Truly one of the best underdog stories of all time

Rating: 10/10 (3 June 2005)

You want my review of Cinderella Man? Here you go: Best. Boxing. Movie. Ever. Period. And yes, I'm aware of the existence of Rocky. As entertaining as Stallone's little slugfest is, Cinderella Man is just better on all fronts - better acting, better drama, and more realistic boxing. I've boxed before, and I can say with a straight face that this is the most realistic boxing I've ever seen in a movie. Plus, and this is the best part, it's a true story. And quite an amazing one at that. Why don't we have cool sports stories like this anymore?
Nowadays all we have to cheer for are overpaid athletes who are willing to sacrifice an entire season of their sport if they don't get a few million more bucks to line their pockets. But James J. Braddock? He fought for something more. He fought to put milk on the table, to put a little more distance between his children and the street, to have a better way of life.
You want drama? Cinderella Man effectively shows us the impact of the Great Depression on the average family. This was a time when unemployment hit a record high of 15,000,000 people. Once Braddock is unable to box, he is left hoping and praying for a one-day pay at the docks. When he can't pay the milk bill, his wife has to dilute what little they have with water to stretch it as far as they can.
Then when Braddock doesn't have the money to pay his power bill during the snowy winter, his wife sends the children to live with her sister, breaking a promise Braddock made to his son. Desperate to get his children back, Braddock is forced to get government assistance and to beg everybody he knows for $20 so he can pay his bills and get his children back.
Braddock's family is struggling, so you can feel how huge it is when he's offered the chance to make $250 as a last-minute fill-in against the 2nd-ranked contender. You want excitement? Well, this is when the boxing side of the story really kicks in. Braddock gets a very surprising knockout, he gets his boxing license back, and he starts training to compete in some elimination fights for the championship.
Everything builds up to the championship match against the feared Max Baer, a man who is so brutal that he has killed two men in the ring. And he's not nice about it either. He mocks Braddock, talks about taking care of his wife after killing him in the ring, and reminds James that "people die in fairy tales all the time."
Once the championship fight starts - whew. Not to sound too corny, but it really does feel like you're at the fight. When the crowd in the movie starts chanting "Braddock, Braddock, Braddock," I wanted to start chanting also. But I didn't because that'd just be too gay. But I was completely pulled into the action.
"But Johnny, I'm not a huge fan of boxing! I doubt I'd like a boxing movie."
But it's much more than a "boxing movie." Neither Stephanie nor my sister are boxing fans, but they both loved it. I'm not a huge boxing fan either, but if boxing had fighters and stories like this these days then I certainly would be. So yes, in my opinion it's the best boxing movie I've ever seen. But quite simply it's just a great movie with a great story that happens to be told within the confines of the boxing world.
This is as upbeat and inspirational as Million Dollar Baby is depressing. After watching Cinderella Man you'll leave the theater feeling good about life and being inspired to try to accomplish something yourself. For a brief second you might toy with the idea of getting your fat, chubby little legs off the couch and doing something with life other than watching movies and playing video games all the time. It may be a fleeting fancy, but the spark will be there.
My 20-year-old cousin walked out of the theater claiming, "I want to be a boxer now." Mr. Shade and I both want to start kickboxing again. And everybody was doing an Internet search afterwards to find out where we could read or watch more about the real-life James J. Braddock. And you know what? I'm even man enough to admit to the following conversation after the movie:
Johnny: So, did you cry? Amber: I got teary-eyed when he was telling his children bye. Steph: Me too.
*Stephanie and Amber stare at me for a few seconds*
Steph: Well? Johnny: What? Amber: Come on... Johnny: All right, fine. My eyes started to perspire just a little. You happy?
Hey, don't look at me like that, guys. I have feelings just like everybody else. Like Brian's Song, this is one of those movies where you can get a few goosebumps, get a little misty with "eye sweat," and still keep your man card afterwards.