Fairy Tale

Cinderella Man

Directed by Ron Howard

Cinderella Man reunites Ron Howard with longtime collaborator Russell Crowe and Renee Zellweger, a star-studded Oscar-winning ensemble that will undoubtedly create a buzz come award time next year. The story of famed 1930's boxer Jim Braddock follows his trials and tribulations from superstar boxer to downtrodden desperado during the Great Depression years. Ousted from boxing prfoessionally and left with a broken hand, Braddock and his family were forced to their unkind fate. The rest of story as you will know is rather predictable.

A fairy tale twist ends their fate. With dexterity and furious drive, Braddock returned to form to beat his deadliest opponent and regained the glory he had lost for so long. Russell Crowe, having put on weight for this role, was characteristically uncompromising and convincing as the boxer, Braadock. However, it's the recently single-again Renee Zellweger who lighted the screen as the unwavering and silent suffering wife who stood by him. Often delicate and conflicted, Zellweger displayed a range of emotions that demonstrated her increasingly skillful versatility.

Ron Howard's direction is starkingly real albeit gory. Boxing scenes are well-crafted and captured on screen to be able to make the audience gasp in aniexty with every blow delivered by Crowe and his opponents.

This is good old Hollywood story retelling. It's the right dose of everything that makes Cinderella Man too much of a winner and a tad bit boring. (B-)