Cinderella Man - Movie Review

In the 1920s, James Braddock was a promising contender for a boxing championship, but the combination of a serious hand injury and a 1929 defeat sent his career into a tailspin. As his career in the ring dried up, the Great Depression decimated the US economy and Braddock found himself working at the New York docks for pitiful wages to support his wife and 3 kids. Desperate for money, he turned to his former manager who was able to secure a bout with a boxer who wanted to use the out of practice Braddock as a stepping stone. However, despite conventional wisdom that he was too old and out of shape, Braddock won the bout and continued to defeat his opponents with a powerful left hook he had gained from his time working on the docks. In a nation full of bad news, Braddock's comeback provided a rallying cry for struggling workers and unemployed people who all had their eyes on Braddock when, in 1935, he took on the heavyweight champion, Max Baer, in the fight of his life.

This is a very powerful movie which will make you think about your life and realize how good most people have it in this day and age. The struggles that people went through during the Great Depression were far worse and not really even comparable to the most recent stock market plunge. While the dot-com bust of 2001 forced a lot of people to sell their second homes and go back to living a middle class existence, the Great Depression tested a lot of people's will to survive as they had to take any work they could find to keep the lights on. Beyond that, this film is an inspirational story of a relentless boxer who literally fights to keep his family together and triumphs over all odds. Russell Crowe and Renee Zellweger were excellent and had great chemistry on screen. For the 2+ hours I was watching this film, I was transported to the 1930s and felt the pain and elation that the family was experiencing. The bonus features showed the actual man and his family in action which was nice to see for a film based on true life. Excellent!

Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Would I watch it again: Yes
Starring: Russell Crowe, Renee Zellweger, Paul Giamatti

I typically watch movies on Monday, Wednesday and Friday while riding the ACE Train from Tracy to Santa Clara. The opinions expressed are those of me, myself and I.