-income slummage in a one-room basement apartment. After having lost his drawing-power as a top-boxer, Braddock is reduced to engaging in "journeyman" bouts that garner little interest and thus earn him little money.
*spoilers to follow*
One such fight portrayed in the movie is doubly-poignant because Braddock shatters his right hand in the fight but refuses to surrender, which shows both his athletic competitiveness (which figures so prominently later in the story) and also his desperation to get paid for the fight. Since his effectiveness as a fighter without his incredible right hook or straight right (punches Braddock was famous for) was drasically reduced, so too was Braddock reduced to clinching and parrying with his then-inferior left. The fight promotors ruled the bout a no-contest, stripped Braddock of his boxing license (and thus means to income) and refused to pay the boxers, which leads viewers to witness the heartless nature of the boxing game, rendered all the more callous with the Great Depression.
Braddock's waning star is further reduced to hit-or-miss attempts to land day-to-day work on a loading dock, and the nature of the lifting coupled with the injury to his right hand develop the left counterpunch that suddenly transformed Braddock from a one-punch fighter to one of deadly versatility.
This movie used skillful scenes to make the viewer think Paul Giamatti's character is some kind of sleazeball, but eventually the audience comes to realize that his character truly cares for Jim and is unlike the other men in the boxing business with whom he must work. All the while, Braddock's wife provides a loving home-life despite the latent hunger and general squalor of their unheated apartment (in one particularly sad scene, Mae and the children are reduced to stealing wood from a neglected billboard to burn in their house for heat).
Eventually Jim is given a one time opportunity to earn $250 for one fight (a considerable sum in those days, Depression or not) against the highly-touted John "Corn" Griffin, a devastating heavyweight then ranked #2 on the list of contenders (Max Baer being #1) to take on heavyweight champion Primo Carnera (the hulking, 6'7" Italian giant who remains the biggest, heavyest undisputed champion of all time ,which includes Lennox Lewis and Vitali Klitschko, whose "undisputed" status is in fact often disputed anway). It seems that Griffin's original opponent for the undercard of that night's heavyweight bout (the main card being Baer vs. Carnera) suffered a hand injury at the last minute, and all of the other ranking heavyweights refused to step in and fill in against Griffin, both because they would have no time to train, but also because of Griffin's fiercesome reputation.
Eventually Braddock is approached to take the spot, since though he isn't a contender he at least has the enviable achievement of having never been knocked down in a professional bout. Braddock accepts immediately because of the $250, apparently considering Griffin's scary reputation less important than securing food and shelter for his hungry, cold family. Against all predictions, and despite being labeled a "washed up old man" (apparently, thirty is considered old in those days, at least in boxing), Jim scores a spectacular 3rd round knockout. Having thus disposed of the #2 contender, Braddock suddenly found himself back in the heavyweight picture. On the main card, of course, Carnera received a tremendous thrashing at the hands of Max Baer, considered one of the most vicious heavyweights of all time despite his mental distractions that marred a career that could have been even more successful than it was.
One thing leads to another, with Jim scoring additional victories against
prominent contenders John Henry Lewis and Art Lasky, finally setting Jim up for a showdown with Baer. Although Braddock didn't knock out Baer in their encounter, he nevertheless won in convincing fashion on points. The final fight scene, and all the fight scenes for that matter, are exciting and fast paced even if not terribly realistic. As for realism, they are at least more convincing than the preposterous punch-exchanges that characterize the "Rocky" series of films.
This film is very entertaining, but it is well over two hours long, and it feels like it, too. The slow parts generally occur when Mae's character enters the scene. I don't think it's Zelwegger's fault, but every scene her character in seems to be too "cutesy," and manipulative, and regardless of whether or not Braddock's actual wife acted in this way, the screen version of Mae seems too perfect to be real.
Additionally, I believe Howard went too far in trying to portray Max Baer as some kind of sneering, villainous snob who threatened to literally kill Braddock in the ring. Much is made in this movie over the fact that Baer supposedly killed two men in the ring, but upon responsible research Baer is revealed to be a better nightclubber and ladies' man than he is a boxer who liked to threaten people. Baer in fact was so grievous and sorrowful that he killed a man in the ring that he donated a large portion of his fight purses to the man's family for many years. He is reported to have "never been the same" after the ring fatalities, and these psychological blows did much to transform Baer from a heavyweight phenom to a womanizing playboy, instead of the serious world champion he might have become. Baer's clowning and antics have been viewed by some responsible psychologists as a kind of defensive mechanism to avoid thinking about inadvertantly inflicting death. Baer's subsequent mental disintegration never caused him to recklessly threaten people, and upon closer inspection it seems Baer's promise to "kill" Braddock was made in a figurative rather literal way, with "kill" being a braggadocious way of saying "defeat." Baer's mental demise (followed naturally by his athletic descent) has been compared to Mike Tyson's, in that a surpreme natural talent is wasted by personal issues, either through the althetes' own fault or by the circumstances thrust upon them).
Nevertheless, the film needed a villain (apparently the Great Depression wasn't depressing enough for Howard) and Baer was selected, despite his reputation by those who knew him as a very nice man who did much for many charities. Baer was Jewish and ironically he was seen as a hero in his 1933 fight with German Max Schmeling (himself tragically miscast as a nazi even though he was an ardent opponent of that political party).
Braddock rounded out his career by a spectacular (if unsuccessful) title defense againt Joe Louis (he too had a tragic life, but unlike Baer who had his boxing life ruined by personal issues, Louis' personal life was ruined by his boxing success, in particular by the IRS). He managed to knock Louis down before being TKO'd in the 8th. Being a prudent man and knowing he would probably lose the fight against the Brown Bomber (Braddock's hand problems, bad back and muscle injuries in his legs helped the decision), Braddock had it stipulated that he would receive 10% of Louis' earnings in future fights for the next ten years in the even that Louis won the title. Having nothing more to prove, Braddock's wheeling and dealing were very smart. Even with all his injuries he lasted longer against Louis (8 rounds) than a half-crazed and already "shot" Baer, who lasted only four.
Overall a worthy movie, that takes certain liberties at some places that can be reasonably written off as hyperbolic fiction.
Description of Cinderella Man [Region 2]
Cinderella Man is a wholesome slice of old-fashioned Americana, offering welcomed relief from the shallowness of many summer blockbusters. In dramatizing the legendary Depression-era comeback of impoverished boxer Jim Braddock, director Ron Howard benefits from another superb collaboration with his A Beautiful Mind star Russell Crowe, whose portrayal of Braddock is simultaneously warm, noble, and tenacious without resorting to even the slightest hint of sentimental melodrama. The desperate struggle of the Depression is more keenly felt here than it was in Seabiscuit, and Howard shows its economic impact in ways that strengthen the bonds between Braddock, his supportive wife (Renée Zellweger) and three young children, and his loyal manager (Paul Giamatti); all are forced to make sacrifices leading up to Braddock's title bout against heavyweight champion Max Baer (Craig Bierko) in one of greatest boxing matches in the history of the sport. Boasting the finest production design, cinematography and editing that Hollywood can offer, this is a feel-good film that never begs for your affection; it's just good, classical American filmmaking, brimming with qualities of decency and fortitude that have grown all too rare in the big-studio mainstream. --Jeff ShannonBestsellers in DVD
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