Against the Ropes (Full Screen Edition)

Rating:
Summary: The gritty world of boxing glamorized. Fun and fast paced.
Review: There's a real woman named Jackie Kallen who's had a big impact on the boxing world. For the past 25 years, she's been a very successful manager of boxers. She's a tough and attractive woman with a good business head on her shoulders. She's also quite a "babe". "Against the Ropes", starring Meg Ryan is her story. Or, as is explained in the extras on the DVD, it's a part of her story. It's a good fast-paced script. And fun to watch.

Meg Ryan looks great and it's a pleasure to watch her strut around in her many excellent form-fitting outfits. In the story, she starts out as a secretary for a boxing promoter. She's a feisty type and, because she challenges a mob boss, winds up buying a losing fighter's contract for the mere sum of $1.00. He's not the fighter she wants to manage, however, and soon discovers Luther Shaw, played by Omar Epps. She convinces him that she can manager his career and hires a trainer for him. Eventually she loses her job and has to hock her jewelry, but she perseveres and, in spite of conflict between them, she is acknowledged by all, even the mob boss.

The real Jackie Kallen was never a secretary, however. She was a journalist who covered the boxing world. There are other inconsistencies about the real woman and the story. In the story, Jackie Kallen is single. There is not even a boyfriend mentioned. However, if you go to the real Jackie Kallen's website, you'll discover that she has two grown sons and two grandchildren. Somehow I think that makes even a better story, but the scriptwriter chose to focus instead on the boxing world. I do understand that. When you make a film, someone has to make choices.

The film takes the viewer into the gritty world of the Detroit slums. Meg Ryan stands out in her skimpy and colorful outfits of course. But, perhaps because of her strong personality (or the fantasy of Hollywood), she can go anywhere she wants without any fear of being molested. Actually, all of this added to the enjoyment of the film. The acting is so good and the story moves along so well, that it all seemed believable.


Rating:
Summary: (In fact, 2.5) Meg Ryan is Boxing manager: So-so Bio-pic
Review: This film is 'inspired' by the real life story of Jackie Kallen, the first sucessful female boxing manager (herself appearing as one sports reporter -- see the last one in the press conference). Jackie is played by Meg Ryan who could be really feeling like 'against the ropes' because of these recent flops, but to do her justice, the film, or her performance itself, is not as bad as some people say. The problem lies somewhere else -- the by-the-numbers script.

OK, but the story per se is intriguing. Jackie Kallen is doing thankless jobs like serving coffee for her insulting boss in the male-dominating world. Provoked by another insulting promoter played by Tony Shalhaub, Jackie accepts his challenge, and takes a street-wise boy Omar Epps under her wing, to make him new champion. She also enlists a help from the retired trainer Charles S Dutton (who also is the director of the film).

Meg Ryan, often dressed in colorful and sexy clothes, and doing lower and deeper voice than she usually is, is clearly trying to look and sound like Jackie, with aggressive and foul-mouthed attitudes. That works at first, but soon it gets obvious that she is acting ... not bad acting in itself, but still acting, or I should say, faking. In her good films in the past (even the brief scenes in 'Top Gun') she was not faking, being always very natural. Even that fake orgasm in 'When Harry Met Sally...' was not a fake.

The major defect of 'Against the Ropes' is this -- it doesn't look real at all. Whatever the truths about Jackie Kallen story, the present story is made with old formulas -- initial humiliation, small success, ego-tripping act, hero/heroine's regret, then final showdown -- all of them give us the impression that the film is white-washed. And this story is told too slowly.

With Omar Epps whose biceps convince us of the character he is playing, and the long-awaited final moment which succeeds in creating the excitement of the boxing, 'Against the Ropes' ends with a great conclusion. I wish the process coming there were constructed with some originality, or tighter direction.

Rating:
Summary: Awful
Review: This movie just defined the word awful. Meg Ryan, who I usually like, was at her all time worst in this. That accent was one of the worst I have ever seen on film...Kevin Costner bad even. The worst thing about this movie was, it claims to be a bio pic about Jackie Kallen, and it fictionalizes almost everything for dramatic effect...when the actual story would have been a much more interesting movie. There is one particular scene where we find that Jackie is unmarried and therefore alone. When Jackie Kallen was working as a boxing promoter, she was married with children. Had they decided to tell the actual story instead of taking the spinster route, this could have been Jackie Kallen's "Erin Brockovich", but it failed miserably.

Rating:
Summary: "Against the Rpoes"
Review: This was a fun and entertaining movie. I love Meg Ryan! She was fun and fiesty! It is very empowering and uplifting! The story of a underdog that really works. The boxing scenes were also very well made and extremely realistic! I recomend this movie but I have to say wait for the DVD because there are some movies that are better to see. In the end a solid movie that will be a hit on TNT in the future.

Rating:
Summary: Poor Meg
Review: What happened? She looks like a dessicated scarecrow in this movie. I guess she's supposed to look tarty but it just looked appalling on her. Did this thing go straight to video? I certainly hope so for her sake. If you watch it, enjoy the flowered pants that make her thighs look 4 feet across.

Rating:
Summary: Against the Ropes
Review: When it works it works! Meg Ryans performemnce was good and the movie will make a great TNT flick. Recomemded!