Cinderella Man poster

2005·144 min·Released

Cinderella Man

“One man's extraordinary fight to save the family he loved.”

Romance
Drama
History

The true story of boxer Jim Braddock who, following his retirement in the 1930s, makes a surprise comeback in order to lift his family out of poverty.

7.6(2,440 votes)

Popularity4

Videos

Cinderella Man - Official® Trailer [HD]

Cast & Crew

Russell Crowe

Russell Crowe

Jim Braddock

Renée Zellweger

Renée Zellweger

Mae Braddock

Paul Giamatti

Paul Giamatti

Joe Gould

Craig Bierko

Craig Bierko

Max Baer

Paddy Considine

Paddy Considine

Mike Wilson

Bruce McGill

Bruce McGill

Jimmy Johnston

David Huband

David Huband

Ford Bond

Connor Price

Connor Price

Jay Braddock

Ariel Waller

Ariel Waller

Rosemarie Braddock

Patrick Louis

Patrick Louis

Howard Braddock

Rosemarie DeWitt

Rosemarie DeWitt

Sara

Linda Kash

Linda Kash

Lucille Gould

No editorial yet

Guides and articles for this movie will appear here after content sync.

Andres Gomez

Written on 3/21/2016

The stereotypical sports movie about a character which goes from glory to hell and back to the glory again. The story is OK, but nothing new. Crowe performs well, but it is not one of his best movies. Giamatti is great, as always but Zellwegger is too cheesy in her role. Just an entertaining movie without any more intentions.

Peter McGinn

Written on 5/21/2021

This is a fine boxing movie, one that relies more on the fighter’s personal story than endless scenes of boxing brutality. James Braddock’s final rise to the championship was an inspirational example during the lull in between the headline-grabbing reigns of Jack Dempsey and Joe Louis, when the heavyweight title changed hands several times. My only complaint with Ron Howard’s film was its portrayal of Max Baer, the champion Braddock defeated to win the title. For dramatic purposes, they changed his personality and made him into a bullying, vicious person, to the point of making a crude comment about Braddock’s wife. They needed a bad guy so they made one. I became interested in Max Baer when I was a teen and read a lot about him over the decades. He was fierce when he meant business in the ring, but mostly he was happy go liucky and didn’t love the fight game. As a side note, Max Baer’s son was also upset at seeing this man he didn’t recognize as his father (this was Max Baer Jr., Jethro Bodean from the Beverly Hillbillies). But what can you do — making changes is standard procedure for movies based on real events. They are often still worth watching. Just don’t use them for research for a school project, right?

CinemaSerf

Written on 2/21/2025

Once Jim Braddock (Russell Crowe) breaks his hand in a fight, he discovers that his previously reasonably successful life in the ring has come to an end - and that puts him, wife “Mae” (Renée Zellweger) and their kids on skid row. He’s gone from making $8,000 from a fight to ferreting around the docks looking for work and taking state welfare funds so they can keep their children in their now electricity-free apartment. Then serendipity takes an hand as his former manager Joe Gould (Paul Giamatti) arranges a last-minute fight for him that might garner a meagre $250. It’s not a fight he’s expected to fare well in, but against the odds he triumphs and that enables Gould to engage with his former backer Jimmy Johnston (Bruce McGill) and that could, ultimately, lead to a world title tight fight against Max Baer (Craig Bierko). It’s a pretty savage indictment of urban American life in the 1930s and it also serves well at illustrating just how boxing so often proved the most appealing and available conduit for many an uneducated man to escape the poverty trap that would embrace not just him but his family, too. As to Braddock, his story also involves his close friend “Mike” (Paddy Considine) who embarks on a similar career path, only he has neither the skill nor the sense to make it work. For that, Braddock is especially fortunate to have Gould in his corner, a man who is less venal than many who would hire and fire at the drop of an hat. It’s the boxing action that really works well here, though, with Crowe putting heart and soul into a character that is designed to demonstrate fortitude and determination, sure, but also humanity and humility too. Giamatti steals the scenes, but Zellweger also contributes well as Ron Howard presents us with a poignant, violent and plausible story of a man motivated by family and friends who epitomised his own version of the pioneering spirit.

Media

Cinderella Man - Official® Trailer [HD]

Cinderella Man - Official® Trailer [HD]