In an alley near the Denver Coliseum, three rowdy young men taunt an elderly homeless man (Jackson), who calls himself "Champ" and claims to have been a professional boxer. Champ’s not worried about compensation from filmmakers. Deliz has long sought to get Champ into a senior home, but said the homeless man doesn’t qualify for services for mentally ill patients. [8], Among mainstream critics in the U.S., the film received generally mixed to positive reviews. [21] John Anderson writing in Variety took a neutral position exclaiming, "Although helmer Rod Lurie circles a lot of thorny issues in this morality tale of a middleweight contender-turned-homeless vagrant and the reporter who rescues him from obscurity, the plan of attack is overly sentimentalized and the execution is slack. [10] At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average out of 100 to critics' reviews, Resurrecting the Champ received a score of 55 based on 28 reviews. “Sometimes I leave the gate open. “I put a few men to sleep with this left hook. The film stars Samuel L. Jackson, Josh Hartnett and Alan Alda and was directed by Rod Lurie. “He needs to be off the street and have his own place. Brown knocked out at 1:14 of the first round. "[14] Left a bit impressed, J.R. Jones writing in the Chicago Reader, surmised how actor Hartnett "really connects with the role of a dull-witted but grandly ambitious Denver Post reporter who hits on a great story when he crosses paths with a foggy homeless man (Samuel L. Jackson) who claims he's fearsome heavyweight boxer. [3] The film centers on a fictionalized former athlete portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson, living on the streets of Denver, who attempts to impersonate the life and career of former professional heavyweight boxer Bob Satterfield. [5] Critical exterior shots were also filmed in Denver, Colorado, where the story itself is based.

Pimpinella knocked out at 0:19 of the second round.


Satterfield knocked out at 1:50 of the seventh round. [9] Rotten Tomatoes reported that 60% of 119 sampled critics gave the film a positive review, with an average score of 6.1 out of 10.

"[17], The film however, was not without its detractors. Champ said it was his manager’s idea, a way to bring in bigger crowds at smaller venues across the country. The film was a co-production between the motion picture studios of Phoenix Pictures, Alberta Film Entertainment, Battleplan Productions, and the Yari Film Group. His gnarled knuckles and the uneven skin above read like a scorecard of those rounds in the ring. [26] For that weekend period, The Game Plan starring Dwayne Johnson opened in 1st place with $22,950,971 in box office receipts. He also knows intricate details about Bob Satterfield’s life. During an interview with a magazine publisher named Whitley (Paymer), Kernan informs him that he has an influential story about the former boxer Satterfield, who's now a homeless man living on the streets assuming the moniker "Champ". "[13] Columnist Marjorie Baumgarten of The Austin Chronicle professed that the film was "a sentimental drama about fathers and sons and the emotional distances between them. Bob "Bombardier" Satterfield (November 9, 1923 in St. Louis, MO – June 1, 1977) was a heavyweight boxer who fought from 1945–1957. [7] The film score was composed and orchestrated by a number of musicians including, Larry Groupé, Blake Hazard, and Neville Ivey. He is in Ring magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time at number 58. The movie itself — which deals (not very interestingly) with the issue of journalistic integrity and (very predictably) with father-son relationships — doesn't pack much of a wallop. McWhorter knocked out at 1:51 of the first round. For a corner of downtown Santa Ana, the legend’s name is Champ. However, before he can do so, he learns that he and the newspaper are being sued by Satterfield's son, Robert (Lennix). He’d just come back from vacation and was eager to find Champ for a checkup. [2] For 2007 as a whole, the film would cumulatively rank at a box office performance position of 201.[28]. [24] The film's revenue dropped by 66% in its second week of release, earning $554,616.

If you see comments that you find offensive, please use the “Flag as Inappropriate” feature by hovering over the right side of the post, and pulling down on the arrow that appears. For that particular weekend, the film fell to 25th place with a lower opening theater count at 1,295 cinemas. The storyline was conceived from a screenplay written by Michael Bortman and Allison Burnett, based on a Los Angeles Times Magazine article entitled Resurrecting the Champ, by author J.R.

Eventually, Kernan learns that Champ was once a famous former heavyweight boxing contender, Bob Satterfield. Satterfield later died from cancer at the age of 53. Champ has lived on the street for years and appears content to do so. Kernan later learns that Champ is in fact a lesser known boxing contender, Tommy Kincaid, whom Satterfield once defeated in the ring. RECALLING THE PAST: Tommy Harrison, who is homeless and living in Santa Ana, talks about some of his memories of his life as a boxer.

Satterfield Jr. is later appeased with a proposal by Kernan to write another article retracting his mistake; and to include personal journalistic material about the elder Satterfield which he long wanted someone to articulate about.

The ensemble cast also features Josh Hartnett, Alan Alda, David Paymer, and Teri Hatcher. According to Goss, they said they were working on a film about retired boxers. Not that Champ would go; Deliz said Champ’s daughter lives nearby, but the family doesn’t have the best relationship with him. He was also knocked out in 2 rounds by former heavyweight champion Ezzard Charles on January 13, 1954.

Then a few weeks ago, “We saw that this movie, ‘Resurrecting the Champ,’ was coming out,” Goss said, adding no one from the studio let the people around Champ know it would be released.