Triumphant Tribute to a Real-Life Rocky

Rating: 10/10 (18 August 2006)

"The Bulldog of Bergen," Jim Braddock was a fighter who came out of the depths of the Depression to win the World Heavyweight Championship against incredible odds, one who lived to see himself honored as a folk hero, a legend of sports, and one of New Jersey's first citizens. Had he lived long enough to see Ron Howard's excellent film on his life, "Cinderella Man," he would have almost certainly approved.
A box-office disappointment when released, and all but overlooked at the Oscars, "Cinderella Man" is, nonetheless, one of the best films of 2005 in the opinion of everyone I've known who has seen it, as well as myself. As much as Peter Jackson in "King Kong," Howard and his team take a grimy, unsentimental look at the Depression Era that is both fascinating and unsettling at the same time. The New Jersey/New York area of Braddock's time, as well as such venues as the old Madison Square Garden Bowl in Long Island City, are faithfully and meticulously recreated. Howard's direction is, as always, right on top of things. The pace doesn't slacken for a minute, the storytelling always grabs you.
But technical aspects are only part of what makes a movie great. There are also the performances, and in this respect, "Cinderella Man"'s cast doesn't disappoint. Russell Crowe gives his best performance yet (And, no, I'm not forgetting Howard's earlier "A Beautiful Mind") as Braddock. He doesn't play the part, he IS the part, gentle and loving with his family, a hard worker on the docks, a tiger in the ring. Renee Zellweger effectively de-glamorizes herself as Braddock's loving wife, Mae, tender yet tough. Paul Giamatti definitely earned his Oscar nomination as Braddock's best friend/manager Joe Gould, who won't give up on Jim even when everybody else has. And Craig Bierko gives an appropriately over-the-top performance as Max Baer, Sr., the flamboyant champ, a devil with the ladies and in the ring, whom Braddock challenges for the championship. This was the performance that motivated Baer's son, actor/producer Max Baer, Jr. (Jethro on "The Beverly Hillbillies"), to sue the producers, claiming, justifiably, that they presented a very one-sided view of his father, turning him, for the sake of a good story, into a villain he was far from being.
All in all, a great movie about the triumph of the human spirit. Once you see it, you will never forget it, and always want to come back again.
Incidentally, the DVD of "Cinderella Man" (a nickname for Braddock coined by Damon Runyon) features several interesting bonus features. There is a commentary track by Ron Howard, cut scenes, newsreel footage of Braddock in action, and interviews with Braddock's family.