"Against the Ropes" brings a semblance of Jackie Kallen’s life to the screen

Jackie Kallen is hardly a household name but in her own way, Kallen's accomplishments are as impressive as any other crusaders who broke down previously impervious barriers. In the world of boxing, where women often treated like ornaments at best, Kallen clawed her way to the top of her profession.

Kallen, playing multiple roles as promoter, manager, confidant, psychologist, and flirt (often having to combine several roles at a time), accomplished what many of her male counterparts failed to do – lead a fighter to a world championship. In the process Kallen made both friends and enemies. To this day, there are boxing people who swear by her and a goodly number who swear at her.

"Against the Ropes" , presented by Paramount Pictures and starring three-time Golden Globe nominee Meg Ryan as Jackie Kallen, tells Kallen's story, at least in spirit if not in fact. In the film, Jackie Kallen is a single woman; Kallen, in real life, was married and has two children. Her fighter in the movie, Luther Shaw – played brilliantly by Omar Epps, is based upon various fighters; Kallen's real life champion, James Toney, was much more volatile and conflicted. Kallen is an executive secretary in "Against the Ropes" when she shifts gears to manage Shaw; in reality, Kallen ran a public relations firm prior to her first managerial stint.

However, the movie is a drama inspired by Kallen's life, not a day-to-day account of it. Cheryl Edwards, who wrote the screenplay stated, "We all knew this was not going to be a biographical film . . . details of Jackie's life may have been altered but her tenacity, her drive, her accomplishments and even her faults have not been diminished." It's important to keep in mind when contemplating "Against the Ropes" that it is not a boxing movie per say; it is a people movie. Boxing merely serves as the environment in which the real story plays out.

The essence of the film basically comes down to two salient themes: first, it's about the platonic yet intimate relationship between a thirty-something white Jewish woman and a young, heading-for-trouble black man; and, second, it's about the obstacles encountered by a woman invading the male-dominated, chauvinistic, and often anachronistic world of boxing.

Ryan and Epps, who share the screen the lion's share of the time, create a chemistry that is completely believable; and mirrors the real-life drama that existed between Kallen and fighter James Toney. The two capably walk the thin line that separates mutual need from mutual sexual desire. The intimacy between the two smolders but in a co-dependent way as Kallen fosters Epps' potential, mothers him through uncertainties, and at the same time, uses him to advance her own goals.

Epps, for his part, displays a range of emotions without ever going over the top. He is at various times distrustful, angry, playful, enthusiastic, caring and cruel. At all times, he looks like the lithe, panther-like fighter that he is portraying.

Charles Dutton, who both directs and stars as veteran boxing trainer Felix Reynolds in "Against the Ropes", stated, "Epps is a natural. Seriously, I've been around boxing all my life, even did a little myself. I love the sport. If Epps had wanted to be a fighter instead of an actor, he could have been a very successful one."

But back to Kallen. The movie does a more than adequate job of showing the barricades Kallen had to storm to accomplish all that she did. The world of boxing is filled with women: they strut around the ring in bikinis between rounds; they decorate the arms of fighters, promoters and other hanger-ons; and now, they even lace up the gloves and fight.

What they don't do – or what they didn't do until Kallen came along – was climb to a position of power. "Against the Ropes" accurately portrays the back-stabbing, cut-throat part of the sport. It doesn't sugarcoat the mechanizations that go on behind the scenes, nor does it hide the crude, sexually-biased attitude toward anyone wearing a skirt and heels.

Kallen's antagonists in the film, Irving Abel (Joe Cortese) and Sam LaRocca (Tony Shaloub), do a fine job of portraying the powers that be in the world of boxing. While both Cortese and Shaloub tend toward stereotypes – Cortese as a mob-type figurehead in charge of the Cleveland Coliseum and Shaloub as a cross between Don King and Bob Arum, with a bit of Frankie Carbo thrown in – their attitudes toward women in general and Kallen in particular are dead on. Cortese, Kallen's boss at the beginning of "Against the Ropes", treats her as a glorified gopher, even though it's obvious that Kallen is all that keeps the operation running smoothly; while Sahloub alternately views her as an object of sex, ridicule and insignificance.

Nevertheless, what really makes "Against the Ropes" work isn't the excellent portrayal of the world of boxing (which features some of the most realistic fight scenes ever staged for film), but rather the nuances of the interaction between the characters.

The transformation that takes place in Kallen and Shaw, after both begin to encounter success, is sobering and provocative. Kallen blithely forgets her purpose, basking in her temporary status as the latest media-magnet. Meg Ryan nails Kallen's exuberance as an instant celebrity, and her misguided rationale as the heady sensation of fame lets a darker side creep to Kallen'ssurface.

It speaks well of both "Against the Ropes" and the real Jackie Kallen that the main character's warts are quite visibly put on display, instead of shunted aside or glossed over. Kallen shows the same lack of fear in permitting her mistakes to be exhibited that she does when confronting boxing's establishment.

Epps, as Shaw, vacillates nicely between feelings of righteous indignation, raging anger and genuine hurt. Epps subtly depicts Shaw's gut-level insecurity subduing all that he has genuinely accomplished.

While the ending of the film may leave some viewers smirking a little or shaking their head at the "Hollywood" ending, the final redemption of the characters is in many ways gratifying; it's also true in that Kallen did create boxing champions, albeit in somewhat less dramatic fashion.

Ultimately, "Against the Ropes" isn't just the title of the film; it's a metaphor describing Kallen's last stand and a reminder of what it takes for any of us to succeed when we are in that position.