BEFORE: This is three in a row for Liev Schreiber, and this film not only co-stars his ex-wife (or ex-fiancée, the web is a little unclear over whether they ever tied the knot...) Naomi Watts, but she's going to be appearing in the next few films.
THE PLOT: A drama inspired by the life of heavyweight boxer Chuck Wepner, who had a once-in-a-lifetime bout with Muhammad Ali that would inspire the film "Rocky".
AFTER: There's a famous saying about how the unexplored life isn't worth living, but I think that we've got to start drawing the line somewhere. Chuck Wepner's career was supposedly the inspiration for the original "Rocky" film, so why isn't that enough? Really, it was just a springboard, and Stallone fashioned that story into Hollywood's ultimate boxing underdog story, with a tweak here and there, no doubt - then he took it to the extreme in Rocky's II, III, IV and V, and so on. Chuck Wepner never fought a Soviet super-boxer, though apparently he did box against a bear. So I guess then he inspired the movie "Semi-Pro", too?
The problem seems to be that movies about the best boxers have already been made - like "Ali", and "The Hurricane", "Cinderella Man" and "Bleed for This". Not to mention "Raging Bull" and "The Fighter", then all the ones made about fictional boxers, like "Requiem for a Heavyweight", clips of that one are shown in this film, as it's Chuck's favorite movie. I think I've reached burn-out on the boxing theme, like maybe if some channel runs "Hands of Stone" I'll take a run at it, but for the most part, I think I'm done with it.
"Chuck" takes a different sort of approach, since most boxing films would end on a high note, when the central figure had his greatest success, or at least had a shot at the title, even if he didn't win. But "Chuck" gets there very early, about 1/3 of the way through the film, and then there's a long slow slide down the other end, after Chuck had his shot against Muhammad Ali. Turns out they were just looking for a white opponent for Ali to fight, because think of the optics of that fight in 1975, and how it benefited the civil rights movement for Ali to come out on top, beating another black opponent might have seemed counter-productive.
So, really, Wepner had no shot - just like in the movie "Goon", he was more well-known for lasting a long time, or "going the distance", despite being injured. That's how he got the nickname "The Bayonne Bleeder", one he apparently hated. Even when he was the 8th ranked boxer in the world, he still kept his job as a New Jersey liquor distributor, which was probably a solid idea. As long as his buddy could cover his route on fight night, that is.
Chuck's problems really began once he found out that Stallone had been inspired by his story when writing "Rocky". That way Chuck took a win for the film, like the Best Picture Oscar, as a personal victory. And that was probably enough in the 1970's to get a guy laid, or at least get him a few free drinks. And then that disco-party lifestyle caught up with him once drugs and infidelity entered the mix, his wife kicked him out and eventually he ended up in jail.
What comes around goes around, though - and after making contact with Stallone and then blowing an audition for a part in "Rocky II", Wepner encountered Sly one more time, when Stallone was making the prison movie "Lock Up", and shot on location in the same jail where Wepner was serving his time. But by then, Wepner was so over Stallone. (Hey, aren't we all?)
So in the end it's a toss-up - it's a little refreshing that a movie chose not to beef up a boxer's credentials, turn him into the greatest thing since sliced bread so that the audience would cheer for him, but at the same time, if Wepner wasn't all that great of a fighter, why choose to make a movie about his life? He just seems like a normal guy who came close to succeeding at something, then made a few mistakes while thinking he was famous. I guess that's kind of the point?
It was nice to see a restaurant that I recognized in the scene where Wepner first met Stallone - it's not listed in the shooting locations on the IMDB, but that's Bamonte's, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. I've eaten there several times, everyone Italian (or married to an Italian) in Brooklyn probably knows it. The sign on the window was quite prominent, and it's still got that crushed red velvet-like interior, which probably hasn't been changed since the 1970's. Perfect setting, because eating there sort of is like stepping back in time to the "Godfather" days. I bet if a car backfires outside, half the diners still duck under the tables.
Also starring Elisabeth Moss (last seen in "On the Road"), Naomi Watts (last seen in "Le Divorce"), Ron Perlman (last heard in "The Spiderwick Chronicles"), Jim Gaffigan (last seen in "Hot Pursuit"), Michael Rapaport (last seen in "Sully"), Pooch Hall, Jason Jones (last seen in "Goon: Last of the Enforcers"), Morgan Spector, William Hill, Kelvin Hale, Wass Stevens, Sadie Sink, Melo Ludwig, Angel Kolev, Paul Mecurio, Megan Sikora, Catherine Corcoran, with archive footage of Anthony Quinn (last seen in "Lust for Life"), Julie Harris (last seen in "Harper"), Telly Savalas.
RATING: 5 out of 10 disco dancers
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