Film Review of “Resurrecting the Champ,” Starring Samuel L. Jackson, Josh Hartnett, Kathryn Morris, 2007. Also stars Alan Alda and Teri Hatcher. Directed by Rod Lurie; Produced by Phoenix Pictures.
Themes & Topics: Bullying, Falling from Grace, Homelessness, Second Chances, the Power of Journalism, the Truth Shall Set You Free
Josh Hartnett.
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What an incredible film for showing the above themes and topics, based on a true story, actually. Samuel L. Jackson plays a boxer (the Champ) who is living a homeless life and being bullied and beaten up on a regular basis by some guys in an alley where the Champ hangs out.
Josh Hartnett (Kernan) plays a journalist at a newspaper who is not being valued… and he needs a break – a big story! He stumbles across this homeless guy who claims to be a famous boxer from the past…
Great to watch to understand more about not only the world of the hungry and desperate homeless people out there but also so many other realities out there. The Champ insists he was a boxer named Satterfield who won many big fights but wound up homeless. Kernan is hungry for a great story and rises to stardom in writing about the unhoused champion. Kernan needs this guy to be a champion.
Things are not always what they seem. Kernan writes a great story and is instantly catapulted into stardom. Things look great for him and his son who adores him and has gotten used to listening to his stories. Things even look great for him and the relationship he has with his wife—from whom he is separated—and viewers will pull for both of them, hoping they will patch up their troubles and move ahead with all of the fame and excitement coming to the journalist Kernan.
Social workers, counselors, and street helpers will benefit from learning about another story of an unhoused guy who has fallen from grace and lost his treasure, fame, and popularity. Bullied on a regular basis by some idiots who enjoy using the Champ as a punching bag, the former star of the ring provides a silly form of entertainment to the neighborhood indeed.
The film is very much about roles people take on—the characters they figure they are supposed to be—complete with all the trappings of those characters to make things “fit” as they should. It is all rather Goffmanesque.
The entire movie is generally good clean fun and important for helpers of the homeless to view… just as it is important for friends of struggling writers, couples having issues, and people trying to get over the hurdles and run the right direction down the track.
Excellent for showing how homelessness is a “thing” people make fun of, judge harshly, and use to discredit people, the film is important. Note that a couple times when people refer to the Champ as a “bum” Kernan corrects the people, saying that the guy is not a bum—just homeless.
A feel good movie, once we have climbed over the turnstyles, gotten through the traps, and survived the twists and turns…
Alan Alda plays the kind of boss we hate.
Samuel L. Jackson plays the fun athlete who bends the truth a bit.
Josh Hartnett plays an interesting character as he wished to do—he left huge movies behind after all to pursue films that were more important and had a message to them. Remember he passed on the chance to play Batman and some other big roles.
I recommend the movie because of its important messages and good acting. Teachers of writing in general—and of journalism specifically—have a good film to use in class to help students see many themes important to the field. The tough life of the newspaper is an interesting (and changing but still nerve-wracking) world to try to survive.
Online stories are now the rage, but a good story in a newspaper Sunday magazine section is still a good story.