The movie itself is nothing you haven't seen before. Lots of touching moments followed by "claw your way back from the pit of despair" victories. Crowe is excellent as Braddock, possibly earning him an Oscar nod if the film had come out a little closer to nominating time. I doubt that anyone will remember it by then. Renee Zellweger is her usual cute self as Braddock's wife, Mae, but nothing that's going to earn her any awards.
The real star of the film, and the one who really drags you into it emotionally, is Paul Giamatti as Braddock's friend and manager, Joe Gould. He's what Burgess Meredith was to the aforementioned "Rocky". Giamatti's your surrogate in the movie. He's you standing there, utterly amazed as Braddock again and again overcomes the odds. I think that without him this would have been a ho-hum two hours. It reminds me of how Tommy Lee Jones rescued the last Howard film I saw: The Missing (substitute Crowe for Cate Blanchett). The story's nothing special, really, but the performances of Giamatti and Crowe make it a joy to watch most of the time.
While I wouldn't say it was the best movie I've ever seen, it wasn't bad. I'd definitely sit down and watch it if it came on TV some Sunday afternoon. And that's not such a terrible thing at all.
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1 - Paul Ferrazzi
HOLLYWOOD HYPOCRISY HITS ALL TIME HIGH!
"When the country was on its knees, he brought America to its feet," proclaims the advertising campaign for "Cinderella Man," Academy Award© winning producer/director Ron Howard’s new film about American boxing legend James Braddock. "I wanted to remind people that the working poor existed then, and we have it today. While the economy is mostly up and then sometimes down…we’re anxious. Our population is anxious," said Howard.
Obviously, Mr. Howard’s anxiety does not include the members of the American filmmaking community, who were put out of work by the runaway production of his film to Canada.
In a pair of astoundingly hypocritical promotional events aimed at the hearts of the American film production and talent communities, the producers of the film have allied themselves with Below the Line trade publicationâ€"the self-proclaimed "Voice of the Crew," and The Screen Actors Guild Foundationâ€"the humanitarian and educational arm of the Screen Actors Guild. Below the Line is hosting a screening of the upcoming release on Thursday, May 19, at 7 p.m. at the Writer’s Guild of America Theater in Beverly Hills. The Screen Actors Guild Foundation is hosting a screening on Sunday, May 22, at 7 p.m. at the Directors Guild Theater in Hollywood. At each event, members of his cast and crew will join Mr. Howard for a "Q & A" session with audiences of American film workers and actorsâ€"talent ineligible to work on this very project by virtue of his choice to outsource his production to Canada.
American film actors and production workers will unite at each of these events, asking outsourced actors and workers not to patronize this "poster child" for Runaway Production.
"In the Great Depression, America saw a jobless rate of twenty-five percent. In the American film industry right now, that figure is much higher. Perhaps Ron Howard doesn’t realize that the decision to make this story in a foreign country is contributing to the same kind of suffering that he finds so film worthy." â€" Tim McHugh, FTAC Executive Director
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