DVD: Cinderella Man

Official Cinderella Man Site
Drama/Biography/Sport
Starring Russell Crowe, Renee Zellweger, Paul Giamatti
Rated PG-13 (for language, some boxing violence)
Running Time: 144 Minutes
Theatrical Release/DVD Release:June 3rd, 2005/December 6th 2005










4 Out Of 5 Bites

You can't help but pull for these underdogs- the Braddocks- this former boxing shadow-of-himself man and his thoughtful, loving wife and children. In fact, boxer Jim Braddock (Russell Crowe) became the loveable effigy, a revered poster-child for hope in a post-depression era full of regular people just trying to get back on their feet again.

Cinderella Man is material begging for Hollywood attention, based loosely on the events surrounding Jim Braddock's rise to fame and survivability after losing it all after the Great Depression. Of course, if Braddock was merely a dock worker and not a famed, esteemed boxer before the downfall, there may not have been as much to work with here. Boxing is the easy analagy to what the Braddocks must face in the larger ring of life.

But this is not really a boxing movie, though the boxing scenes are artful and believeable, avoiding Rocky-esque manipulations and physical implausibilities in the ring. Long-time, real-life boxing trainer Angelo Dundee appears in Braddock's corner as the cut man, who would offer Paul Giamatti clever and substantive things to say as Braddock's trainer, Joe Gould. Enough homework was done to establish believability in the ring.

There are certain available cliches and narrative vehicles that the Braddock story naturally affords director Ron Howard in this film. One of which is the aforementioned analogy of boxing to the real life fight for survival in post-Great Depression era. Braddock is an upstanding and likeable man, founded on his principles and dependable. His hard times aren't resultant from his bad decisions and his efforts to survive includes doing everything he can do, even to the point of poignantly stooping to recieving handouts from those who know him well. He is guided by the needs of the family he fathers and husbands and ultimately returns to the boxing arena via a slim shot and flowery, mouthy machinations of his trainer, Gould.

He gets the chance to box again, and to keep going if he keeps winning. Once the champ and now underdog, he garners the attention of the community and others like it who vicariously place their hopes in the hopes of Braddock in the ring. The monster he faces, is one that can literally kill him....Max Baer (Craig Bierko), who had already killed two men in the ring. The protagonist and antagonist could not be more opposed in their pairing; Baer, the womanizing Hollywood-ish showman and against the stable, resolute and principled Braddock. Considering the corpus of his character and behavior across his life (especially after his rise to fame), Braddock is the fodder for a saintly drama, not for one tainted with the ill-repute brought on by his ego or foolishness.

The first hour of the movie is heavy and dark and you wonder if the family will ever get a break. Always on the verge of starving, freezing or succumbing to illness, the family is tried to the extent of their sensibilities as the threads of their trust is tested.

The lead-in to the great showdown with Max Baer is wrought with anticipation and tension, even involving Braddock's wife, Mae (Renee Zellweger), in the pre-fight hype. The fight will be a grabber for those who may not be familiar with the story, but maybe not as much as the "getting there."

Cinderella Man sets out to be exemplary in its telling, but most of all, in its performances, Paul Giamatti's stands out. Crowe and Zellweger notch a solid effort, but it is Giamatti's resident quirkiness, ready to blossom at any minute, that steals the show.

Why this film got snubbed for a best picture nomination is a secret known only to the voters, especially considering Brokeback Mountain's consistent nods as the one to beat. Cinderella Man is one you can uncompromisingly feel good with, from beginning to end.