Director Ron Howard doesn't pull any surprise moves here, yet the movie gets more and more gripping with each punch.
Cinderella Man (2005)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:200
Fresh:160
Rotten:40
Average Rating:7.4/10
Consensus: With grittiness and an evocative sense of time and place, Cinderella Man is a powerful underdog story. And Ron Howard and Russell Crowe prove to be a solid combination.
Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for intense boxing violence and some language
Runtime: 2 hrs 25 mins
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:Jun 3, 2005 Wide
Box Office: $61,548,295
Synopsis: Academy Award®-winning producer Brian Grazer, director Ron Howard and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman (all Oscar® winners for 2001's A Beautiful Mind) are reunited with Oscar® winner Russell Crowe for... Academy Award®-winning producer Brian Grazer, director Ron Howard and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman (all Oscar® winners for 2001's A Beautiful Mind) are reunited with Oscar® winner Russell Crowe for the Universal Pictures-Miramax Films-Imagine Entertainment production, Cinderella Man. Starring opposite Crowe is two-time Oscar® nominee Renée Zellweger. Crowe stars in the story inspired by the life of legendary athlete Jim Braddock, a once-promising light heavyweight boxer forced into retirement after a string of losses in the ring. As the nation enters the darkest years of the Great Depression, Braddock accepts a string of dead-end jobs to support his wife, Mae (Renée Zellweger), and their children, while never totally abandoning his dream of boxing again. Thanks to a last minute cancellation, Braddock finds himself back in the ring against the second-ranked world contender--and to everyone's amazement, Braddock wins in the third round. Despite being pounds lighter than his opponents and repeated injuries to his hands, Braddock continues to fight against challengers and win. Carrying on his shoulders the hopes and dreams of the disenfranchised masses, Braddock, dubbed the "Cinderella Man," faces his toughest challenger in Max Baer (Craig Bierko), the heavyweight champion of the world, renowned for having killed two men in the ring. Cinderella Man stars Russell Crowe, Renée Zellweger and Craig Bierko; is produced by Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Penny Marshall; is written by Cliff Hollingsworth, C. Gaby Mitchell, Akiva Goldsman; and is directed by Ron Howard. The film is a Universal Pictures/Miramax Films co-production of an Imagine Entertainment presentation, with Universal Pictures distributing domestically and Buena Vista International handling the international distribution of the film for Miramax. [More]
Starring: Russell Crowe, Renee Zellweger, Paul Giamatti, Craig Bierko
Starring: Russell Crowe, Renee Zellweger, Paul Giamatti, Craig Bierko, Bruce McGill, Paddy Considine
Director: Ron Howard
Director: Ron Howard
Screenwriter: Ron Howard, Akiva Goldsman, Cliff Hollingsworth
Producer: Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Penny Marshall, Todd Hallowell
Composer: Thomas Newman
Studio: Universal Pictures
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Reviews for Cinderella Man
The fight scenes hurt, not because they're edited like quicksilver or nimbly staged -- they are -- but because we are made to care so deeply for the title character.
... a by-the-book, retro Hollywood production – which brings with it both virtues and problems.
Crowe delivers powerful punch. "Cinderella Man" first Oscar-contender of the year.
A godsend to anybody who yearns for cinema to be a bringer of good tidings.
Has the misfortune to feel like a "Seabiscuit Meets Million Dollar Baby" send-up.
Opie makes a statement about the grand divide between the rich and the rest of us.
'Cinderella Man' wrings every bit of emotion out of a tried-and-true underdog storyline. Fortunately, it does so with considerable style and heart.
Crowe gives another solid performance, and Paul Giamatti (Sideways, American Splendor) adds to his shining reputation as a top character actor by playing Braddock's lippy manager, Joe Gould.
Beautifully portrayed by Russell Crowe and Renee Zellweger in the kinds of well-judged performances that presume goodness without straining to convince us of it, they're a couple whose shared moral compass guides them unerringly.
As touching, thrilling, and inspiring as they come – and a welcome return to the kinds of films that make you leave the theatre feeling better than when you entered.
Cinderella Man is a fine production, but the film lacks spark where it needs it most: the boxing ring.
Kudos to the excellent Paul Giamatti as well as Craig Bierko, Paddy Considine, Bruce McGill and Canadian veterans Chuck Shamata (the priest) and Nicholas Campbell (the sports columnist).
Oscar host Chris Rock was on to something when he suggested that only Russell Crowe should be allowed to star in Hollywood period films.
... isn't quite the dream come true it might have been. It lands more than a few punches. But none of them's a knockout -- and neither is the movie.
The conventional wisdom is that Howard is a sentimentalist who needs Crowe to give his films edge. I prefer to think of the director as one in the handful of Hollywood filmmakers who still know how to make mass entertainment not based on a comic book.
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