Against The Ropes Movie Review:


Real life people going against the odds always make interesting subjects for a film, and Against the Ropes, based on true events, offers such an opportunity. Jackie Kallen, the daughter of a boxing trainer, literally grew up among the ropes in a Detroit gym. Under the gloves of her father and an uncle, a fighter who encouraged her to go after her dream, Jackie became the first female boxing manager.

When Jackie (Meg Ryan) tires of her sexist boss, she sets out to do what she knows best. After winning a low-life doped-up boxer in a verbal confrontation with boxing kingpin Sam LaRocca (Tony Shalhoub), Jackie dumps the boxer but finds Luther Shaw (Omar Epps). Luther seems to have a chip on his shoulder the size of Madison Square Gardens but has just as large a potential to be a prize-winning fighter.

Meg Ryan instills her confidence, feistiness and ingenuity into the gutsy role of Kallen, a woman who won’t take no for an answer but knows when to bow out of the ring for the good of her boxer.

What makes Against the Ropes a truly enjoyable movie is the characters’ journeys. Jackie, a pretty Jewish woman from the suburbs, and Luther, a black man trying to survive in the streets, connect immediately. They’re both looking for a little respect and a much better life. “I’m really proud of the way the relationship between Jackie and Luther plays on the screen,” said Ryan. “It’s platonic, but definitely loving.”

Omar Epps agreed. “Even when they don’t see eye to eye, and end up estranged for a while, they eventually do come back together.” Epps flushes out his character extremely well – no surprise because he’s been acting since grade school. In addition to many film roles, fans of the TV drama ER will remember Epps as Dr. Dennis Gant.

Epps enjoyed his connection with Ryan off screen as well. “We had a great connection,” he said. “It was great to be part of her metamorphosis as this character. Meg’s in a place where she wants to be challenged. Outwardly she and Jackie Kallen couldn’t be two more different people, but on the inside they are a lot alike in their drive and determination to get where they’re going.”

Both Ryan and Epps did their homework for their roles. Epps, already a boxing fan, was eager to step up to the ring and completed intense mental and physical training. “Rocky is the quintessential boxing film, but if you watch the boxing, it really sucks technologically,” said Epps. “Director Charles Dutton was also a boxing fan and wanted the fight scenes to be authentic. So there was pressure because I couldn't fake it. The training was rigorous, I had only one and a half months to prepare and I worked out five hours a day. I had to dive in – eat and sleep boxing.”

Jackie Kallen became a sports writer before the drive to manage her own boxers sent her career in a different direction. Overcoming the stigma that the only woman’s place in the ring is in a bikini, she quickly mastered contracts, hired sparing partners and taught her fighters how to do interviews. Ryan attended fights with Kallen and even took boxing lessons. “I was terrible at it,” she said. “Omar definitely has all the boxing talent in this movie.”

Offering first-rate performances by Ryan, Epps and Tony Shalhoub, Against the Ropes emerges as an interesting drama about two lost souls who join together for the good fight.

Diana Saenger

There have been great boxing movies like “Rocky”, “The Champ” and of course the historic “Raging Bull”. There were even some more average but enjoyable boxing films like “Goldie and the Boxer”, “Gladiator” and “Streets of Gold”. But in the new film, “Against the Ropes” it seems to have forgotten where the heart of the sport.

In “Against the Ropes”, Meg Ryan plays Jackie Kallen, a secretary at a local sporting arena who keeps her degrading job because her first passion boxing is just inches away. Her knowledge and quick responses often land her in rough water. It isn’t until one of these quick remarks lands her face to face with local mob boss Larocca (Tony Shalhoub) that her dream becomes a reality. In a joke, Larocca sells Kallen the rights to washed up boxer, Devon Green (Tory Kittles) for just one dollar. Eventually Kallen meets Luther Shaw (Omar Epps) and a legacy is born.

From that one joke, Kallen went on to become the most successful female boxing promoter in the history of the sport. Her story is noble and the story could have made for a great film about heart, perseverance and of course Jackie’s passion, boxing. Then what happened?

First off the film’s tone reflects more a movie of the week or an afternoon special than a gritty hard-edged boxing success story. Even Michael Kamen’s score sounds like one of those Women’s Television Network movie anthems. Kamen has been more magical and he will be greatly missed since he passed on last year.

The film focuses primarily on Jackie and more on her wardrobe than the grit and meat of her story. She is projected in a stern and poignant light which of course could have something to do with the film’s executive producer being Jackie herself. We never really do shed blood or feel any connection to the character because we have a hard time seeing the world through her eyes. I can see that she loves the sport and made sacrifices but nothing feels real or emotional.

Ryan’s approach to the character of Jackie is admirable as she does her very best to play Jackie the way she really is. The accent, her walk, wardrobe and demeanor all seem like caricatures but in fact are the way the real woman actually is. In that small aspect I guess the film does have a minor moment.

The boxing matches consisted of Epps throwing two punches and Ryan screaming victory. The film’s emotional final fight is so staged and overflowing with cliché ridden dialogue that I am surprised director and co-star Charles S. Dutton didn’t bust a gut laughing. One line in particular made me want to scream with laughter at the film and in some reasons it sums up what the film is about. Strong and wise Dutton leans over to Epps, his fighter and says, “Son, sometimes in a boxing match a fight breaks out.”

“Against the Ropes” could be the worst boxing movie ever made because it isn’t about boxing at all. We needed a hard-edged story that focused on both Jackie and the boxer. We needed a well-rounded story that had a primary focus on the sport than on Ryan’s leopard print wardrobe. If this film was a gritty “Erin Brockovich-styled” HBO biopic focused on boxing. It would have been amazing. Sadly it isn’t.

(1 out of 5)

So Says the Soothsayer.

Dean Kish

Based on the life of boxing promoter Jackie Kallen, this entertaining film has Erin Brockovich written all over it, mostly due to Meg Ryan's blowsy performance as a real woman who took on a man's world. Alas, the comparison doesn't work in this film's favour, since it's a much less accomplished film. But it's a great story.

Jackie (Ryan) was raised in a boxing family; the sport runs in her blood, so it's pretty galling that she has to work as a secretary for a vain Cleveland boxing venue manager (Cortese). She's clearly the brains in the operation, so when another promoter (Shalhoub) inadvertently gives her a shot at managing a boxer, she runs with it. Soon, she discovers a young thug (Epps) with real potential, lures a respected coach (Dutton) from retirement and sets her eyes on the title.

There's lots of spark here, as each big personality clashes with the others to drive the story forward. And the cast obviously relish the opportunity to chomp some scenery. Ryan is very good as the trashy, gifted and pushy Jackie--she's not always sympathetic, yet we identify with her even when she becomes rather arrogant. Perhaps it's because by then the gyrations of the plot are in motion and we know where it's heading! And the surrounding cast is excellent--Epps as a charming thug, Shalhoub as a swaggering top dog, Daly as a nice-guy journalist, and Dutton as the latest cinematic incarnation of the gruff-but-loveable boxing coach. As a director, Dutton handles the material efficiently, keeping the boxing action to a minimum until the thrillingly rough and emotional final bout. But it's Edwards' script that lets the film down with its too-worthy dialog and an over-constructed plot that strains to be meaningful and moving. But it's only truly meaningful when the filmmakers don't try so hard! For example, the film speaks directly to the gender issues, but it's even more effective in the underhanded way it deals with the racial themes.

Rich Cline

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