Resurrection Story
New film uplifts...to a point
Official Archives of LanceReviews...
The trailers for the new movie Resurrecting the Champ might unin-tentionally fool audiences into thinking they'd be going to see your typical "washed-up boxer gets a second chance to prove what he's got" film, somewhat in the vein of pretty much every Rocky movie that's ever been. The truth is quite different. Resurrecting is no "Black Rocky"...it's an entity unto itself, made all the more poignant in many ways by the fact it's based on a true story.
The movie stars Josh Hartnett as Erik Kernan Jr., a newspaper sports writer who continually gets passed over for covering the hottest events by his editor, played by Alan Alda of M.A.S.H. fame. It's an enjoyable turn for Alda, who gleefully plays the irksome boss who only ambiguously explains how Kernan should improve his lackluster writing style. Any human being who's ever held a job will instantly nod in empathy as they recognize similar traits in their own employers, past or present.
Erik's personal life is also somewhat uninspiring to him; he's sep-arated from his wife Joyce, who also happens to work at the same paper, and gets to see their six year-old son Teddy(relative newcom-er Dakota Goyo) only at Joyce's whim. Joyce is played by Cold Case star Kathryn Morris, looking somewhat less vampirically drained of color than on her own show. Joyce still has some feelings buried very deeply for Erik, although she holds his lesser earning power(she's one of his bosses) in low regard.
Erik catches the break of his life one night, when he happens upon a bunch of college age jackasses beating up on a poor home-less man for sport--sadly, a sport that has recently become all too common in our real world. The homeless man actually turns out to be none other than legendary boxer "Battlin'" Bob Sattlefield, the man who was third in line to become heavyweight champion of the world, a couple rungs down from Rocky Marciano. Intrigued by Sattlefield's sad turn of fortune, yet more likely seeing a golden opportunity to finally elevate himself within his work set, Erik talks the man--known as "Champ" around the neighborhood--into telling him his life story.
As stated above, Resurrecting the Champ is more than just a boxing movie...in fact, being a movie about boxing is the least of its attributes. It's a search for the truth, for history, a morality tale and in the end, a story of dual redemption for two very different men whose personal histories are not that different after all.
Josh Hartnett turns in the very first believable performance of his career. Although the backstory for his Kernan and Joyce is one of a May-December romance, I still couldn't fully visualize the two of them finding mutual attraction, much less being married and having a child. But I believe that's a fault of the casting, rather than the writing. Kath-ryn Morris as Joyce just seems too sophisticated, in spite of the almost constantly disheveled state of dress director Rod Lurie(an executive producer and director of Geena Davis' late series Commander in Chief) puts her in, attempting to make her seem more down to earth. Don't get me wrong; the two of them do have good on-screen chemistry, but their relationship does seem slightly off-kilter. Hartnett does find easy and believable rapport with young Dakota Goyo, playing the couple's son. Goyo falls into the role easily, and Hartnett--who has publicly praised the boy's abilities as an actor--obviously has genuine affection for the child.
The real prize of the movie, of course, is Samuel L. Jackson's per-formance as Sattlefield, a man who once had true glory within reach, but had it snatched away due to a hard uppercut and an unscrupu-lous manager. Now homeless and an alcoholic(Sam Jackson was once famously addicted to crack, and must have dug deep into the wells of his memory for this role), "Champ" spends his days and nights rummaging through garbage cans for food and taking what-ever odd jobs he can find for whatever money is passed his way. Hartnett's Kernan is at first obviously using the former prizefighter for a meal ticket, but over time the men come to share a unique bond of mutual respect--and it's evident that neither of them more than Kernan is surprised at this. Over the course of the film, Kernan even introduces Sattlefield to his son Teddy, and the boy learns important lessons from the palooka.
Of course, once Erik Kernan finally obtains what he seeks--a front cover story in the New York Times magazine and offers for employ-ment from bidders such as Showtime, he comes face-to-face with the old cliche of Be Careful What You Wish For. He's hit on by sleazy executrix Terry Hatcher(sadly, looking well past her expiration date), finds a romantic interest where he wasn't looking, earns the enmity of boss Alda, and of course finds there's a high price to pay for the telling of certain stories.
Director Rod Lurie has an eye for authenticity and detail(although at one point having Kernan hurl the archaic insult "stumblebum" at Sattlefield felt completely incongruous). His bustling newsroom feels real. When Erik takes Sattlefield to a boxing match and the former champ calls the winner well before the round has even begun, it feels right, authentic. However, Lurie's pacing is off by a hair. When filming a movie "based on a true story", it's a delicate tightrope to walk between keeping the story lively and making it feel like a documentary on the History Channel. Unfortunately Lurie falls off the rope and lands in slow-paced documentary territory.
The story on which the movie is built is interesting, and thanks to a surprisingly decent turn by Hartnett(until now laughable in every role, especially the abysmal Pearl Harbor), you become invested enough in his character to want him to succeed at his goal, and then cringe for him when his wildest dreams rapidly spiral into a nightmare from which he might not recover, personally or professionally. That's another problem with the tale Lurie has constructed; it's not complete. While Samuel Jackson's character finds a coda, there are several vitally important questions about both his and Hartnett's characters' paths which remain unanswered at the end, and that's not fair to the audience. Even if there had been a simple text crawl on the screen to explain what happened to Hartnett's character at the end(similar to the one in Will Smith's The Pursuit of Happyness), it would have been more satisfying than what we are left with.
It's a shame, really...Jackson's performance as Sattlefield, while not Oscar worthy, is an intense thing to behold. Jackson has recently given us some intriguing performances lately, even if most were a bit eccentric(Black Snake Moan, anyone?). Resurrecting the Champ probably won't do well at the box office this weekend, certainly not #1. Part of the problem is that the movie feels in some ways less like a cinematic event and more like a DVD rental; loaned by a friend but surprisingly well enjoyed. Much like the title character, it will possibly only be a runner-up, an also-ran, a contender but not a winner. Which is a shame, because even with its flaws, it deserves to be The Little Movie That Could, if only for a weekend.
The marketing for this film isn't that great...the movie is more than it seems, and deserves a better shot at the #1 box office title.
Josh Hartnett plays sports reporter Erik Kernan Jr.; a man living on the outer edge of his existence.
Sam Jackson's turn as washed-up boxer "Battlin'" Bob Sattlefield is the true prize of the film.
Odd couple: Although Hartnett and Morris share decent screen chemistry, her character seems too sophisticated to associate romantically with his.
Both Kernan and his son learn some surprising life lessons from the almost-heavyweight.
