The Brawler (2019)

Name: The Brawler
Genre: Crime, Drama, History, Romance
Released: 2019-01-18
Duration: 95 min
Rating: 4.1
Cast: Zach McGowan, Amy Smart, Taryn Manning, Burt Young, Jerrod Paige

The Brawler (2019), directed by Ken Kushner, starring Zach McGowan and Amy Smart.

01/18/2019 BR Crime, Drama, History and Romance 1h 35m

User
score

Quiz about this movie

The man who inspired the legend.

Synopsis

The true story of underdog boxer, Chuck Wepner, who gets a shot to fight the champ, Muhammed Ali.

Przemyslaw ReutCinematography, Editing
Ken KushnerDirector, Producer, Story, Screenplay
Adam FalkoffProducer
Arthur L. BernsteinProducer

About the film

The Brawler is a 2019 American biographical film directed by Ken Kushner and starring Zach McGowan as Chuck Wepner. The film also stars Amy Smart and Taryn Manning.

Read the full article (3k characters)

The Brawler is a 2019 American biographical film directed by Ken Kushner and starring Zach McGowan as Chuck Wepner. The film also stars Amy Smart and Taryn Manning.

Plot

Chuck is a heavyweight boxer ranked in the top ten, struggling to provide for his wife Phyllis and their children. One day he receives news that he will be fighting the champion Muhammad Ali. With the help of his trainer and manager Al Braverman, Chuck trains full-time for the upcoming bout. Prior to a press conference between the two boxers, Ali asks a surprised Chuck to racially berate him to generate press, though Chuck refuses to do so.

The night of the fight, Wepner manages to score a knockdown against Ali, but is ultimately dominated, getting knocked out in the 15th and final round. However, Chuck becomes a local hero, and receives a call that a film is being produced based on his fight with Ali, which eventually winning the Academy Award for Best Picture. Chuck allows the fame to get to his head and begins systematically partying, cheating on his wife and doing cocaine. Phyllis eventually finds out and, after a bitter argument, leaves him.

After engaging in a mixed wrestling/boxing match with Andre the Giant, a down-on-his-luck Wepner meets a woman named Linda in a bar. Wepner is also given the chance by Sylvester Stallone to audition for a role in Rocky II, though following a confrontation with the producer, his part gets cut. He subsequently has a falling out with his brother Donnie.

After taking an unsanctioned bout with Victor, a wrestling bear, Wepner is arrested and imprisoned for a botched drug deal. During his incarceration he meets Stallone in prison, who is filming his upcoming movie Lock Up. Two years later Wepner is released from prison, and later marries Linda.

By 1993, Chuck continues his previous work as a liquor salesman , abstaining from drugs, also reconciles with Donnie. Wepner is subsequently approached by John Olson to sign memorabilia at his shop. Though suspicious, he agrees to do signings for Olson, but is later arrested for involvement in a sports memorabilia fraud that Olson had headed. However, no serious charges are made against Wepner, and he is released. He later meets Stallone a third time during Stallone's filming of Cop Land. Chuck is increasingly irritated for what little compensation he was given for the Rocky film and successfully sues Stallone, finally allowing Chuck to settle down into a comfortable life.

Cast

Reception

On Metacritic, the film has a score of 46 out of 100 based on four critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

References

External links

The Brawler at IMDb

The Brawler at Rotten Tomatoes

Text from The Brawler on Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Brawler

Trivia

It premiered on January 18, 2019, a Friday.
It runs 1h35 — a typical feature length.
This film's quiz has 12 questions — enough to play more than once without repeats.

Production

StudiosCircle 4 Entertainment, Aloe Entertainment, JARS Productions, Mass Hysteria Entertainment, Massive Film Project, Safier Entertainment
CountriesUnited States
LanguagesEnglish
StatusReleased