Against the Ropes (2004)

User Rating:

5.2/10   

Director:

Charles S. Dutton

Writers (WGA):

Jackie Kallen (life)
Cheryl Edwards (written by)

Release Date:

20 February 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Romance | Sport

Tagline:

She gave the boxing world the one-two punch they never saw coming.

Plot:

A fictional story inspired by North America's most famous female boxing promoter, Jackie Kallen. Her struggle to survive and succeed in a male dominated sport.

Plot Keywords:

Boxing | Boxing Manager | Male Female Relationship | Jumprope | Drugs

Cast

Meg Ryan	...	Jackie Kallen
Omar Epps	...	Luther Shaw
Charles S. Dutton	...	Felix Reynolds
Tony Shalhoub	...	Sam LaRocca
Tim Daly	...	Gavin Reese
Joseph Cortese	...	Irving Abel (as Joe Cortese)
Kerry Washington	...	Renee
Sean Bell	...	Ray Kallen
Dean McDermott	...	Pete Kallen
Skye McCole Bartusiak	...	Little Jackie
Juan Carlos Hernández	...	Pedro Hernandez (as Juan Hernandez)
Holt McCallany	...	Doug Doherty
Tory Kittles	...	Devon Green
Gene Mack	...	Kevin Keyes
Beau Starr	...	Corcoran

Also Known As:

Die Promoterin (Germany)
The Jackie Kallen Story (USA) (working title)
The Promoter (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for crude language, violence, brief sensuality and some drug material.

Runtime:

USA:111 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Malaysia:U | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:K-15 | Germany:12 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Singapore:NC-16 | UK:12A | USA:PG-13 (certificate #39517) | Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Company:

Cort/Madden Productions

Goofs:

Continuity: When Luther is having dinner with Jackie, he picks up his napkin twice.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Game K N B: (2007-03-03)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

La Wally

A drearily superficial sports film that belongs nowhere other than an afternoon slot on daytime television

As a girl Jackie Kallen was attracted to her father's world of boxing but he felt it was unseemly for a girl to be involved. Years later and Jackie is still labouring on the acceptable edges of the boxing business as an executive assistant. A public disagreement with top dog Sam LaRocca sees her taking the contract of a deadbeat boxer for a dollar. When her crack addict boxer gets beat up by thug Luther Shaw she flees but, seeing potential, goes back. She convinces Shaw to sign with her as a boxer and, with all her own possessions on the line, she starts out on her new career – although her beef with LaRocca sees her unable to even get a fight in town.

This film sets out its stall in the first few minutes with an establishing childhood shot that was so simplistic that I felt it should have been coloured in with crayon. And so it continues as we jump to the present day where we join Jackie as she overcomes challenges to become a boxing manager. Based on a true story, this had the potential to be an interesting look at this struggle against a man's world against the odds but instead it is only ever a daytime TV melodrama. The film is entirely superficial throughout and never avoids the chance to have Jackie be a) tough, b) cheerful or, c) tearful. The biggest way this is a problem is in the character of Jackie; at no point did she convince and the result is that, at the end when Jackie pops up to give generic advice that turns the fight, I almost laughed out loud at the sheer corniness of it. I suppose Dutton must shoulder some blame but to be fair nothing in the script suggests that it wanted to be anything other than glossy pap.

And if gloss and superficiality is your aim then I suppose casting Meg Ryan is a good move. Otherwise though I can't see why she was picked because she seems miscast and unable to lend any gravitas or grit to her part. Dutton is solid enough in a clichéd genre role while Epps at least fits his character well and delivers the simple emotions asked of him with conviction. Shalhoub doesn't have much material to work with but he seems to enjoy the tough edge and it does make for an interesting contrast to his current character of Monk! Daly is bland, Washington OK and so it goes on.

Overall then a superficial and glossy daytime television sports film. I suppose viewers meeting it on this level will find it meets their needs but for me it was all very dreary and uninteresting stuff that didn't deserve to be screened anywhere other than a second rate cable channel on a Tuesday afternoon.