Title: Resurrecting the Champ

Director: Rod Lurie

Released: August 24, 2007

Runtime: 1 hour 52 minutes

Available to stream on: Peacock, Tubi, Pluto, and Freevee

IMDb synopsis: Up-and-coming sports reporter rescues a homeless man (“Champ”) only to discover that he is, in fact, a boxing legend believed to have passed away. What begins as an opportunity to resurrect Champ’s story and escape the shadow of his father’s success becomes a personal journey as the ambitious reporter reexamines his own life and his relationship with his family.

Erik Kernan Jr. (Josh Hartnett) is a sportswriter for a major Denver newspaper. His father was a boxing announcer and Erik is trying to live up to the reputation of his name. One night, after leaving a boxing match he was covering, Erik hears something happening in an alley and decides to check on it. Turns out there are a couple of young kids beating on a homeless man (Samuel L. Jackson). Erik runs them off but not before they knockdown the homeless man.

When Erik walks over to check on the old man and asks if he is okay, the old man replies and says the boys were just having fun because it’s fun to beat the Champ. When Erik asks what he means when he refers to himself as “Champ”, he learns that the man he just helped is none other than Battlin’ Bob Satterfield. What’s the significance of a homeless man claiming to be Bob Satterfield? Well, everyone believes that Bob Satterfield has been dead for twenty years.

Coming into contact with Champ could not have happened at a better time for Erik. It just so happens that his editor Ralph Metz (Alan Alda) has flat out told him that his writing is boring and forgetful. Erik sees the writing on the wall and knows he’s on the chopping block. He decides that for his next assignment, another boxing match, he’ll bring Champ with him. While ringside next to Erik, Champ tells him who will win and how it will happen. Low and behold, Champ was correct, and Erik used Champ’s explanation of how he knew who would win in his article.

As Erik’s luck would have it, Metz liked the piece and said it even sounded authentic. However, Erik is still looking for that one story that will open bigger and better doors for him. So, he decides to tell the story of Bob Satterfield, getting Champ to agree to tell the world his story and that he is very much still alive. But he’s not writing the piece for Metz, he’s going behind Metz’s back and writing it for a weekly magazine the newspaper runs. In fact, Erik was promised it would be the cover story of the magazine.

Champ tells his Erik his story and all about how he used to be the number three ranked fighter in the world. He used to spar with Rocky Marciano, he even broke Marciano’s nose, not the big bone but the little one. Erik knows that he has an amazing story on his hands and runs with it. As promised, the story, titled ‘Resurrecting the Champ’, is the cover story. Donations come pouring in to help Champ, Erik gets a call to be an interviewer for Showtime Boxing, everyone is getting exactly what they needed.

So, a true story that ends with a happy ending, what’s not to love? Well, what if that isn’t the end of the story? What if there’s a story for Erik within the story about Champ?

Truth be told, I don’t remember hearing much of anything about Resurrecting the Champ when it was released. And I definitely didn’t know that it was based on a true story. So, I went into this viewing not knowing what to expect. One thing I certainly didn’t expect was the performance we get from Samuel L. Jackson. Not that I ever doubt his ability, I’m no fool, but that his performance makes this movie. The way he moves, speaks, and carries himself as a homeless down and out former contender is so convincing that you forget you’re watching an actor. While Jackson acted believable, the hair and makeup team deserves credit as well for making Jackson look believable in the role. Josh Hartnett gives one of his better performances here as Erik Kernan Jr. and the supporting cast carries their weight as well, Alan Alda especially.

For as great as the movie can be when Samuel L. Jackson is on screen; it can swing just as easily in the other direction when he’s not. That’s not to say that the story isn’t good. But, when the focus is more on Erik and his issues that he is trying to work through regarding his father, my interest started to fade.

A compelling, albeit forgettable, sports drama that deserved more.

If you’re curious to read the article the movie was based on, you can find it here.

Well, those are my thoughts. But what about yours? Have you seen Resurrecting the Champ (2007)? If so, hit me with your thoughts in the comments below or by reaching out on social media!

Next up will be the letter “S”. There’s certainly no shortage of options there. Do you have a suggestion for what the movie should be? Well, you know the drill. You’ve got until Wednesday morning to get those suggestions in!

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Title: Jerry & Marge Go Large

Director: David Frankel

Released: June 17, 2022

Runtime: 1 hour 36 minutes

Available to stream on: Paramount+

IMDb synopsis: Based on the true story about long-married couple Jerry and Marge Selbee, who win the lottery and use the money to revive their small town.

Jerry (Bryan Cranston) and Marge (Annette Bening) Selbee live in the small town of Evart, Michigan. After forty-two years as a production line manager, Jerry is being forced into retirement. While Jerry isn’t keen on the idea of retirement, Marge is thrilled at the idea of them both enjoying their golden years together.

As a retirement gift, Marge, his son Doug (Jake McDorman), and his daughter Dawn (Anna Camp) buy Jerry a boat. When Jerry decides to take it out for the first time, his truck begins rolling down the boat ramp into the water. Panicking that he might lose his truck, Jerry leaves the boat and hops into the truck and floors it. While he managed to save the truck, he forgot that the boat wasn’t completely off the trailer. The boat motor was absolutely destroyed as it was drug across the pavement.

While in his local convenience store, Jerry happens glance at the back of a lottery ticket. Here is the thing about Jerry, he’s really good with numbers. As he notices the odds on the back of the WinFall ticket, his brain kicks into high gear. Jerry has found a loophole in the WinFall lotto game. In short, buy enough tickets and the variable of luck is reduced to a point that favors the player every time. After testing his theory and realizing he was correct, the fun begins.

Jerry and Marge begin buying WinFall tickets by the thousands. Realizing that the more tickets they can buy the bigger their winnings will be, they decide to get their whole town in on the action. The people of Evart, Michigan are on board with the plan. But the people of Evart, they don’t want to spend their winnings on shiny new toys. They want to invest in the town and bring some life back to it.

So, what happens when the WinFall game is no longer available in Michigan? Well, if you’re Jerry and Marge, you’re retired so you go and find WinFall. They decide to drive to Massachusetts where WinFall is still an active game. Stopping in one of the first gas stations they see that offers Winfall, they meet Bill (Rainn Wilson) who runs the gas station. After multiple visits, Jerry and Marge let Bill in on their hustle. Without any hesitation, Bill is in and allows them to print their own tickets for however long it takes each time they pop in.

Things are back on track and the winnings are piling up. However, there’s another group that has caught onto the flaw and is starting to exploit it as well. A group of Harvard students are recruiting the wealthy friends of their parents to get in on the WinFall loophole. The group eventually confronts Jerry and tries to force him out of the game while still promising him a cut of the profits. But Jerry and Marge enjoy the travel and the good fortune that this all brings to Evart. So, what are they to do? Do they let the entitled and obnoxious Harvard kids do all the legwork while still getting a cut? Or is the smarter play to face them head on and show these kids that with age comes wisdom?

The fact that this is based on a true story is wild. The decision to tell the story in such a bland way is also wild. It isn’t that there’s anything horribly wrong with Jerry & Marge Go Large, it’s that there isn’t anything that’s particularly good about it either.

Bryan Cranston could make watching paint dry captivating. He is great as Jerry and is able to keep you engaged when he’s on-screen. Annette Bening playing the role of the woman wanting to bring excitement back into her life is great as well. Who really stood out in his brief time on camera was Larry Wilmore as Jerry’s accountant, Steve. We could have used more of Steve’s humor and less of the humor we actually got. There are a lot of “old people don’t get technology” jokes. There’s also a lot of forced “crazy old guy” gimmicks with Jerry. More often than not, both miss their landing.

What is nice though is that it’s a feel-good story. Who doesn’t love a nice feel-good story? Yes, the story, as it’s told to us, is bland. This probably would have been much more captivating if we focused more on Jerry and Marge as a character study. But sometimes simple and bland is okay. There’s nothing wrong with walking away from a movie thinking, “That was okay, but I’ll probably never watch it again.”

So, what do you think? Have you seen Jerry & Marge Go Large (2022)? If so, hit me with your thoughts and reviews in the comments below or by reaching out on social media!

Well, now that “J” is in the books, it’s time to look ahead to next week. Since I will be traveling this week, I’ve got the letter “K” in the can for you already. Next Sunday, Oscar Sunday, for the letter “K”, we’ll be reviewing Kansas City (1996) which is currently available to stream on Prime Video.

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