One man's extraordinary fight to save the family he loved.
The true story of boxer Jim Braddock who, following his retirement in the 1930s, makes a surprise comeback in order to lift his family out of poverty.
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Character
Classical in form, earnest, resolved and grave.
- classical in formformally daring
- earnestironic
- resolvedopen-ended
- gravecomic
- effortlessdemanding
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17 profiled raters. Loved most by The Empaths.
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“Is this Ron Howard's best work?”
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“Is Russell Crowe the best thing in Cinderella Man?”
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“Is Cinderella Man too earnest?”
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Reviews on TMDB
Written by TMDB members; each links to the original. Not part of Tastebuds's numbers.
- CinemaSerfon TMDB · Feb 20257/10
Once Jim Braddock (Russell Crowe) breaks his hand in a fight, he discovers that his previously reasonably successful life in the ring has come to an end - and that puts him, wife “Mae” (Renée Zellweger) and their kids on skid row. He’s gone from making $8,000 from a fight to ferreting around the docks looking for work and taking state welfare funds so they can keep their children in their now electricity-free apartment. Then serendipity takes an hand as his former manager Joe Gould (Paul Giamatti) arranges a last-minute fight for him that might garner a meagre $250. It’s not a fight he’s expected to fare well in, but against the odds he triumphs and that enables Gould to engage with his former backer Jimmy Johnston (Bruce McGill) and that could, ultimately, lead to a world title tight fight against Max Baer (Craig Bierko). It’s a pretty savage indictment of urban American life in the 1930s and it also serves well at illustrating just how boxing so often proved the most appealing and available conduit for many an uneducated man to escape the poverty trap that would embrace not just him but his family, too. As to Braddock, his story also involves his close friend “Mike” (Paddy Consid
Read the whole review on TMDB - Peter McGinnon TMDB · May 20217/10
This is a fine boxing movie, one that relies more on the fighter’s personal story than endless scenes of boxing brutality. James Braddock’s final rise to the championship was an inspirational example during the lull in between the headline-grabbing reigns of Jack Dempsey and Joe Louis, when the heavyweight title changed hands several times. My only complaint with Ron Howard’s film was its portrayal of Max Baer, the champion Braddock defeated to win the title. For dramatic purposes, they changed his personality and made him into a bullying, vicious person, to the point of making a crude comment about Braddock’s wife. They needed a bad guy so they made one. I became interested in Max Baer when I was a teen and read a lot about him over the decades. He was fierce when he meant business in the ring, but mostly he was happy go liucky and didn’t love the fight game. As a side note, Max Baer’s son was also upset at seeing this man he didn’t recognize as his father (this was Max Baer Jr., Jethro Bodean from the Beverly Hillbillies). But what can you do — making changes is standard procedure for movies based on real events. They are often still worth watching. Just don’t use them for resear
Read the whole review on TMDB - Andres Gomezon TMDB · Mar 20167/10
The stereotypical sports movie about a character which goes from glory to hell and back to the glory again. The story is OK, but nothing new. Crowe performs well, but it is not one of his best movies. Giamatti is great, as always but Zellwegger is too cheesy in her role. Just an entertaining movie without any more intentions.
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Cast
- Russell CroweJim Braddock
- Renée ZellwegerMae Braddock
- Paul GiamattiJoe Gould
- Craig BierkoMax Baer
- Paddy ConsidineMike Wilson
- Bruce McGillJimmy Johnston
- David HubandFord Bond
- Connor PriceJay Braddock
- Ariel WallerRosemarie Braddock
- Patrick LouisHoward Braddock
Crew
- Ron HowardDirector
- Akiva GoldsmanScreenplay
- Cliff HollingsworthScreenplay
- Salvatore TotinoDirector of Photography
- Thomas NewmanOriginal Music Composer
- Daniel P. HanleyEditor
- Mike HillEditor
- Penny MarshallProducer
- Brian GrazerProducer
- Ron HowardProducer
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Pairings
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