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Resurrecting
The Champ Yari Film Group 112mins, PG-13 Directed by Rod Lurie  Erik
(Josh Hartnett) is the son of a famous sports writer who's
floundering in his late Dad's shadow. He's able to produce copy, but
as his boss at the Denver Times, Metz (Alan Alda), likes
to point out, that's not enough. Then he meets an old homeless dude
the locals derisively call The Champ (Samuel L.
Jackson), who claims to be a former contender named Satterfield.
Erik now has a subject for that great breakthrough article and the
Champ has a chance to get back out of the gutter. This he does, kind
of, and Erik gets to reconnect with his wife Joyce
(Kathryn Morris) and son Teddy (Dakota Goyo), who he
lies to about the celebrities he claims to know. Then somewhere
around the halfway point is the plot twist.Now this plot twist is very special. It's something that one doesn't see coming but when it does, one kicks him/herself in the butt for not doing so a mile away. That's because Jackson is sooo damn good, and Hartnett shows he can actually keep up and isn't just the pretty boy we've come to know on TV. What this platonic love story is mostly about is trust and how it is abused. Erik believes in what he's doing, and that it'll get him and his family out of the shadow of his dead father, the Champ knows the truth, but the story is too good to come clean on. Eventually, he's found out, and the film goes into a different gear. The film is based on a true story, so the happy ending is somewhat believable The film is more about acting and character than plot, and supporting actors David Paymer, Peter Coyote and Teri Hatcher actually manage to outshine Hartnett on occasion, but that's neither here nor there, because this is Jackson's movie and is well worth a matinee to check him out. Go to List of New Reviews Go to Index Archives of past reviews
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