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Wednesday, June 8, 2005 | ||
What do you think of this story? | Fighting Depression
Hey boxing fans! Remember those fabulous 30s? When men were men and women were dames? When big clunky automobiles came in one color, basic black? Remember bread lines and abject poverty, when snow was considered a food group? And who could forge Madison Square Garden? A sea of fedoras and guys screaming for blood from a pair of pallid pugilists vying for the enviable title of World Heavyweight Champeen! Well, before big Joe Louis came along and changed all that, there was Jim Braddock, an Irishman from New Jersey who could take a beating and still be home in time to have fried bologna with the kids. Thats right! Now the master of schmaltz, our generations own Frank Capra, Mr. Ron Howard, has made a big, brawling movie about it starring Russell Crowe, the actor whos known for fightin round the world. Crowe steps up to the challenge of fleshing out Jimmys tale of ruin and rebirth. He is an actor with presence, one of the few male leads with a true star quality. Playing opposite him is Renee Zellweger as Mae who does a decent job as his long-suffering wife. But the real star of the picture is Paul Giamatti who adds yet another fine role to his blossoming career as Jimmys manager, Joe Gould. (No not THAT Joe Gould). Giamatti all but steals the show making Burgess Merediths and even Clint Eastwoods gruff cornermen seem passe. The hideous depression of the 30s is lovingly recreated down to the last brick and rusty coffee can. Against this backdrop unfolds a portrait of camaraderie. Jimmy and Joe have the best scenes in this nearly three hour biopic and they savor every minute of it. Zellweger gets to be the stoic, a mother trying to make ends meet. Between her three small children, the milkman and the electrician cutting off services, she has her hands full. Meanwhile Crowe is off fighting for their lives, literally. Part history lesson, part morality play, and all American as the AFL-CIO, Cinderella Man might be heavy handed and a bit maudlin at the odd moment, but it will make you grateful for the simplest comforts and conveniences. Howard seems to be saying, Just be glad you didnt have to live like these poor slobs. Not only were people poor and hungry all the time, but men had to wear heavy, itchy wool suits and suspenders and all the women had to wear dresses shaped like feedbags! And the children! My God! The children all looked like extras from The Boy With The Green Hair! According to this film, Jimmy was one heck of a guy though. Upstanding to a fault, a loving father, a faithful husband, a man of the people who gave the shiftless something to sing about. His ultimate victory over big, bad Max Baer (Craig Bierko), was every schlubs victory. For a brief moment Jimmy gave them all something to cheer about before heading back to the bowery or Hooverville, the makeshift shantytown of Central Park. This depressing love letter of a movie entertains and enlightens, but in the end it feels like a hundred other rags to riches, triumph over tragedy type flicks. The big knockout comes as expected in the final round, a unanimous decision by the judges in Jim Braddocks favor. If there had never been a Rocky or Rocky II or Rocky III or Body and Soul or Raging Bull or The Great White Hope or Gentleman Jim or even The Karate Kid, Cinderella Man would have something marvelous to show us. As it stands, its a picturesque look at hard times, Jersey-style, full of period imagery and detail. The great sport of boxing gets another chapter told with heart and soul and a lot of fancy footwork.
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