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Disabilities at the Multiplex: Resurrecting the Champ

Disabilities at the Multiplex
With Stephen Snart

Resurrecting the Champ



Starring Samuel L. Jackson, Josh Hartnett, Kathryn Morris, Dakota Goyo and Alan Alda
Written by Michael Bortman and Allison Burnett
Directed by Rod Lurie
Distributor: Yari Film Group Releasing
Release Date: August 24 (select cities)
Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 111 minutes

Loosely based on a story reported in a L. A. Times Magazine article in 1997, Resurrecting the Champ tells a tale of a brash, young journalist and a former heavyweight boxer turned brain-damaged homeless man. The former boxer, played with verve by the intrepid Samuel L. Jackson, is first seen rummaging through a dumpster behind a Denver sporting complex. He’s become popular with a group of mid-twenty dimwits who come around and give him a few dollars in return for boxing with “The Champ.” One evening, after an unspectacular bantamweight match, local sportswriter Erik Kernan (Josh Hartnett) discovers The Champ and saves him from the group of drunken amateur pugilists with the type of Good Samaritan ethos that only exists in the movies. After talking with The Champ for a few minutes, he learns that the local homeless man is actually Bob Satterfield, a once-great boxer in the mid-50s.

Erik takes an immediate interest in The Champ and begins visiting him on a daily basis, culling information for the makings of a feature article. The Champ is initially reluctant but after Erik supplies him with a brown-bagged 40, the stories start a-flowing. In spite of his shabby appearance and his short attention span, The Champ’s knowledge of the ring is immaculate. Erik invites him to tag along to a local fight and The Champ is instantly able to predict the winner through keen observation and personal recollection; his insight helping Erik to file an exceptional write-up of the match.

But Erik’s interest in Bob isn’t necessarily benevolent; in fact it’s mostly routed in self-aggrandizing opportunism. See, Erik is trapped in the shadow of his deceased father’s prolific career as a sports announcer. He tried to distinguish himself by taking on over 65 bylines for the Denver Times Sports Page the previous year but his prickly editor (Alan Alda) describes it as: “a lot of typing, not much writing.” So, Erik sees his chance meeting with The Champ as a prime opportunity to garner attention for his own sports writing rather than a way to raise awareness about The Champ’s destituteness.

It’s difficult to discuss The Champ’s mental condition without divulging too much of the plot but suffice to say, his brain has been significantly addled in the ring. Although, since his memory of his boxing days seems firmly intact, the film suggests his years on the street have taken a far worse toll on his mentality.

Following The Caveman’s Valentine in 2001, this is the second film in which Jackson has taken on the lead role of a homeless man. In Resurrecting the Champ, he again takes his job as seriously as the consummate professional that he is. His face caked with dirt and grime seemingly seeping from his pores (a flawless make-up job by Allan A. Apone), Jackson is completely immersed in his character for the film’s entirety, never once winking at the camera or revealing his celebrity persona. Unfortunately, the filmmakers don’t seem quite as respectful of the character as Jackson does, as they occasionally exploit his condition for story’s sake; not unlike the way Erik is using The Champ for his article.

The film bears no real examination of the practicality of The Champ’s survival on the streets. No mention is made of the harsh Denver snowfalls that can range from mid-October to the end of April or for that matter, how many of them he has weathered. Nor is there any insight into the homeless community, save for a brief scene set in a soup kitchen. Which in turn raises the question – one the movie refuses to acknowledge – does The Champ deserve any extra attention than the droves of other homeless people roaming the streets? Granted, the majority of the film is told from Erik’s perspective and his character readily illustrates that he has little interest in such details. But that’s not an excuse, the film still features scenes of The Champ that exist outside of Erik’s realm of knowledge; just they’re used primarily to show him fending off his mid-20 assailants.

While the situation of a mentally fractured homeless man is mildly exploited for the sake of dramatic license, it permits the film to conduct a truly remarkable slight-of-hand: convincing the audience to feel almost as much sympathy for a self-centered journalist as for a wandering poor. As Erik spiels the doom and gloom of his journalism career – highlighting everything from the internet’s takeover to corporate politicking to unreasonable time conditions – it’s all enough to dissuade even the pluckiest of high school newspaper editors from considering a career in journalism.

Much of the effectiveness of the character is due to the screenwriters’ decision – and Hartnett’s willingness – to assuage cloy sympathy by playing up the character’s considerable faults instead of clinging to the few positives that he does exhibit. The brilliance being that Hartnett’s performance is able to convey the character’s naïve disillusion.

In a string of heartbreaking scenes, we see Erik filling his six-year-old son Teddy’s head (a sweetly sincere performance by young Dakota Goyo) with a series of white lies about his job, never stopping to realize the damage he is causing until it’s too late. The screenwriters, Michael Bortman and Allison Burnett, demonstrate a keen ability to write complex lead characters but also a need for them to pay more attention to plotting.

There are a number of plot holes here that certainly couldn’t stand nine rounds and probably wouldn’t hold up much longer than one round (i.e. one viewing). Further, the ending is certainly too cutesy for a film hard-hitting enough to present such a flawed lead character and dexterous enough to evoke sympathy for him. But still, the basic story is an engrossing one and the lead performers have such a beguiling quality that it’s easy to brush off some of the less plausible aspects of the script and simply give in to the impassioned yet understated acting.

Description of photo above: Setting: a park in early fall perhaps. It's cold enough for the three characters to wear light jackets. A young man (Josh Hartnett) is sitting on a piece of playground equipment and a child, a boy, is in his lap leaning up against him. Standing in the grass in front of them, facing them, is the Samuel L. Jackson character. He's in a boxer's stance, knees bent, fists in front of his face, as if demonstrating his boxing moves.

Feel Your Heart Race with the Victory Junction Gang

"Focusing on Abilities"

Written by: Karen Stallings

The Actor, Paul Newman, opened and founded The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp in Ashford, Connecticut in 1988, for children with cancer and serious blood disorders. He named The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp for the ragtag bandits from his movie, “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”. Since 1988, Newman has founded camps in New York, Florida, Ireland, France and California. He wants to give children the chance to “kick back,” relax and have lots of fun!” Newman insists that the camps’ focus would be about fun and it could be free of charge for the campers and their families.

The NASCAR Driver, Kyle Petty and his wife, Pattie, partnered with Paul Newman in October of 2000, to launch their most ambitious project to date – The Victory Junction Gang Camp. This project was founded to honor their son, Adam, (the first fourth generation professional athlete in the United States) who was killed in May of 2000 during practice for a NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Race in Loudon, New Hampshire. A study was done and found that there were over 230,000 chronically ill children within radius of the proposed Victory Junction site. The study also found that there were very few opportunities for children with needs to attend a camp and there wasn’t any facility similar to a Hole in the Wall Gang Camp in the region.

Victory Junction Gang serves children from ages 7-15, with the following diseases and conditions: arthritis, asthma, heart diseases, spina bifina, kidney & liver diseases, sickle cell, etc. Victory Junction primarily serves children from North and South Carolina, Virginia. Due to the close relationship with NASCAR, Victory Junction will accept a limited number of campers on a national basis. Final selection for camp admission is determined by the Victory Junction Medical Advisory Board.

Victory Junction is an independent not for profit organization with a dedicated staff. Each camp in the Hole in the Wall Association has boards of directors and founders. NASCAR named Victory Junction as a proud sponsor and pledged their support through a comprehensive media campaign. In addition, many of the teams, owners and track owners support the camp with individual contributions.

Victory Junction has its camp year round! During the summer, there are eight one week disease specific camp sessions. The reminder of the year there are family retreats, specialized programs for smaller diseases groups, sibling weekends and camper reunions. There is no fee to attend the camp for the children and their families. The camp has volunteers and medical volunteers that work there. Everyone is welcome there to work as a volunteer including people with disabilities.

If you are interested in attending the camp, being a volunteer and making donations, contact the Victory Junction Gang Camp at 4500 Adam’s Way, Randleman, North Carolina 27317. The telephone number is (336) 498-9055. The fax number is (336) 498-9090. The website is www.victoryjunction.org

So, climb on board the Victory Junction Gang Platform and feel your heart race!

Meet Columnist Karen Stallings

Karen is the Executive Director of the Association of Self Advocates of N.C., Inc. She's an actress & a board member for a inclusive theater company, Raleigh Ensemble Players and she's currently writing her autobiography, "I'm not Disabled, I'm just a little Inconvenience", as well as a play "Soldiers of Empowerment". Karen is on many boards & committees in her community. She's been married for 9 years and she loves to travel.

Karen and her husband host and produce an award winning TV program called "Speak Up, Speak Out, Voices in the Community" on which they interview guests to talk about different disability issues...It has been on the cable access channell for 8 years. In addition, they edit and distribute a newsletter, Disability Express

Karen will be contributing posts in a column she is calling "Focusing on Abilities."

Disabled Peoples Assembly Film Series

Submitted by Day Al-Mohamed

The 7th annual DPI World Assembly in Korea has a small film festival attached to it. The mission of the Assembly is for people with disabilities from around the world to have the opportunity to meet and discuss the various status’ of people with disabilities in their countries, and to consider various progress plans together, share best practices, adopt resolutions and to basically share information.

Their side event of a Disability Film Screening includes 9 films. Most are from Korea and unfortunately I couldn’t find out much about them; Google translator isn’t quite ready for Korean. But there were two American films.

39 Pounds of Love

This film is about Ami Ankilewitz who was born with spinal muscular atrophy. A doctor told his parents he might live for six years; the film starts at his 34th birthday. The film follows him on his journey to fulfill his dreams: to visit his brother in America, to ride a Harley, and to find that doctor and tell him he was wrong.

http://www.39poundsoflove.com/main.html
39 Pounds of Love Official Website (Not screenreader accessible)

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051208/REVIEWS/51205004/1023
Roger Ebert Movie Review

Bethel - Community and Schizophrenia in Northern Japan

This film is about a small fishing town on the northern island of Hokkaido where the Bethel House organization supportsa small but vibrant group of people with schizophrenia and other psychosocial disabilities. Through various work programs, group homes, and a close relationship with the hospital and town, Bethel’s members slowly reintegrate into Japanese society. The film explores how the members of Bethel struggle with their lives, their problems, and the meaning of community.

http://www.disability.jp/bethel/
Website for Bethel

http://www.photoethnography.com/blog/
Bethel Director’s Personal Blog

What I think is important and what I want to draw attention to, is the growing number of conferences and festivals that have added side presentations, sessions and events on disability film. Yay! Hopefully, eventually we will be seeing more people with disabilities not only in film at these “disability events” but more people with disabilities making movies and these films at all film festivals and events.

Main Event Link: http://www.dpiwa.net/eu/
7th annual DPI World Assembly in Korea

Cross-posted at Day in Washington

Meet Columnist Mark Siegel

Mark Siegel is an attorney who works as a policy consultant for the State of Minnesota, where he specializes in the areas of disability and employment. Mark lives in Minneapolis and when he's not working, Mark enjoys film, live music, writing, and all things geek. He is a graduate of St. Norbert College and the University of Minnesota Law School.

For the past five years, Mark has been blogging at The 19th Floor. He is also currently guest-blogging for the BBC.