"Against the Ropes" might very well have been based on the life of Jackie Kallen, but I doubt her life was really this clichéd or peopled with such run-of-the-mill characters.
Screenwriter Cheryl Edwards shows us nothing we haven't seen countless times before. This film is replete with every imaginable boxing-film convention, and also tosses in clichés common to women-in-the-workplace movies. I half-expected Dabney Coleman to reprise his role from "9 to 5" (1980).
We get the rags-to-riches bit, the angry street kid turned into disciplined fighter, the blow out scene during sparring, the outburst from the trainer and, lest we forget, the slow-hand clap.
Surely, Jackie Kallen's real life was much more interesting than this. Heck, just listening to her interviews makes her infinitely more fascinating than what's shown on film. I realize writers and filmmakers take liberties with stories, but to come up with such a stale story wastes good talent - Meg Ryan, Omar Epps, Tony Shalhoub and Charles S. Dutton.
Ryan's got a charming screen presence and charisma and builds nice chemistry with Epps, who does much better than Luther Shaw requires. But as lovely as Ryan is, playing a tough, bold broad dressed in tight miniskirts and cleavage-showing outfits isn't exactly her forte. I realize it's awfully unfair to pigeonhole her but let's face it, watching her brazenly sexual turn in "In the Cut" was a bit creepy - like watching your first-grade teacher do porn. Then again, having a stronger story would've helped immensely, too.
Dutton plays Felix, a trainer brought out of retirement, just as every other trainer in every other boxing film, and Kerry Washington's Renee is utterly superfluous as Luther's love interest. She adds nothing to the story or his character. Excise her role, and the film would be none the worse for it. Even Tony Shalhoub, a treat as TV's obsessive-compulsive detective Monk, plays a hackneyed sleazebag.
Instead of giving us insight into what is surely a unique life - a female boxing manager struggling and succeeding in a male-dominated sport and world - Edwards lumps one predictable moment atop another, each one terribly conventional. Ten minutes into this film and we know exactly how it will end. There's not a shred of complexity to any of the characters or plot points. The story simply ambles along without any sense of urgency. Even the boxing scenes seem mundane, opting for maudlin sentimentality instead of grit.
I can understand why Paramount kept this shelved for a while. I have no doubt Ms. Ryan can pull off a tough role - she was thoroughly convincing in "Courage Under Fire" (1996), after all. However, she just needs a terrific script if she wants to break out of the sweetheart stereotype, which seems to be her desire. But "Against the Ropes" was not it.
Screenwriter Cheryl Edwards shows us nothing we haven't seen countless times before. This film is replete with every imaginable boxing-film convention, and also tosses in clichés common to women-in-the-workplace movies. I half-expected Dabney Coleman to reprise his role from "9 to 5" (1980).
We get the rags-to-riches bit, the angry street kid turned into disciplined fighter, the blow out scene during sparring, the outburst from the trainer and, lest we forget, the slow-hand clap.
Surely, Jackie Kallen's real life was much more interesting than this. Heck, just listening to her interviews makes her infinitely more fascinating than what's shown on film. I realize writers and filmmakers take liberties with stories, but to come up with such a stale story wastes good talent - Meg Ryan, Omar Epps, Tony Shalhoub and Charles S. Dutton.
Ryan's got a charming screen presence and charisma and builds nice chemistry with Epps, who does much better than Luther Shaw requires. But as lovely as Ryan is, playing a tough, bold broad dressed in tight miniskirts and cleavage-showing outfits isn't exactly her forte. I realize it's awfully unfair to pigeonhole her but let's face it, watching her brazenly sexual turn in "In the Cut" was a bit creepy - like watching your first-grade teacher do porn. Then again, having a stronger story would've helped immensely, too.
Dutton plays Felix, a trainer brought out of retirement, just as every other trainer in every other boxing film, and Kerry Washington's Renee is utterly superfluous as Luther's love interest. She adds nothing to the story or his character. Excise her role, and the film would be none the worse for it. Even Tony Shalhoub, a treat as TV's obsessive-compulsive detective Monk, plays a hackneyed sleazebag.
Instead of giving us insight into what is surely a unique life - a female boxing manager struggling and succeeding in a male-dominated sport and world - Edwards lumps one predictable moment atop another, each one terribly conventional. Ten minutes into this film and we know exactly how it will end. There's not a shred of complexity to any of the characters or plot points. The story simply ambles along without any sense of urgency. Even the boxing scenes seem mundane, opting for maudlin sentimentality instead of grit.
I can understand why Paramount kept this shelved for a while. I have no doubt Ms. Ryan can pull off a tough role - she was thoroughly convincing in "Courage Under Fire" (1996), after all. However, she just needs a terrific script if she wants to break out of the sweetheart stereotype, which seems to be her desire. But "Against the Ropes" was not it.