Not "Rocky for Girls"!

Rating: 9/10 (14 July 2008)

I have just now managed to see this film in its entirety. We tried to rent it one time, but were assaulted by the language so couldn't get through it. But AMC ran it last night and managed to clean up some of the worst. Sorry, I'm a little old fashioned. It's a shame that Hollywood thinks that in order to be entertained we have to have a four-letter word every other sentence. Especially since I think this is a story that kids could watch, if not for the language. Anyways, enough of my soapbox.
I went into this thinking it would be a recycled "Rocky" formula but with a female lead instead. But I was surprised. The first half of the movie does set itself up like that - as it is a true boxing story. But then the 2nd half changes completely and becomes more of a character and relationship piece. It really felt like 2 different movies in 1.
Clint and Hillary's performances were superb. Morgan doesn't ever seem to do much "acting" in his movies, it appears he just plays himself in every role. However, I do love his voice and think Clint did well in choosing him to narrate. I absolutely despised the people playing Maggie's family so that was a good piece of casting.
Yes, this is a sport movie, but it's also a very touching story of a relationship between 2 unlikely characters. This a movie that both men and women can find something to keep their interest.