The Champ (1979)

¨We did some silly things. Who knows why people do what they do? Nobody knows that, but she's... she's a good person.¨ The Champ has divided audiences over the world; there are those who consider this to be a masterpiece and others who believe it's just a terrible movie that tries too hard to be a tearjerker. I wouldn't agree with either statement, the movie isn't a masterpiece, but it isn't terrible either. It has it's touching moments with a good performance from Jon Voight as the lead actor. I did have some issues with the child actor, Rick Schroder, but it had more to do with the material he had to work with than anything else. The producers tried too hard in making him look so cute that his character lost credibility. This 1979 film, directed by Franco Zeffirelli, is actually a remake of a 1931 movie of the same name directed by King Vidor and written by Frances Marion. So remakes have been a part of Hollywood for years now, it's not something new like many people might think. The screenplay for this film was adapted by Walter Newman and in my opinion it is the weakest part of the movie. The script doesn't feel real, it is overly dramatic and I just couldn't make sense of several scenes. For example, there is one scene where Voight's character abandons his son in a boxing gym to grab some drinks in a bar. The kid ends up alone trying to figure out where his father went and deduces he is probably at a nearby bar. I know there might be some parents that would do this, but I doubt they could have raised their child as well as Schroder's character seems to have been raised. His love and passion for his father, the champ, is hard to believe because he seems so selfish and cruel at times.The story takes place in Hialeah where Billy Flynn (Jon Voight), a former boxing champ now in his late thirty's, is working as a race horse trainer. He lives with his seven year old son, T.J. (Rick Schroder), who absolutely worships his father and calls him the champ. Billy raises his son on his own since his mother abandoned them when T.J. was born, although he has told his son that she passed away. T.J. seems to be more mature then his father and is always cleaning after his mess. Billy dreams of making a comeback in boxing, but he suffered a head injury that made him abandon the sport. He also is a compulsive gambler and alcoholic. One day he even steals money from his son's allowance in order to gamble. This time however, Billy wins a lot of money and decides to buy his son a race horse after feeling guilty for what he did. T.J. names his horse "She's A Lady" and takes her to the race tracks where he meets a lovely woman named Annie (Faye Dunaway). When Annie runs into Billy she realizes that T.J. is the son she has abandoned and now wants to make up for what she has done. Annie is a successful designer who is married to a wealthy doctor. At first Billy doesn't want anything to do with her and insists in not letting his son know she's alive, but due to his gambling problems he will be forced to. The only solution Billy can think of in order to give his son a better future is returning to what he does best: boxing.The Champ relies too heavily on the dramatic effect and that is what ends up hurting the movie because many scenes seem to fit the screenplay for the convenience of the movie and it just doesn't feel real. There are some strong scenes, which I agree were well acted like the prison scene or the final scene, but there were others that felt phony and overacted, like the scene where T.J. screams at Annie in the boat. My biggest disappointment was that I felt T.J. to be a one dimensional character. He was there to make the movie look cute and make the audience sympathize with him. Billy, on the other hand, was a character we sometimes despised and at others loved and identified with. Audiences that enjoy heartfelt films and tearjerkers will probably love this movie, but audiences who are searching for more character depth will probably be disappointed with it. I had a hard time with the beginning of the film, and found the last half of the movie more entertaining, but it is far from being the masterpiece some people claim it to be.http://estebueno10.blogspot.com/

A young Rick Schroder makes his cute-as-all-get-out film debut in this 1979 tearjerker from director Franco Zeffirelli. Jon Voight plays Billy Flynn, a former champion boxer now given to drinking, gambling, and raising his son T.J. (Schroder, billed here as Ricky) as best he can. The ups and downs of the devoted codependent pair might be enough movie on their own, but soon enough Annie (Faye Dunaway) shows up and displays a strangely protective interest in T.J. Though the plot jumps around too much to quite hold together, The Champ is certainly affecting, and all three leads take the film so earnestly that somehow it works. Voight is believable both as a boxer and as a well-intentioned screwup of a dad, and Schroder is a fine young actor (and irresistibly adorable). Special DVD features include audio commentary from Jon Voight and Rick Schroder and the documentary Behind the Scenes with the Champ.

If you're a bloke and you don't like the idea of anybody seeing you cry, watch this film on your own. Yes it is that sad.Really well made and brilliant performances all round, the kid TJ is one of the sweetest kids I've ever seen on screen, absolutely adorable with bags of talent. John Voight was brilliant as well as a down on his luck ex boxer who's just trying to make a good life for himself and his son. The story is one that I'm sure many can relate with, whether you're a single parent, have a great relationship with your father or can simply appreciate a film with strong acting. If you have a son that loves you as much as TJ loved 'the champ' your very lucky and should treat each day as your last. The only other film that had me welling up like this was the Imitation of Life also well worth a look , but have tissues to hand! This review is coming from a cynical bloke too! CBR

Critics (and some viewers) have been lobbing grenades at this four-hankie tear-jerker since the day it was released, accusing it of extreme sentimentality and mawkishness. Nonetheless, for a great many others, it remains a beautiful, touching and memorable version of the 1931 original. Voight is the title character, a former light heavyweight champ who, thanks to taking a few too many hits in his last bout, has retired from the ring and now works as a horse walker at Hialeah. His young son Schroeder idolizes him, despite the fact that Voight has a tendency to drink too much and gambles away any little nest egg that they have been able to tuck away. One day, Voight hits it big and is able to buy Schroeder his own race horse. Schroeder takes on a wealthy fellow owner (Blondell) and attracts the attention of her friend Dunaway. When Dunaway befriends Schroeder and bets on his horse, it sets off a chain reaction of events that lead to a lot of emotional upheaval and tragedy for all involved. Eventually, Voight messes up to the extent that his only way out of his financial rut is to re-enter the ring and fight again. Schroeder is ecstatic that his father is back to being "The Champ" until he sees the damage that boxing can do to a man who is already injured and past his prime. Voight, who had only two weeks to prep for his role, does an admirable job throughout, with only a few overstated moments that verge on the hammy side. He develops a wondrous camaraderie with newcomer Schroeder and they make an excellent team on screen. Schroeder provides one of the most remarkable child actor debuts ever here. He more than holds his own with his Oscar-winning co-stars and forges an unforgettable performance that is filled to the brim with emotion and charm. Dunaway doesn't fare as well. Burdened with some truly ugly Theoni V. Aldredge (her preferred costume designer of the time) clothing and headgear, she is swallowed up by her preposterous get-ups when she isn't overindicating the conflicted feelings of her character. She is also lit many times in such a way that it almost becomes comical. Her line delivery leans toward the heavily affected and she often seems beamed in from another film altogether as she wafts around in her own rarefied atmosphere and carefully constructed aura. What should have been a stirring, climactic scene between Voight and her in the stable instead loses steam because the camera lingers on her nearly immobile visage and it looks like a period piece because of her ridiculous scarf. Some very talented character actors pop up in (often underutilized) roles including Catlett, Cook, Warden, Hill (as Dunaway's caring husband) and the aforementioned Blondell. Director Zefferelli was an opera aficionado and it sometimes shows in the overstated emotions on display. Even so, the lush cinematography, the beautiful music and the committed acting of Voight and Schroeder manage to pull the viewer in and tug at the heartstrings. They have several heart-breaking scenes together that place this film on the lists of many filmgoers favorite weepies. Schroeder, who claims to have always had a deep emotional well within himself, drew upon the recent death of his grandmother in his scenes, but even today on the DVD commentary, he breaks into tears several times! He also recounts how Voight sort of mishandled him one day in a swimming pool and this led to an extra layer of emotional upset for him during filming. Either due to a long filming schedule or reshoots, Catlett's hair during the finale has about 3/4 inch of gray ingrowth which isn't there in her earlier scenes! It's a film that will greatly appeal to a certain faction of viewers and which will equally annoy the faction who cannot go along on the tear-filled ride.