The Chump

Rating: 1/10 (18 February 2009)

This is a meandering film that doesn't know what it is. For one instance it's very much like a documentary with the dizzy camera moving with each footstep, causing a viewer to be sea-sick. Certain side characters are documentary-like; as in, they aren't interesting, like people in movies, and seem somewhat realistic, i.e. mundane: this includes his boss, his opponents, his manager, and a little kid he befriends. But then there's his daughter, whose subplot provides melodrama the likes of a bad soap or, let's just say, a normal date movie. And his "girlfriend" stripper, who provides the film with a formulaic love story, seems out of place, and their relationship never seems right. This movie should have been more like the original "Rocky", and kept a fictional yet interesting feel throughout, with colorful characters we can be a part of, instead of walking the fence of realty show/fictional film. And the director should have kept the camera from moving so much. He had two shots: a far away shot where the camera isn't moving that seems like a security camera footage; and then everything else is shaky-cam: to the max. This film is overrated, big time. And the bar scene where the Wrestler and his stripper gal sing "Round in Round" is truly horrific.