Saying that "Against the Ropes" may be the worst boxing movie ever made is a bold statement. After all, there's some pretty stiff competition for that particular dishonor, from "The Main Event" to "Rocky V." And yet, that still doesn't really underscore just how awful this film really is.
Let's just say "Against the Ropes" has already positioned itself as one of 2004's worst.
Inept in nearly every phase of filmmaking, the film's pace is lumbering, there's a shocking lack of authenticity and its messages are mixed at best.
And then there's the performances. . . .
If you didn't know better, you'd swear the cast was acting under the misconception that this film is supposed to be a comedy. But it's actually pretending to be a drama.
Meg Ryan stars as real-life boxing promoter Jackie Kallen, and she affects a ludicrous, laughable accent for this heavily fictionalized version of Jackie's rise to fame. The film completely overlooks her journalism career and finds her — at the outset — working as a "grunt" for a sexist arena manager (Joe Cortese).
Fed up, Jackie decides to take a big chance, by managing the career of Luther Shaw (Omar Epps), a promising fighter she discovers, after being horrified that he is pummeling another of her fighters out of the ring.
She enlists the help of a veteran trainer, Felix Reynolds (Charles S. Dutton, who also directed this mess). And once they start getting Luther fights, the boxer justifies their faith in him. Unfortunately, there are more than a few people who would like see both Jackie and Luther fail, including ruthless boxing bigwig Sam LaRocca (Tony Shalhoub), who has a long-standing grudge against Jackie.
While there's plenty of blame to spread around, Ryan's performance here is the stuff of bad-movie lore, and seems to have infected those around her. Even the usually dependable Shalhoub is horrid, affecting an accent of his own to compete with Ryan's (though hers still "wins," if that's the word).
"Against the Ropes" is rated PG-13 for boxing violence, as well as some out-of-the-ring brawling, scattered use of strong profanity (including one usage of the so-called "R-rated" curse word), some vulgar sexual innuendo and references and brief drug content (cocaine possession). Running time: 111 minutes.
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