.: Roberts' Reviews - Movie Reviews :.

To say that I grew up with Ron Howard is an understatement. Opie was a part of my Sunday mornings as a child, and Richie Cunningham took over Tuesday nights when Happy Days premiered in 1974.

But then in 1977, Howard stared down a different career path. In exchange for appearing in the 1976 film Eat My Dust, Howard made a deal with B-Movie producer Roger Corman to direct a film of his own. The flick was Grand Theft Auto and Opie must have felt like a shark tasting blood. In just a few years, Howard churned out such memorable 80's flicks as Night Shift, Cocoon, Splash and Willow and was on his way to becoming one of the more bankable helmers in Hollywood.

Then in 1992, Howard directed Tom Hanks in Apollo 13. The movie was a box office smash and although it lost out on the golden statue to Mel Gibson's Braveheart, Howard proved that he could play with the big dogs.

Stumbling only slightly with EdTV and The Grinch That Stole Christmas, Howard was back on top with A Beautiful Mind in 2002. The movie finally gave Howard the hardware to go with his street cred as the Motion Picture Academy polished Oscars for Ron Howard as director and gave the film the honors of Best Picture of the year.

That made two movies - Apollo 13 and A Beautiful Mind - that were based on actual persons and events that Howard Rumpelstilskined into box office gold. Now, he tries to go for the trifecta with his new release, Cinderella Man.

Based on the life of James J. Braddock, Cinderella Man tells the story of one man's rise to the top of the boxing world in the middle of the America's Great Depression. The movie begins with Braddock on his way to fame and fortune. His wife (Renée Zellweger) and three kids share the pleasures of their city home that came courtesy of his five figure paydays for winning bouts.

But then an accident in the ring leaves Braddock with a broken hand and the once contending boxer becomes is reduced to not much more than a sparring partner before the boxing commission takes his fighting license away due to his lackluster performances.

As the Great Depression takes a hold of the country, Braddock sells everything to provide for his family. But when part time work at the docks becomes hit and miss and there is nothing left to sell for food or utilities, Braddock's savior in the form of his manager Joe Gould (Paul Giamatti) appears with an opportunity that is truly luck of the Irish. As a boxer is unable to fight due to injury, Braddock is offered the chance to again step into the ring at Madison Square Garden and win or lose, walk away with $250.

Gladly accepting, Braddock was not expected to be anything more than punching bag for his opponent. With no time to train and having been out of the ring for several years, Braddock walked between the ropes and underdog, but walked out the victor.

Smelling money at the exploitation of the elder Braddock, fight organizer Jimmy Johnson sanctions another fight that again sees Braddock with his glove hands held high by the time the final bell rung. And as the country becomes inspired by the once down on his luck Braddock, a match with heavyweight champion Max Baer (Craig Bierko) comes a calling. Baer, has killed two people in the ring with his aggressive, hard-hitting style and Braddock once again has an uphill battle as the undisputed underdog. The fight would become that of legend.

Cinderella Man is the perfect summer getaway film. I harken to Seabiscuit and The Notebook as other examples of movies released in the summer where car chases and aliens take a back seat to good acting and a well constructed story. As Braddock, Russell Crowe again shows us why he is a bankable A-lister and we might again be hearing his name when nominations are revealed early next year. Zellweger also provides reliable support, however I am suggesting that the role could have been played just as effectively to almost anyone. But it is Giamatti (Sideways) who sometimes even upstages his two co-stars that really stole the show. His belief in his fighter to the point of much personal sacrifice paved the way for Braddock and the movie does kudos to ensuring that this was not overlooked or understated.

Outside of the acting performances, what works both for and against the film are stories set outside the ring that are all of varying degrees of interest during a 144 minute running time. When a dockworker goes to Central Park to help people organize against their oppressors, I was left with a feeling of 'who cares' and desperately wanted the story to get back on track. Same too for when Braddock's son steals from a local butcher. Both of these might have ended up on the cutting room floor had I been invited to the editing room.

But that is not to say that the film was not paced well. In fact, I was surprised that 2+ hour film felt more like 90 minutes, and the final match between Baer and Braddock ends up being an edge-of-your-seater even if you think you know the outcome. The bout is filmed with close-ups as the camera dances around the ring and gives you a true feeling of being on the canvas with the two sluggers bobbing and weaving with every thrown punch.

Now, I wasn't around during the Great Depression, so I can't vouch for the authenticity of the tagline, 'He inspired a nation'. They said the same about the horse Seabiscuit just last year. What I can tell you is that Cinderella Man is indeed uplifting and a crowd pleaser that doesn't try too hard to pull you down an emotional path. Howard seems to have a knack for taking a true story and weeding out most of the non-essentials to give us the straightest line possible to the end credits.

So this then puts Cinderella Man as one of the better films released so far this year, and up in the top five boxing movies of all time (Raging Bull and Million Dollar Baby feel not threatened). Whether it ends up a box office bash or bust will depend on the audiences' attraction to a period drama amongst all the sonic booms playing in the theatre beside it. Here is hoping it gets its due.