“Billy” (Stacy Keech) had been a jobbing boxer for most of his life, but his aged body has caused him to hang up his gloves, leaving him boozing with the permanently sozzled “Oma” (the scene stealing Susan Tyrell) most of the time whilst eking out an existence doing what he can to earn a buck after his career left him penniless. Whilst training at the YMCA, he comes across the enthusiastic young “Ernie” (Jeff Bridges) who is initially only having some fun, but is soon bent on embarking on a career that “Billy” reckons will follow the same trajectory of brief success and then failure that he suffered. Perhaps there is some way that he can use his own experiences to influence his young friend, but all the while “Ernie” is now taking advice from “Ruben” (Nicholas Colasanto) who used to manage the older man, and so is being drip fed promises of success and wealth. When “Billy” tries to intercede, he merely provokes resentment from an aspiring fighter who thinks that his erstwhile friend is envious of his potential. Meantime, girlfriend “Faye” (Candy Clark) is also putting pressure on “Ernie” to get his priorities right and so ambitious but conflicted, this competent pugilist must make some tough choices amidst a toxic environment of greed, anger and mistrust. Though there are some sub-plots that complement the story well, this is really at it’s best when it is just left to Keech and Bridges to emphasise the oft seen characterisations of boxing being the route out of hopelessness for so many whose lives saw little promise or opportunity. It’s a grittily authentic looking story that has been written from quite a powerful perspective to show us just how desperate men could become and how hard they would work to raise themselves up. Bridges delivers confidently and though there isn’t loads of action in the ring, what there is is effectively photographed to give us a sense of the punishment taken and dished out by these men week in, week out. It’s quite observational in nature, allowing us to step back and look at a scenario that you can thank your lucky stars is not your own way of living.
