Plot: What’s it about?
Boxing movies are, well, movies about a sport that has been glorified only by “Raging Bull” and “Rocky” (when it comes to movies anyway). They’re somewhat predictable and after five installments of “Rocky”, it’s a given that we think we’ve seen it all. After watching “Against the Ropes”, we’re proved right. The movie doesn’t break any new ground and though it falls in the genre of a “boxing movie”, it’s more of a biopic of Jackie Kallen (Meg Ryan): the first and only woman manager/promoter in an otherwise male-dominated sport. A few words about Meg Ryan, though. First, my hats off to her for taking roles that aren’t romantic comedies. She’s good in them, yes, but if I see that cute little smirk one more time, I think I might just snap. “Sleepless in Seattle”, “When Harry Met Sally…” and even “You’ve Got Mail” all had her doing what she does best. But, grow up Meg. And she did. She’s taken some more adventurous roles as of late and though the highly touted “In the Cut” failed to perform critically and commercially, it was a sign that she was at least trying to do something different. This holds true for “Against the Ropes” too.
Ryan plays Kallen, who grew up in a gym and now in “present day” Cleveland, works as an Executive Administrative Assistant (read: secretary) for a boxing promoter. She takes guff from her boss and the local whale, LaRocca (the always wonderful Tony Shalhoub) because she has to. But, after an encounter in a bar, LaRocca offers a contract to her to train a fighter. She accepts his offer and ends up finding Luther Shaw (Omar Epps), as he pummels some local crack heads. She then seeks out the help of Felix Reynolds (Charles S. Dutton, who also directs), someone who knows everything about training a boxer, but who has never really done the job. Shaw, Felix and Kallen stumble before she finally gets a fight set up. Things click and the three enjoy some fame and success. However, they really want a shot at the title but LaRocca won’t let that happen (for fear that Shaw might actually beat his stud, Pedro Hernandez). Kallen’s fame becomes a little star struck as she sells out local sports reporter, Gavin (Tim Daly) for HBO. She starts to ignore Shaw and he feels it. The inevitable final fight between Shaw and Hernandez does happen and, as mentioned before, there’s really no doubt as to who might win.
Meg Ryan seemed to really be trying here, perhaps a bit too much. She seems a bit glam for the role, but her raspy somewhat Cleveland somewhat Minnesota accent does take her some distance away from “Meg Ryan”. She dresses like a tramp, but I’m guessing that the real Jackie Kallen does as well. Omar Epps, who I think I’ve liked in most every movie he’s in, seems to have a somewhat underwritten part here. He plays the part of the frustrated and underprivileged fighter to a tee, but I’d have liked to see him a bit more. It was also good to see Tim Daly in movies again, reuniting with his “Wings” co-star, Tony Shalhoub. Dutton plays the same part he usually does, the supportive “aw shucks, let’s go ahead and do it” type of guy he was in “Rudy”. His direction here is good, though and I look forward to more endeavors from him behind the camera. “Against the Ropes” came and went at the theaters and despite generally negative reviews, I rather liked it. It’s not the kind of movie that will stay with you for a while and there are certainly better movies about boxing, but you could do a lot worse than this. Recommended.
Video: How does it look?
The 2.35:1 anamorphic image leaves very little to the imagination. The colors are bright and vivid, as they should be, and the level of detail is amazing. I prefer movies shot in the wider scope (2.35:1) and for a movie that centers on sports, it comes into play here. Paramount has also offered this in a full-frame version as well, available separately, but for the full affect it needs to be seen this way. I saw very few errors to speak of, maybe a scene or two had some softness to it, but aside from that I was very pleased. Paramount has really done a great job visually with their new to DVD titles and this is certainly no exception.
Audio: How does it sound?
The audio is fairly good as well. The included Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, pardon the pun, packs quite a punch. Several scenes have some rap music playing and the boxing scenes sound realistic as well. The surround effects, when used, do come into play particularly during the boxing scenes. The dialogue is clean and well-centered and lacking of any distortion. Though this rates as a 4.0, I could have easily bumped it up a notch, though it puts it in a different category. All in all, a good clean soundtrack works well here and it should not disappoint.
Supplements: What are the extras?
Paramount is usually not known for their supplemental features on DVD’s and that’s the case here. Included are two featurettes: “Inside the Ring” which is your standard EPK featurette that does concentrate on the actual boxing in the movie. More interesting is the next: “Jackie Kallen: Then and Now”. We get to meet the inspiration behind the movie and after seeing this, I’d have to say that Ryan’s performance was right on, though as mentioned earlier she was a bit too glam for the role. Also included is the original theatrical trailer. While fans of this movie might be a bit let down by the supplements, the audio and video quality (as well as the content of the movie) might make up for it.
