Against the Ropes

Charles S. Dutton's feature-length directorial debut Against the Ropes is based on the real-life story of Jackie Kallen, a Jewish woman from Detroit who became a successful boxing manager. Played by Meg Ryan, Kallen works her way up in the world of boxing by believing in the fighting skills of ...more

That other 2004 boxing movie directed by an actor who casts himself as a trainer in the film, Charles S. Dutton's Against the Ropes is no Million Dollar Baby, but it does also focus on the unusual role of a woman in the world of pugilism. As played by Meg Ryan with a raspy Midwestern mill-town accent, that woman comes across as a lot tougher than her coiffed appearance would indicate, and a lot better informed about baahhxing than her male counterparts want to admit. Thankfully, she doesn't play ...more