Cinderella Man

I saw Cinderella Man last weekend. Despite the fears of my movie pal, the boxing scenes were not that intense, at least to me. She covered her eyes many times -- I watched with fascination.

I grew up with my dad watching the Friday Night Fights on television, and learned about boxing from him. I learned to appreciate a fine boxer.

As everyone knows, Cinderella Man is the story of Depression-Era boxer James J. Braddock, dubbed "the Cinderella Man" by Damon Runyon. I knew how the great match against Max Baer would turn out, and despite that knowledge, felt the tension build and easy as the ending was revealed. Skillful filmmaking never goes out of style.

I read somewhere that the studio released this movie too early in the summer season to really garner the big box office they were hoping for. This movie should be an Oscar contender in many categories -- it's a shame that many will miss it, turning instead to fluff like Mr. and Mrs. Smith or The Longest Yard.