Clevercell Very disappointing...

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Usamah Harvey The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Kayden This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

smatysia This is a not-very-well-written film that nonetheless has redeeming features. The story arc is clichéd, (underdog succeeds against all odds, hubris sets in, everything lost, then redemption), and Meg Ryan, who I think is a better actress than some, is badly miscast here. She just can't come across as tough enough for this role. The slutty clothes her character wore, although looking very nice, didn't fit. (Even though I'm sure she was channeling Kallen) Omar Epps put in a very nice performance, and I have to compliment Kerry Washington and Charles S. Dutton for their work, although there was not enough of Washington. Also Tony Shalhoub who I haven't much cared for, shows his chops by going against type playing an imposing and menacing character. I see that Dutton directed and did well, inasmuch as I never noticed the direction. This film has deep faults, but somehow works, at least to a point. I thought it was OK.

xotitanicox I think Against the Ropes deserves more respect than it has gotten. Meg Ryan did the best she could in that type of character, and, although it was a change from her usual movies, it deserves a chance. It was entertaining and charming, I really enjoyed it. So, just watch it and see what you think, because, sometimes movies surprise you. This film is based on a true story, although it dosen't seem actually real. I found it mostly fictional. I am a big fan of Meg Ryan, but I was skeptical about this movie and it turned out to be entertaining. It may not have been a major box office hit, but it should be watched. That's all I have to say.

bob the moo As a girl Jackie Kallen was attracted to her father's world of boxing but he felt it was unseemly for a girl to be involved. Years later and Jackie is still labouring on the acceptable edges of the boxing business as an executive assistant. A public disagreement with top dog Sam LaRocca sees her taking the contract of a deadbeat boxer for a dollar. When her crack addict boxer gets beat up by thug Luther Shaw she flees but, seeing potential, goes back. She convinces Shaw to sign with her as a boxer and, with all her own possessions on the line, she starts out on her new career – although her beef with LaRocca sees her unable to even get a fight in town.This film sets out its stall in the first few minutes with an establishing childhood shot that was so simplistic that I felt it should have been coloured in with crayon. And so it continues as we jump to the present day where we join Jackie as she overcomes challenges to become a boxing manager. Based on a true story, this had the potential to be an interesting look at this struggle against a man's world against the odds but instead it is only ever a daytime TV melodrama. The film is entirely superficial throughout and never avoids the chance to have Jackie be a) tough, b) cheerful or, c) tearful. The biggest way this is a problem is in the character of Jackie; at no point did she convince and the result is that, at the end when Jackie pops up to give generic advice that turns the fight, I almost laughed out loud at the sheer corniness of it. I suppose Dutton must shoulder some blame but to be fair nothing in the script suggests that it wanted to be anything other than glossy pap.And if gloss and superficiality is your aim then I suppose casting Meg Ryan is a good move. Otherwise though I can't see why she was picked because she seems miscast and unable to lend any gravitas or grit to her part. Dutton is solid enough in a clichéd genre role while Epps at least fits his character well and delivers the simple emotions asked of him with conviction. Shalhoub doesn't have much material to work with but he seems to enjoy the tough edge and it does make for an interesting contrast to his current character of Monk! Daly is bland, Washington OK and so it goes on.Overall then a superficial and glossy daytime television sports film. I suppose viewers meeting it on this level will find it meets their needs but for me it was all very dreary and uninteresting stuff that didn't deserve to be screened anywhere other than a second rate cable channel on a Tuesday afternoon.

moonspinner55 Sloppy, sentimental boxing comedy-drama is based on successful female boxing manager Jackie Kallen's tough rise to the top ('loosely inspired' seems a more appropriate term). Meg Ryan plays Kallen with a streetwise edge in her voice and is appropriately cast, but her outlandish wardrobe certainly belies the salary of a glorified secretary, and Tony Shalhoub embarrasses himself as a 'Godfather'-styled kingpin of the boxing mecca (he dresses and talks like John Gotti, but only seems to have one client). Charles Dutton directed, and his own performance as the veteran trainer (yet another cliché) is at least warmly thought out--ironically, it's the best acting here. "Ropes" is a lackluster film, put together and distributed as if nobody involved had a hope in hell for it. The boxing scenes are slapdash, with Ryan walking right across the ring at one point to deliver a last-second pep-talk to Omar Epps, the kind of conspiratorial speech that is older than dirt (why doesn't she just say, "Win one for the Gipper"?). Omar's rise to success is swifter than a bad odor, which is pretty much what this misfire leaves in its wake. *1/2 from ****