Cinderella Man

Ron Howard rocks as the director of Cinderella Man. He depicts the Great Depression with such realism that you could taste it. Like Apollo 13, this movie has a different kind of enemy- life, in this instance the Great Depression. It was strong enough to break many men and families apart but not even extreme poverty would tackle Jim Braddock.

Boxer, Jim Braddock finds the strength to box better than he did before the Great Depression because he was man with nothing to lose. He boxed for the welfare of his family. He boxed for the morale of his country. And he boxed because he was willing to give it everything he had to beat the odds. He was a true hero, not because he was super human but because he was a man. A man that loved his family, his life and knew that things could be better.

I saw an interview with Ron and Russell after the movie sneak peak. They spoke of how every boxing scene told it's own story just like Howard had done for the fires in Backdraft. And how this movie could have been seen without any words at all.

Crowe did a magnificent job of acting as did the whole cast. Here is a story I hope parents tell their children in place of fairy tales. It's better because it actually happened.

Worth the money rating: $$$$$