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Fighting with integrity: Cinderella Man By Steve Beard Mike Tyson and James Braddock are studies in stark contrast. Braddock’s promising career initially came to a crashing halt because he was trying to fight with a broken hand, not because he tried to bite the ear off an opponent. Braddock was a devoted family man whose career was literally motivated by putting food on the table and paying his bills so the heat would not be turned off in the winter. “For me, Cinderella Man is the story of how one family survived the Depression,” says Russell Crowe. “Braddock went on with his life after boxing, bringing up his family, working for a living, loving his wife and watching his children grow and his grandchildren born and in 1974, dying in the house he bought with the winnings from that fight way back in 1935.” When the stock market crashed, there are stories of men leaving home in their suits and ties with briefcase in hand and sitting in Central Park all day rather than having to confess to their spouses that they had lost their jobs. The scene was dire. Braddock was a proud man in the middle of an emasculating era of American history. He tried to work on the docks of New Jersey, but so few men were chosen. He took whatever odd job he could find to care for his family. To his great embarrassment he stood in line at the Public Assistance office to collect a small amount of welfare. Cinderella Man is about courage, determination, and doing whatever it takes to care for your family. In one scene, Braddock makes his son return meat that the boy had stolen to a butcher. “No matter what happens, we don’t steal,” Braddock tells the boy. When his wife Mae sends their children away to stay with relatives because they could not afford to pay for heat in the winter, Braddock literally begs for money from boxing promoters--who had forced his retirement--in order to get his kids back under one roof. “I read about Braddock, how he did after boxing, how his kids all grew up and had kids and how he loved his wife until the day he died—such a simple story, such simple goodness and humor ,” remarks Crowe. “I wanted a man like this to be honored . I wanted his legacy to be relevant to Americans today. I also felt it important that Americans be reminded that their abundance has been built on the shoulders of people like Jim and Mae, hardworking parents who put their children as first priority.” When Braddock was financially back on his feet, he returned to the Public Assistance office to repay the welfare payments. In preparing for the role, Crowe studied hours of Braddock’s boxing footage as well as training with Angelo Dundee, the man who trained Muhammad Ali. The boxing scenes in Cinderella Man are phenomenally realistic—one of those situations where stunt doubles simply would not work. There is a poignant moment where Braddock, the devout Irish Catholic, confesses to his wife, “I am all prayed out.” He is at the end of his rope and the desperation to care for his family has eclipsed his hope. As he mounts his stunning career comeback, Braddock ends up giving hope to the blue-collar down-and-outers who need a hero. Although she did not support her husband’s decision to fight Max Baer for the world heavyweight title (Baer was responsible for two deaths in the ring), Mae went to church on the day of the fight to pray for her husband. Much to her surprise the sanctuary was filled with parishioners petitioning the Almighty on behalf of Braddock, the 10-1 longshot. They listened to the fight on radio at the church as the priest squeezed his rosary beads. His fellow dockworkers listened to the fight across town in the bars and taverns. What they all heard that night would be one of the greatest surprise victories since David and Goliath. “It’s very much about redemption and empowerment,” observes Ron Howard, “which are still driving forces in American culture today, especially when times are tough. It’s also about the sacrifices that everyday men continue to make in the service of their families.” Would it be too cheesy to call Cinderella Man a knockout? Perhaps. But it’s true. It is one of the most gut-wrenching, jaw-dropping, and heart-warming movies of the year. Steve Beard is the creator of www.Thunderstruck.org – a website devoted to faith and pop culture.
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“My whole life has been a waste – I’ve been a failure,” confesses the persistently-controversial boxer Mike Tyson. “I’ll never be happy. I believe I’ll die alone. I would want it that way. I’ve been a loner all my life with my secrets and pain. I’m really lost, but I’m trying to find myself. I’m really a sad, pathetic case.” 
While there will be some turned off by the pugilism in the ring, this is a red-meat story for red-state moviegoers—family values, marital commitment, and some good old-fashioned right hooks. 
For her part in researching the role of Mae, Renee Zellweger was able to read over 200 love letters that Braddock wrote to his wife. “It always comes back to the connection between Jim and Mae,” Zellweger says. “No matter what challenges they face, they always make it through because of the strength of their relationship. Their love is foundational in helping them through the harsh realities of the times.”