Movie Review: Cinderella Man

I can’t believe I’ve enjoyed two boxing films in one year. Ron Howard’s Cinderella Man is a biographical film about Jim Braddock who makes a boxing comeback despite overwhelming odds during the depression era. Russell Crowe plays the part just fine. Renee Zellweger plays his wife Mae. Zellweger wasn’t the best choice for the roll in my mind. But Howard makes a film that is interesting and entertaining. I also thought Paul Giamatti was very good as manager Joe Gould. The depression setting really made the boxing have much more meaning. Although some of the lines were a little over the top like “I’m fighting to put milk on the table.” Yeah, we got the idea. No need to punch it up with a line like that. The story was more like a Rocky for real. We got into the characters as much as into the boxers. It’s hard to get past some of the similarities to Million Dollar Baby. But the bottom line is it is entertainment. Not a bad day at the movies.

I’ll give this a B+