Resurrecting the Champ
(PG-13)

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The new movie from writer-director Rod Lurie, Resurrecting the Champ packs a great Rocky-esque title, but it isn't a sports movie. If only. Based on a Los Angeles Times magazine true story by J.R. Moehringer, it's really a fall-from-grace tale of an ethically challenged Denver newspaper reporter (played by Josh Hartnett) whose writing is as glib, lazy and soulless as he is. He believes he's found his ticket out of Palookaville in his relationship with a broken down, boozy, shit-talking man on skid row (Samuel L. Jackson) who claims to be long-missing-in-action boxing champion "Battling Bob" Satterfield. The movie grabs hold whenever it sticks to Jackson (back in good form), the crackle of the newsroom, the mutually exploitative nature of writers and celebrities, and the seedy underbelly of the sports world that spits out its heroes once they're past their prime. Unfortunately, the whole movie loses steam when it meanders over to Hartnett's relationship with his young son (Dakota Goyo), to whom he spoon-feeds lies about his sports celebrity contacts. Although Lurie (The Contender) apparently gravitates toward Big Issue movies, his populist crowd-pleaser comes off as way less compelling than, say, the similarly themed movie about a real-life pathological liar journalist, Shattered Glass, let alone the 1980s Paul Newman-Sally Field movie Absence of Malice. In a time when sports fans are finally beginning to catch on that sports heroes like Barry Bonds and Michael Vick don't always act heroically, you're pulling for Resurrecting the Champ to dig deep and score a knockout. But it bobs, weaves and, finally, pulls too many punches to make a real impact. The movie features very strong supporting performances from Alan Alda, Teri Hatcher and David Paymer.

By Stephen Rebello

photo credit: ©2007 Yari Film Group Releasing