Gladiator - Rowdy Herrington
The absolute ridiculousness of this film begins immediately when we are asked to believe James Marshall (Twin Peaks, A Few Good Men) and Cuba Gooding Jr. (Zoolander, Men of Honor) are supposed to be in high school.
Marshall is 25 at the time of release and Gooding Junior is 24. Completely unbelievable.
Then they join an underground boxing circuit.
The circuit is full-on, playing to packed-out halls and thousands of dollars are changing hands. Adults are betting on school kids boxing AND none of the adults appears at all concerned.
The plot that allows this to occur with James’ father being away for work fits well. Instead of this being an awesome story of child exploitation and destruction of a terrible enforced fighting ring it becomes a tale about our boxer heroes making the right choice when it comes to stopping before you get brain damage.
This weird crossover between the child and adult world continues throughout. James gets a girlfriend and is juggling an afternoon job at the dinner where she works and school.
Both of them have such agency and there are some big steps here regarding their relationship and the impact boxing may have.
Also teenage sex. Both James and Cuba make excellent choices towards the close of the film as they are forced to fight when Cuba is told that if he takes another hit to the head he will likely be paralysed.
Then the leader of the underground ring backhands Cuba out of the ring so we assume he is done for. Then he and James fight. Horn, the villain is played by Brian Dennehy (Romeo & Juliet, The Blacklist) who was 54. The fight looks as ridiculous as it sounds.
The whole film misses the mark. If they wanted to make a film about these destitute families forced into boxing they should have made that film.
Placing it at the age they are at school ruins that story. The child exploitation story isn’t even touched on. It’s like everyone forgot that they were at school.
Very disappointing. Stay Away.
