Cinderella Man (DVD)

Cinderella Man (2005) starring Russell Crowe, Renee Zellweger, Paul Giamatti. Crowe plays Jim Braddock, a real-life boxer of the late 1920s and early 1930s. The story takes place during the Great Depression, and that is what sets it apart from other boxing movies. Braddock starts out as a good boxer whose career is cut short by injuries. Then comes the Depression, and he and his long-suffering wife Mae (Zellweger) must struggle to hold their little family together. After a few desperate years for the family, Braddock's manager (Giamatti) gets him a fight with a decent payday. Braddock is expected to lose, but the fight re-ignites his career. All this is pretty typical stuff for a boxing movie, except for the Depression-era setting. At almost two and a half hours, the film is too long -- even though the fight scenes are exciting, the story that takes place between fights is bit too drawn out. The climactic fight, in which Braddock takes on heavyweight champion Max Baer, is thrilling -- but it's a long journey to get there. Grade: B