Cinderella Man Essay

From a descent fighter making it by in the world, to soup lines, to making one intense comeback, Braddock lived the ultimate American dream. â€Å"Cinderella Man,† James Braddock comes from New Jersey and he’s a light-heavyweight boxer in the start of this film. Making it by in life, he is forced to give up his dream when he ends up fighting with a broken hand, which took him out of the ring when he threw an illegal punch. That punch resulted with James losing his license. The Braddock’s could not afford to keep up with everything financially. He gives it his all in order to overcome the hardships he and his family are living. In an earlier scene Braddock gave his daughter his ration of a breakfast as she begged her mother in hunger, for more. â€Å"Here is a movie where a good man prevails in a world, where every day is an invitation to despair, where resentment would seem fully justified, where doing the right thing seems almost gratuitous, because nobody is looking and nobody cares.† (Ebert, Para 9) Braddock prays for the ability to provide, despite all he does he just could not make ends meet. His wife Mae sent the children away to her sisters so that they would be warm and provided for. He is so upset because he had promised those little ones they would never be separated and that he would do anything to keep their family together. Braddock resorts to begging his managers and others when he couldn’t afford to turn the utilities back on. He sells anything and everything worth a dime just to be able to provide for his wife and children, and get those kids back home. Braddock takes his collection of change along with wages from the docks and he managed to get the bills paid. The man just wants to be able to put food on the table as well as heat the home simultaneously. He manages to bring the kids back home and they run through filled with joy as they flicked nearly every light switch on. Nothing could have made them happier than to be back home and for their father to keep his promise. Out of sheer luck his manager comes to him one day with a single fight to offer for $250 only because another fighter needed a fill-in. He accepts the offer and wins; his manager then convinces everyone to let him back in the ring for good. He was truly given his second chance at life and the opportunity to fulfill his version of the American dream. The only problem is that his dream was his wife’s worst nightmare. That nightmare only got worse when Braddock was offered a chance in the ring with Max Baer. Despite the fact that Max Baer has already killed two men in the ring and his wife’s wishes against the fight, He took on Baer, knowing what a monster he was up against. Mae returns home and finds her children in the stairway listening to the fight over the radio. She proceeded to pace back and forth awaiting the end of the fight. All she wanted hoped, and prayed for was her husband’s survival and she got more; he won. When he eventually made it back to the ring, it was far from certain that he’d ever land a bout with the heavyweight champ – much less that he’d prevail over Baer, portrayed in the film as a single-minded punching machine with a mean streak as broad as his beefy shoulders. (Sterritt, Para 8) Becoming the new world champion, Braddock won more than just a fight. The story is almost fairy-tale-like as you feel his dreams come true in that last round. With his crooked smile pinned upon his face, Braddock took that win right from Baer. With the winnings he and his wife bought a house. They raised those kids in that house and happily lived the rest of their lives there. Triumphantly James Braddock won and lived the American dream Dargis, Manohla. â€Å"Cinderella Man (2005).† Movie Reviews, Showtimes and Trailers. The New York Times, 2005. Web.15 Apr. 2012. . Ebert, Roger. â€Å"Cinderella Man :: Rogerebert.com :: Reviews.†Rogerebert.com. Chicago Sun Times, 2 June 2005. Web. 15 Apr. 2012. . Sterritt, David. â€Å"In ‘Cinderella Man,’ Actors Pack a Punch.† The Christian Science Monitor. The Christian Science Monitor, 03 June 2005. Web. 29 Apr. 2012. .