MovieChat Forums > Cinderella Man (2005) Discussion > This movie is such a joke...especially ...

This movie is such a joke...especially the way Howard portrays Max Baer

posted 15 years ago by BarstoolBlues33
36 replies | jump to latest

This movie was so dolled up with holly wood melodrama. The way they portray Max Baer is an insult to him and his family. Howard portrays him as this arrogant, womanizing (borderline abusive...you know the scene), "killer". This movie loves to bring up the fact that Frankie Campbell died from injuries he sustained in his fight from Baer, but doesn't at all mention how upon Campbell's death Baer broke down and wept inconsolably...but that would make it hard to set up him as the villain for Jim Braddock right? *rolls eyes* Baer was a showman and that "arrogance" was just playing to the crowd, yet this movie makes him out to be a complete *beep* yet at the end of his fight in the movie and in real life he went and lifted up Braddock's hand. Not to mention this movie makes their fight out to be a lot more interesting then it really was, when it was pretty much considered a bore fest. Max Baer took Braddock lightly and didn't much train for the fight and he paid for it, but to make him out to be the way this movie portrays him is extremely classless by Ron Howard and an insult to Baer and his family...

[–] Jackass86 15 years ago

[–] TaterMitts 15 years ago

Cool story bro.

Mein Fuhrer! I can valk!

[–] Quiet_Cookie 15 years ago

I do think that was quite cheap the way they portrayed Max Baer. Especially when you read about how tortured the guy was the rest of his life over that one fight. I feel so awful for him.

Its better to burn out than fade away.

[–] HugsFromLV426 15 years ago

First of all, let me say that when I saw Cinderella Man, I thought it was an excellent film.

With that out of the way, I think that it is inexcusable to falsly show a negative portrayal of a real person for the sake of a movie. I am not an expert on Max Baer, but I have heard from many sources that he was not the classless lout that he was portrayed to be. I don't have a problem with Hollywood taking a little creative license to add to a story, but slandering a real person crosses the line.

[–] BarstoolBlues33 15 years ago

Exactly. If you are going to put that "based on a true story" moniker on your film you should stay close to the truth. No wonder Max Baer's family was so disgusted by the film, they basically portrayed him as a sadistic, whore monging, meat head. It's clear disrespect.

[–] smitty1941 14 years ago

Yeah, that's true. I've heard James Cameron did the same thing in Titanic...

[–] muttly13 14 years ago

And German Socialists may not have all been bad guys, but they make great villains. Its a movie and it never claims historical accuracy.

[–] gyecosta 14 years ago

er, but Max Baer was American, not German. Maybe you are thinking of Max Schmeling.
It's a pity, but entirely predictable that in order to portray Braddock as a GOOD man the film had to make Baer by contrast as a BAD man.

[–] mjno7 14 years ago

No, he's referring to the generalisation of German socialists in movies. FWIW I enjoyed this movie but thought that Max Baer was unfairly treated.

[–] jlbwells 14 years ago

look im sorry, but it was movie the climax would have been no where near what it was had they portrayed him more realistically, remember its not a documentary its hollywood biopic of sorts

[–] ronnivic 14 years ago

We all do know that the Nazi's called themselves the German National Socialist Party in order to sound benign and legitimate?
The German socialists opposed the Nazis. While it incorporated elements from both left-wing and right-wing ideology, Nazism is considered to be a form of far right politics, i.e. fascism.
Not to be a bore but the extreme right in the US uses this kind of rhetoric to fool people. Just wanted to be clear.
And yes, Ron Howard owes an apology to the family of Max Baer.

[–] kswiss89 10 years ago

Oh come on, the Nazi party is equivocal to far right politics and uses the same rhetoric?

Your extreme Partisanship is showing. To compare conservatives to the nazi party is insulting to those who support the GOP. I'm no Tea Party member by any means, but people on the far left are no better than people on the far right.

"Even though I'm no more than a monster - don't I, too, have the right to live? " -Oh Dae-Su

[–] 10 years ago

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[–] nfasano-1 14 years ago

Has anyone ever heard of a literary foil? An obscure playwriter brought the phrase into popular usage in a long forgotten play called Hamlet. That's right sports fans, Billy Shakespeare used it in the play and the phrase stuck. A foil is a secondary character who displays features/personality opposite the main character in order to emphasize the flaws/attributes of the main character. Max Baer was the foil to Jim Braddock. If Max Baer were portrayed as a man struggling through the depression and battling personal demons, the movie would be depressing. With only a few exceptions, sports movies are meant to be inspiring and uplifting. How many sports movies have you seen in which you were indifferent about the outcome? It's harder to root for Braddock if the audience feels sorry for Baer. An average guy rising out of the ashes of the depression and earning every inch that he got along the way is inspiring. People don't buy tickets to sports movies that leave them with a bad feeling. And occasionally flim makers like to make a profit with the movies they make.

[–] Empyre_of_Dyrt 14 years ago

It's ok to slander a real person so long as it furthers the plot of a movie? That's an interesting code you live by. Most viewers of Cinderella Man will go in not knowing much about Max Baer, and will leave believing that the portrayal is accurate. If the portrayal is not accurate then an injustice has been done to Baer's legacy, and to his family.

Btw, the characters in Hamlet are fictional. Big difference.

[–] JR541 14 years ago

Baer got more press then he had in 50 years due to this movie. Much of it was due to the inaccurate portrayal. It actually helped his family to spread the word about how he really was as a person.

He's taking the knife out of the Cheese!
Do you think he wants some cheese?

[–] Empyre_of_Dyrt 14 years ago

Even if the second part of your statement is true it's incidental, and has no bearing on the rightness or wrongness of slandering a man's memory for profit.

[–] JR541 14 years ago

This was viewed through the eyes of the Braddock's and they thought of him as such.

He's taking the knife out of the Cheese!
Do you think he wants some cheese?

[–] 14 years ago

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[–] crobinho 14 years ago

I agree, its not OK! but its also not OK to slander whole nations for the benefit of profit! for example many of the Western movies are picturing the Indians as savages, thieves, etc..., but the pioneers are pictured as noble, brave, etc...
also you don't see much Hollywood movies where the Russians are shown as positive characters, or do you!?
never heard any of the Hollywood directors apologizing to Indians or Russians for making them look bad!!!

[–] 14 years ago

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[–] Smush Master 14 years ago

Maybe Jethro needs to make a movie about the true story about his father, instead of griping about how others portray him.
Oh wait I forgot. He only has a 5th grade education.

[–] 14 years ago

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[–] ErichM 14 years ago

Yeah, I did some research after seeing this film, and it's definitly *beep* up how they portray Baer.

[–] joscco 13 years ago

Anyone similarly worked up about the *beeped* up portrayals of Richard III?

[–] 13 years ago

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[–] joscco 13 years ago

"You must not have read the facts of my post and some of the others about Baer..."

Yes, I have, and I think it is more than a bit presumptuous and condescending to think I did not.

"Have you ever heard of the "Richard the 3rd Society"? Have you ever read the works of the number of historians, British subjects from all walks of life, authors, playwrights and statesman throughout English and Western history like Winston Churchill, who felt strongly about Richard being not only misjudged, but innocent on many and/or every count and that he was also a very good king."

See my response above.

"...nor do you seem to care about the impact of having someone's life and legacy slandered and lied about for the sake of a profit for a film."

Very few "critics" are bothered by such considerations and instead focus on the artistic merits of a film or play itself. So why, in the case of Cinderella Man, does the life and legacy of the boxer Max Baer suddenly become so precious?

Lastly, as I state in my subsequent post, I'm not convinced that the depiction of Max Baer is that inaccurate. I see you have attacked that posting also and would be happy to respond later.

"I told you it was off." The Jackal

[–] 13 years ago

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[–] joscco 13 years ago

I'm not convinced that Baer's depiction in Cinderella Man is that inaccurate. For anyone interested, there's a very good discussion of this topic at:

http://cyberboxingzone.com/cbzforum/archive/index.php?t-1604.html

by Mike DeLisa, the author of the book Cinderella Man.

"I told you it was off." The Jackal

[–] 13 years ago

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[–] 13 years ago

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[–] David_Blue 13 years ago

There's no slander. Baer was arrogant, a womanizer and a killer in the ring.

[–] Doc80 11 years ago

Yeah, it's not like they portrayed him as killing anyone on purpose or trying to seriously hurt people in the ting. He wasn't the main focus of the film and as someone else said, this movie is told from Braddock's perspective and may very well be how he saw him.