Hey folks, Harry here with a fella I'll call Potsie and his look at Ron Howard's CINDERELLA MAN! We've had pretty damn strong word of mouth on this film since late November of last year when it began its test screening process. There have been a couple of bad reviews, but mostly positive... Now the thing that kind of drives me crazy is the whole SEABISCUIT / CINDERELLA MAN comparison that cynical critics seem to be bringing up in their Summer preview pieces. It's like the KINGDOM OF HEAVEN / GLADIATOR comparisons. Folks... that one drove me insane. For one - the periods are separated by over a 1000 years, the plots are totally different... and all the actors are different. With SEABISCUIT and CINDERELLA MAN... well at least you have the same period and a come from behind competitor going on. But Russell Crowe isn't some silent blank-eyed horse, he's one of the best actors working today - and the story of Jim Braddock is a very HUMAN story set in the depression. Personally - I love a good boxing movie. This sounds like one!

Hey Harry. I’ve sent you a couple first look reviews earlier this year with some very negative remarks on SON OF THE MASK and a disappointing experience with this week’s KICKING AND SCREAMING. Well, this time I’m happy to report I have an early look at Ron Howard’s latest, CINDERELLA MAN. This is the true story of boxer Jim Braddock and his struggles with his wife and three young children through the great depression.

In what has so far been a dreadful year for movies, CINDERELLA MAN is like a breath of fresh air for moviegoers of all kinds. We’ll see what the rest of the year has to bring, but so far this is the only serious Oscar contender I can think of. Whether you like it or not, this is the kind of movie that voters love to honor. It is likely to snag nominations for Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actress, Supporting Actor, Cinematography, Costume and Screenplay. But then again it’s only May, and from the few dozen movies I have seen so far in 2005 I will tell you this, they can only get better.

I’ll start off with Russell Crowe (Braddock). To me, this performance confirms that Crowe is one of a handful of actors that has the right to demand any ridiculous sum of money that he wants. Chris Rock was right at the Oscars “If you can’t get Russell Crowe, wait!” I don’t care how much of an asshole this guy is on his days off, he knows the job and he nails it with every performance. His portrayal of Braddock is flawless as the kind of antagonist we love to follow, a real movie hero that the audience can identify with. The there is Renee Zellwegger as Braddock’s supportive, though often disapproving wife. I’ll tell you right off the bat that I am not a huge fan of hers. Something about her squinty eyes, baby voice and swollen cheeks make me want to turn the other way. Sometimes she is passable and other times I just want her to go away. All in all, I don’t think she is very good loo

Then there is Paul Giamatti as Braddock’s manager. Now I have been a fan of his ever since he first came into the public’s eye as “Pig-Vomit” in Howard Stern’s PRIVATE PARTS. Here, he is still reduced to somewhat of the same wisecracking sidekick role, but in all honesty nobody does it better. I was skeptic about his work in SIDEWAYS as the leading man. I actually pretty much forget about that movie all together. (A little overrated, don’t ya think?) Anyways, Giamatti does here, what he does best without ever attempting to chew up the scenery. Those of you upset about his nowhere to be found Oscar nomination last year should feel pretty confident that he will not go unrecognized next January when the nominations are announced.

And then there is Ron Howard, who I can officially forgive for THE GRINCH. He really handles this story with great grace and maturity. This is your standard bio-pic, but it never feels like it. We never need to see how Braddock was raised or how he met his wife. This is a piece of a man’s life displayed through vision and sound with the utmost cinematic pleasures. And unlike a lot of epic filmmakers, Howard wraps it up nicely in just a little over two hours. *(Take out the little training montage at the halfway mark that we could do without, and every scene feels necessary). The boxing scenes alone, which make up about thirty percent of the film are among the most exciting we have seen in any sports movie in recent memory. There is more excitement in the last twenty minutes of this movie than any other I have seen all year.

Some, looking for something negative to say about this, will complain that the movie is too sentimental. But I never thought that. We don’t get a lot of sweeping music or tears to manipulate us. Everything about it is pure and true to the spirit of Braddock’s personality. And then there will surely be comparisons to MILLION DOLLAR BABY, another “kind of” boxing movie. Both movies are great, but really can’t be compared. I urge people to see it only because it will tell studios we want to see more movies like it. We want more reasons to go to the theaters. Remember, if we keep shelling out our dough to see lackluster stuff like HITCH and SAHARA, they will just make more of them. Why do you think we got XXX: STATE OF THE UNION?