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.