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June 03, 2005

Cinderella Man

The new movie Cinderella Man is about as subtle as a Max Baer haymaker. But, OK, I'll give it a break. There are lots of different styles of boxers and there are lots of different styles of movies. Ron Howard isn't the type of director to dance around the ring, feinting and weaving and setting up his viewers for a crushing blow. Ron, I've seen Million Dollar Baby, and you're no Clint Eastwood.

Instead, he's the type to come out punching with giant telegraphed swings from both sides, like Baer, the big bad heavyweight champion (and requisite villain) in this movie. Sure, some of the punches don't land, but in the end the audience is knocked out anyway.

Cinderella Man is a crowd-pleaser, and extremely well made. Except for the writing, which sorely lacks depth, everyone involved is in top form. Russell Crowe is a brilliant actor and the guy has more charisma in his little finger than I do in my whole body. Of course, it's easy to get the viewer behind you when your character is such a saint among men. As portrayed here, Braddock's only possible flaw would be his headstrongness, except that he turns out always to be making the right decision. But Crowe milks the emotional scenes and still seems perfectly believable as a boxing champion and a toughguy.

Paul Giamatti, also reliably good, makes his manager character come to life and seem almost human, rather than the archetype in the script. Renee Zellwegger is fine, in a one-note part as the supportive but put-upon wife. (Full disclosure: I don't know how I got so soured, but I can barely stand looking at Renee Zellwegger. That scrunchy face drives me mad, for some reason. Yuck.)

As an underdog boxing movie, Cinderella Man really succeeds. Howard's direction of the boxing scenes is exciting and dramatic, though I suspect none of these fights could have been as thrilling in real life as they are in the movie. Where the movie fails is in its shallow treatment of the depression, with the obligatory scenes of men looking for but not finding work, electricity being shut off, a family having barely enough food to feed the children, etc. A subplot about Braddock's friend as a union instigator feels tacked on and almost completely unnecessary.

So, in the end, just as George Foreman the puncher managed to win the heavyweight championship, this movie will be popular and well-reviewed, but of course it was Muhammad Ali, the dancer, who was the Greatest Of All Time.

Posted by JoshHornik at June 3, 2005 04:36 PM

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