Cinderella Man (Movie)

Cinderella Man

Directed by Ron Howard
Russell Crowe : Jim Braddock
Renée Zellweger : Mae Braddock
Paul Giamatti : Joe Gould
Craig Bierko : Max Baer
Paddy Considine : Mike Wilson

Cinderella Man is the story Jim J. Braddock a down on his luck, depression era boxer who looses all of his money in the stock market and faces the end of his boxing career due to a string of bad fights.

Braddock, played by Russell Crowe, is a good man. He and his family, like so many others during the depression, have hit bottom through no fault of their own, and are struggling just to survive the times. Braddock does his best to take care of his family, taking temporary work when it’s available, but no matter how hard he tries, things keep spiraling downward.

When it appears that he’s hit bottom, he is given one last chance to make it as a boxer and with everything he cares about on the line, he makes the best of the opportunity by winning the fight. His comeback serves as inspiration for many down on their luck Americans, who rally behind him as he goes on to win additional fights. His resurgence, leads him to a match against the heavy weight champion Max Baer, a larger then life brutal figure who was famous for killing two boxers while battling in the ring.

In the tradition of Rocky, this is the story of an underdog making good, but it’s even more impressive because it’s based on real life events.

The story is wonderfully written, and successfully blends the brutality of boxing with the uplifting story of a good mans love for his family and country. The part of Jim Braddock is played by Russell Crowe, who does an excellent job portraying the down on his luck boxer. Crowe was the perfect choice for this part, because unlike so many of the current crop of actors (DiCaprio, Aflack), you can actually believe that he could be a tough guy boxing to save his family.

Renée Zellweger also does a fine job portraying Braddock’s wife Mae. Mae loves and trusts her husband but also worries about the future of her family and Zellweger captures these emotions just perfectly.

A real standout is Craig Bierko who plays Max Baer. Bierko is totally convincing as Baer, and his appearance and demeanor covey to the audience just how much danger Braddock will be in when he goes up against Baer. The man is truly scary, but also is very charismatic.

This is an excellent movie that unfortunately had a poor showing at the box office. I suspect that part of this has to do with the name of the movie; Cinderella Man just doesn’t cut it. Guys that are interested in a boxing movie are probably turned off by the Cinderella part, and women probably stayed away because of the subject manner. It’s really a shame because both groups would enjoy this flick immensely.

I hope that this movie will be given a second chance by receiving an Oscar nomination, but my guess is that that won’t happen. The Academy is unlikely to be generous to an uplifting, wholesome, movie with a positive message about a heroic white male. It’s just not their style.

If you haven’t seen it yet be sure to catch it on cable or DVD. It’s well worth it.

10 out of 10 Stars

Posted by Al on 01/10/10 at 10:35 PM in Movies