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'Cinderella Man': A technical knockout

Stop me if you've heard this one before: During the Depression, an unlikely winner keeps rising in his sport, buoyed by the adoration of his fans as he gives a desperate nation an underdog to root for and identify with.

No, Seabiscuit is not being re-released, but the same qualities that made that racehorse saga so popular two years ago — plus a lot more violence — are at work in Cinderella Man, the real-life tale of heavyweight boxing champion James J. Braddock.

Universal Studios 'Cinderella Man' B The verdict: An involving, if formulaic, boxing saga, led by Crowe as scrappy Depression-era fighter Jim Braddock. Director: Ron Howard Starring: Russell Crowe, Renee Zellweger, Connor Price, Paul Giamatti, Craig Bierko Run time: 144 minutes Release date: June 3, 2005 Rating: PG-13 for intense boxing violence and some language. See showtimes On the web Official movie site View the trailer    Trailers require Quicktime Rate "Cinderella Man"   Go see it   Make it a matinee   Wait to rent   Don't bother Voter Limit: Once per Hour View Poll Results

The team that combined its talents on A Beautiful Mind — director Ron Howard, star Russell Crowe and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman — is making another assault on Mount Oscar with this period tale that hits all the right emotional buttons, as well as a few punches to the solar plexus.

What holds it back from an unqualified decision is the gnawing feeling that we have seen this story before, only with a spindly-legged horse instead of a prize fighter with an glass fist.

And while Braddock's efforts to feed his family in tough times are inherently dramatic, Cinderella Man is more interested in the bouts he fights.

Million Dollar Baby was a character study and a film about social issues, while Cinderella Man is a boxing movie. As boxing movies go, it is a very good one, but it cannot help falling into the story patterns and cliches of the genre.

Just prior to the stock-market crash, Braddock — dubbed "the Bulldog of Bergen" — is a rising boxer who dutifully gives his prize money to his loving but squeamish wife, Mae (Renee Zellweger), for household expenses.

When the Depression arrives, and Braddock fractures his hand, he hustles for day work as a longshoreman and rarely gets any. Gradually, the utilities for their apartment get shut off, and Braddock's son expresses the very real fear that he will be shipped off to stay with relatives who can afford an extra mouth to feed.

A reprieve comes from Braddock's former manager, Joe Gould (Paul Giamatti), who offers him $250 to fight a heavyweight contender.

Braddock is expected to lose, but he prevails, setting him on a Cinderella-like trajectory for a shot at the title against Max Baer (Craig Bierko), a surly palooka who has already killed two opponents in the ring.

Braddock is another impressive performance from the versatile Crowe. The brute physicality in the ring does not come as a surprise, but a quiet scene where he has to humble himself begging for money from his former boxing cronies does. The same goes for his work with Braddock's kids, showing a tender, parental side.

Zellweger is fine but underused in a stand-by-your-man helpmate role. Giamatti adds a much-needed spark of vitality as spirited corner coach Gould.

Paddy Considine (In America) intrigues as a friend and co-worker of Braddock's on the docks, but the part feels as if it got truncated in the editing process.

Howard does not bring anything new to the way he films the boxing, but nor does he shrink from showing the sport in all its brutality.

Somehow, Cinderella Man managed to get a PG-13 rating, proof that the ratings board is lenient when it comes to realistic, plot-driven violence.