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Line 1: {{~~trope~~work}} ~~{{quote box\|~~[[File:cinderella_man.jpg\|frame]]}} ''Cinderella Man'' was an American film released in 2005, directed by Ron Howard, starring [[Russell Crowe]], [[Renee Zellweger]], Paul Giamatti and Craig Bierko. It loosely follows the story of [[Real Life]] boxing champion James J Braddock, aka "Cinderella Man" (played by Russell Crowe). It was an uplifting underdog story, set in a time when the country very much needed one. The movie begins during what should have been the upswing of Braddock's career in the [[The Roaring Twenties\|late 1920's.]] Braddock has it all -:- a successful boxing career, a pretty wife, Mae (played by Renee Zellweger), and 3 beautiful children. Cut to several years later, we find out that Braddock was forced to abandon his boxing career after suffering a broken hand. His wife saw this as a both a blessing and a curse, as she feared for his safety in the ring, but knew boxing was the best way for Jim to support their family. As the Great Depression hits, Braddock is forced to do manual labor, working on the docks to (barely) support his family, who live in extremely poor conditions. At one point, he takes public assistance (a great source of shame to him) to pay his electricity bill, allowing his kids to stay in the house. After another boxer cancels at the last minute, Jim's old manager, Joe Gould (played by Paul Giamatti) asks him to fight the number two contender in the world. There is little chance Jim will win, but this is a Ron Howard film, so... Line 18: ''[[Cinderella Man]]'' was a hit with critics (one of the best-reviewed films of that year), but not at the box office (one of the least attended of that year). There are several theories as to why. When it was released, it [[Dueling Movies\|was up against]] another [[Million Dollar Baby\|boxing movie]] that had already garnered much box office success earlier in the year. It was also released in the summer, which critics largely agreed was not the right time for an emotional and evocative [[Oscar Bait]] film like this. Some theories also cite the negative portrayal of Max Baer. The filmmakers took a rather unusual step to boost ticket sales, by offering to refund the ticket cost of anyone who was dissatisfied with the film. It has made its way to cable, and although it may not be as well-known as some of Howard's [[Apollo 13\|other]] [[~~Orphaned~~Frost/Nixon/WMG~~/Frost Slash Nixon~~\|better-received]] [[A Beautiful Mind\|films]], it is considered equal in quality and may just be able to [[Vindicated Byby Cable\|seep back into the public consciousness]] after all. Time will tell. ---- {{tropelist}} ~~=== This film provides examples of the following tropes: ===~~ * [[Amazing Freaking Grace]] -: Joe [[Sarcasm Mode\|whistles "Danny Boy" while Jim is preparing for his fight]] against Baer. * [[Based Onon a True Story]]: Braddock's story is rendered pretty accurately in the film. The main departure from fact is the portrayal of Max Baer, who was a likeable, well-regarded fellow in [[Real Life]]. The real Baer killed only one man in the ring and was deeply troubled by it. * [[California Doubling]] -: Toronto doubles for New York * [[Casualty in ~~The~~the Ring]] -: Baer's killed two opponents in the ring (in [[Real Life]], only one) * [[The Determinator]] -: Jim, especially in the last fight of the movie. * [[Even Evil Has Standards]] -: Subverted; Baer initially appears to be uncomfortable about potentially leaving Braddock's family without a father, and offers to go easy on him if he doesn't put up too much of a fight. After Braddock turns that offer down though, it soon becomes obvious that in reality Baer has absolutely no problem with killing him, and that his offer to go easy was more than likely a psychological tactic. * [[The Great Depression]] * [[It Has Been an Honor]] -: Joe essentially says this before the fight against Baer. * [[Jerkass]] -: Max Baer. * [[Oscar Bait]] -: Unfortunately due to the timing of its release, it was overlooked for most awards, but did get consideration for Best Supporting Actor for Paul Giamatti. He did not win the Oscar, but did at least win a SAG Award. * [[Punch -Punch -Punch Uh -Oh]] * [[Rags to Riches]] -: A story that captivates a down-trodden and destitute country. * [[Real Person Cameo]] -: The neighbor, Sara, is played by Rosemarie DeWitt, Jimmy Braddock's [[Real Life]] granddaughter. An unusual example, in that DeWitt is a professional actress with a thriving career. * [[Recycled Trailer Music]] -: The lack of box office success allows many trailers to reuse the music without as much recognition as other often-recycled scores. It made an appearance as the background music to NBC's final piece about luger Nodar Kumaritashvili from Georgia, who died in a training accident, right before the 2010 Olympics began. * [[Rousing Speech]] -: Joe is good at giving these in an unusually understated manner. * [[Title Drop]] * [[Trailers Always Spoil]] -: Since the movie was based on easily-researched historical fact, the trailers didn't try to hard to hide the ending. * [[Ultimate Salesman]] -: Joe. {{quote\| They oughta put your mouth in the circus, you know that?}} * [[Underdogs Never Lose]] * [[Villainy -Free Villain]]: Baer. * [[Where Are They Now? Epilogue]] <small>Ron Howard!</small> Line 51: [[Category:Sports Stories]] [[Category:Cinderella Man]] [[Category:~~Trope~~Film]]