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MOVIES / ON DVD / AGAINST THE ROPES
Against the Ropes

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Against the Ropes (2003)

12%
17%
32%
N/A
N/A
N/A
12 %
Reviews Counted: 126 Fresh: 15  Rotten:111 Average Rating: 4.2/10
 
Consensus: A bland, dumbed-down package of sports cliches. A bland, dumbed-down package of sports cliches. more
 
Runtime: 1 hr 50 mins
Synopsis:
Meg Ryan stars in this fictionalized account of real-life boxing manager Jackie Kallen, the first female to ever make a name for herself in the sport. As the film begins she's just an assistant to the owner of a sleazy sporting arena, but her antagonism toward a mafia-affiliated boxing bigwig... [More]
Meg Ryan stars in this fictionalized account of real-life boxing manager Jackie Kallen, the first female to ever make a name for herself in the sport. As the film begins she's just an assistant to the owner of a sleazy sporting arena, but her antagonism toward a mafia-affiliated boxing bigwig (Tony Shalhoub) and her hunch about the innate boxing talent of a young street thug named Luther (Omar Epps) lead her to take up managing. She recruits a retired trainer (Charles S. Dutton, who also directed) to mold Luther into a champ, and starts pushing and climbing through the sport's rampant sexism. The script by Cheryl Edwards is packed with platitudes and great throwaway lines, and to its credit the film doesn't shy away from showing Kallen's less flattering angles. Ryan looks and sounds great, sporting a fun Midwestern accent and a series of sexy outfits as she sashays through the cigar smoke and testosterone, tough-talking her way to victory in argument after argument. Though set in the present, AGAINST THE ROPES has a grungy 1970s feel to it, recalling ROCKY, THE CHAMP, THE MAIN EVENT and other films of the era. The real-life Kallen served as an associate producer. [Less]

Genre: Dramas

Starring: Meg Ryan, Omar Epps, Tony Shalhoub, Tim Daly, Kerry Washington

Director: Charles S. Dutton
Screenwriter: Cheryl Edwards
Producer: Robert W. Cort, David Madden
Composer: Michael Kamen

DVD Info

Release:

Jan 7, 2005

[DVD Details]

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06/24/06 03:36 AM
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
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What could have been a gripping tale becomes hammy and overdone.

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05/14/04 08:16 AM
Empire Magazine
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Meg Ryan is busily torpedoing any respect she might have accrued

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05/13/04 05:31 AM
Wendy Ide
Times [UK]
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This movie lacks any complexity. Dutton opts instead to embellish the story with boxing clichés.

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05/11/04 08:16 AM
Stella Papamichael
BBC
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03/27/04 08:17 AM
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon
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Has Erin Brockovich written all over it, mostly due to Meg Ryan's blowsy performance.... Alas, the comparison doesn't work in this film's favour.

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02/12/04 05:15 PM
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
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It's hard to expect anyone to infuse much passion into a "by-the-numbers" boxing movie which telegraphs every punch.

Full Review | Comment
04/25/07 07:26 PM
Kam Williams
Princeton Town Topics
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Against the Ropes may not deliver a knock-out, but it does land some pretty good blows.

Full Review | Comment
09/01/06 02:14 PM
Peter T. Chattaway
Christianity Today
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03/15/06 03:15 AM
Steven Snyder
Zertinet Movies
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12/06/05 07:47 PM
Film Threat
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04/02/05 10:56 PM
Garth Franklin
Dark Horizons
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10/07/04 07:30 PM
Tony Medley
tonymedley.com
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It's one thing to make a predictable Hollywood movie. It's another thing to make a predictable Hollywood movie based on a fascinating life.

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06/04/04 11:55 AM
Forrest Hartman
Reno Gazette-Journal
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Ryan's Kallen is painfully two-dimensional.

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04/09/04 08:18 AM
Edith Alderette
San Francisco Examiner
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Mediocre, cliché-ridden but passable entertainment that completely falls apart in the third act.

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04/07/04 07:18 PM
Jeff Otto
IGN Movies
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04/03/04 08:32 AM
A.O. Scott
New York Times
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Complicated by the ways that race, masculinity, and media shape expectations and possibilities in the boxing world.

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03/23/04 06:39 AM
Cynthia Fuchs
PopMatters
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03/16/04 05:21 PM
Marrit Ingman
Austin Chronicle
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03/16/04 05:21 PM
Brian Orndorf
FilmJerk.com
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The film isn’t good enough for the full price.

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03/04/04 05:01 PM
Eric Lurio
Greenwich Village Gazette
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horrible garbage
by: cactrot45 2/22/04
all

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