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getrichwhizkid
Reviews
Body and Soul (1999)
Honest to a fault
This movie is not as bad as every comment I have read so far. I mean, other than the fact that Ray Mancini is a pretty darn lousy actor in the lead role, looking every bit like a boxing palooka, this picture is kind of interesting. Rod Steiger has a strange role as Charlie (kid) Davis' trainer. He must think he's doing On The Waterfront for the somewhat clichéd and slightly overblown portrayal he gives here, especially since it is so far away from what Mancini can give to his part as the Kid. Joe Mantegna is particularly good as the promoter everyone loves to hate. His caustic wit and sarcastic demeanor are amusing as well as entertaining, and the script gives him some very good lines to deliver. And Michael Chiklis, playing the part of Charlie's rather low grade slovenly manager, does an admirable and convincing job trying to protect Charlie from the inherent evils of the boxing game. Jennifer Beals brings a sort of sweet sincerity to her role as Charlie's girlfriend. And she seems almost vacant enough to be convincing as someone who could actually love Charlie. But the movie seems weak,largely because of a weak plot and Mancini's total inability to act. A top rate actor in the lead may have actually transformed this picture into something like a top rate boxing film. The ironic part is Mancini acts just like a boxer in his world WOULD act. . .kind of stupid and punchy. But he is caught being the only really dumb looking character in the whole film, which is too big a contrast to be ignored. The boxing sequences in the film are quite good, and I enjoyed the cinematography, and all the camera shots of Reno, the movie's setting. Overall, I gave this picture 6 hard earned points for being somewhat too honest a portrayal of boxing in the real world.