Meg Ryan is a tough Detroit blonde who knows the boxing industry inside out and Tony Shalhoub is a heartless, cutthroat boxing lord. That's some daring casting. How about Marissa Tomei and Gandolfini? In addition to trying to get used to these new personas on old familiar faces, the first fifteen minutes of the film might make you wish you were watching another picture altogether. But then Omar Epps steps in, giving the production the punch you didn't see coming. Omar, sporting a great physique and aggressive acting chops, opens up the ring bringing heart and drama to an intro that hadn't much more to offer than big names. From there, the rest of the actors seem to feed off the new energy which generates some new faith for this underdog of a movie.

The fight toward the climax is strong, engaging and, in there someplace, this is a beautiful film. Just as concerned with internal growth as boxing titles, "Against the Ropes" finds fighting room for character. But, the momentum takes a surprise fall, someplace at the start of the third act from which it nearly fails to recover. Still, overall, a sweetness permeates.

Also deserving of mention, director Charles S. Dutton, delivers a Roc solid performance as Felix the boxing trainer.

This is movie fiction based on a real person. In reality, Jackie Kallen began her career in journalism during the mid-sixties. Later, after marrying and having two children, she expanded her work into radio and television. By the end of the next decade, she had become a respected sportswriter, after which she opened her own public relations firm, representing a wide variety of professional athletes. In the late eighties, Kallen decided to manager her own boxers.