Against the Ropes (2004)

 

cast: Skye McCole Bartusiak, Meg Ryan, Kerry Washington, Tony Shalhoub, Omar Epps

 

Our rating: 3 out of 5

Rated: PG13

 
reviewed by: Charity Bishop
  

My great grandfather was a boxer. For a number of years, a photograph of him in the ring hung in the hall of my grandmother's home. The interest in boxing did not pass through the family genes, and as a result, I didn't find Against the Ropes to be particularly thrilling, but if you're a fan of women that take on a man's world and succeed, or just like rooting for the underdog, you will find this film to have not only redeeming value in the lessons that it teaches, but also bring a hint of a happy tear to your eye.

Little Jackie Kallen (Bartusiak) has eyes only for the boxing ring where her daddy trains the best champions in the business. Believing she is worthless due to her gender, her forbids her from having any contact with his boys. But one of them, her uncle, pulls her close and reminds her to keep fighting for respect, because she is destined to "break hearts, and kick butt." Twenty years later, Jackie (Ryan) is the personal assistant of the most egocentric manager in the business. Her best friend Renee (Washington) encourages her to get a job with more respect attached to it than just catching the eye of ogling businessmen and fetching coffee, but it's a man's industry and not to be tackled lightly.

Jackie insults the honor of a visiting manager, whose champion just staggered out of the ring. Sam LaRocha (Shalhoub) refuses to take guff from anyone, and tells her if she can do better, she's going to have to prove it. He sells her the losing champion for a dollar, but when Jackie goes to investigate his potential, she runs across Luthor Shaw (Epps) instead. A street fighting punk, Luthor isn't interested in her proposal to transform him into a respected boxer. It's only when Jackie refuses to give up that he agrees to give her a chance. They obtain the best trainer in the business, newly retired Felix (Charles S. Dutton), but not everything is flashbulbs and positive write-ups. The boxer and trainer don't exactly get along, and throwing Jackie into the spotlight will have negative repercussions as they prepare for the biggest battle of their lives.

It's not to say this movie doesn't have heart behind it, because it does, and also delivers the kind of take-charge attitude that has become so popular among the empowered female crowd. I was rooting for the characters, bemoaning their mistakes, and pleased when they rose to the occasion despite the many obstacles in their path, but the movie seemed a little overlong. The casting was very good, and it even brought tears to my eyes during a triumphant pep talk in the ring, along with a profound apology for misdeeds. The story is based on the true exploits of the only female manager in the business. I'm not up on boxing history, so I don't know how true to reality it is, but Against the Ropes does have some positive things to say about going after your dreams, about rising above adversity, and more importantly, the ultimate downfall of pride. Jackie may make mistakes, but she never fails to learn from them.

That being said, it's too bad that so much of the script is marred with foul language. S*** is thrown around a lot, along with mild profanities and multiple uses of the term "wipe his/her a**." There's a lot of brutal in the ring violence, along with a street fight or two. Jackie and her friend accidentally stumble into a drug den. Another trainer attempts to give Luthor the runs with contaminated orange juice, but Jackie switches his glass with the competitor. The disgusting results are implied but not shown. There's no sexual content, but a few suggestive remarks are made, and Jackie wears a couple of revealing outfits. By the time it was over, I was getting a little bored. It's not that it's a bad movie, it just could have been that much better.