MovieChat Forums > Cinderella Man (2005) Discussion > The name of the film is the problem

The name of the film is the problem

posted 16 years ago by thao
34 replies | jump to latest

Really, Cinderella Man is kind of girly and it is men who mainly watch boxing films. First impression is important and most men who don't know anything about Braddock are not going to jump at this film because of the title. It is, in fact going to keep them away, IMO. This film should have been called "Braddock" or "The Depression Ring" or something like that.

EDIT: I should explain why I wrote this post back in January 2009, and has caused so much anger ever since. The film was a box office failure, even though it got great reviews from critics and test groups loved it. There was a discussion here and everywhere on why this happened.

Now I know that Braddock was called Cinderella Man in the papers back then but most people today do not know that (or at least not before the film came out. It might be different now).

No The title did not keep me from seeing the film but then again, I'm not a typical man. I watch musicals, listen to Opera and so on.

No, I'm not against the title, just wondering if it kept men from seeing it.

- No animal was hurt during the making of this burger -

[–] wildcardgal 16 years ago

Yeah, cause they should never have expected anyone to say, know that Braddock was called that, or anything.

Let slip the Determined Kitten of Doom!

[–] xm1 16 years ago

My god, grow up. Are you afraid someone will think you're gay for watching this?

[–] Quiet_Cookie 15 years ago

I somewhat agree with the OP on this one. My history teacher last year announced we were going to watch Cinderella Man and I figured it was that stupid ass Hillary Duff movie called Cinderella something or other. I was thinking "what the hell does this have to do with history?" but then he explained what it was about and I was like "oh yeah that makes sense".

Its better to burn out than fade away.

[–] xm1 11 years ago

Then the problem lies with your lack of imagination, and not with the title.

[–] CptHowdy87 15 years ago

Decent point.

I didn't hear about this movie when it came out at the cinemas. Never heard of James J Braddock and was put off when I first saw this film on the shelf in the overnight section.

After reading about some good boxing films in a topic on this site about a year ago, I heard that this was a really good boxing film so I hired it out and thought it was excellent and now I own it.

If someones just skimming through films or hoping to find a catchy title with familiar actors then Cinderella Man is hardly gonna leap out at him if he hasn't heard of it.

[–] mhsmelloplayer09 15 years ago

-sighs- ...ignorance... superficial ignorance annoys the living crud out of me... you ever heard the saying, "don't judge a book by it's cover"..?... yeah, well it's still applicable... maybe Ron Howard didn't want superficial imbeciles to be intrigued by it.... it's called artistic integrity... it's not a cheap action/ brawling flick whose only intent is to get your adrenal glands pumping... it's a tastefully subdued and slightly restrained cinematic chef d'oeuvre of a drama film... and the title he chose perfectly suits that intent... so shut up... and read up next time...

[–] Tamara_Nartichti 9 years ago

wow, cool, I was on the fence about the title: on one hand it is really not "manly", on the other it WAS his nickname after all. Your mention of "artistic integrity" decided it for me: yes, it was truly a bold move on the director's part to go with integrity and leave prejudiced men to their prejudices and miss out on a great film.

That decision probably cost him some of the box office, though, but I applaud his audacity anyway.

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] tonaluv 15 years ago

The word 'Doofus" comes to mind. OMG what a moron. That WAS James Braddock's nickname so that COULD be why Ron Howard named the film that.
If the jock dimwits are put off by the title then maybe this total gem of a film will go straight over their heads.
In short the title is perfect. As is the film!

[–] trickg1 15 years ago

Quote from Wikipedia:

"James Walter "The Cinderella Man" Braddock (June 7, 1905 – November 29, 1974)..."

So did you actually WATCH the movie and catch the fact that James Braddock was given the nickname "The Cinderella Man" during his rise back up from nothing because of the rag-to-riches nature of what was going on during the depression? Did it escape you that "The Cinderella Man" was also what he was known as long after his boxing career was over, up to and past his death in 1974?

If you knew anything about boxing history, the title of this film would jump out at you and you would automatically know that it was about James Braddock.

Arg. Ignorance at its worst.

[–] thao 15 years ago

Did you actually read what I wrote?

"and most men who don't know anything about Braddock are not going to jump at this film because of the title"

I'm talking about people who don't know Braddock AND have not seen the film. And yes I knew that he was called Cinderella Man, which is why I said "most men who don't know anything about Braddock..."

- No animal was hurt during the making of this burger -

[–] trickg1 15 years ago

Ultimately it wasn't going to matter what the film was called though:

Lead Actor: Russel Crowe
Lead Actress: Rene Zellweger
Supporting Actor: Paul Giamati
Director: Ron Howard

Basically you have a movie directed by Ron Howard with Russel Crowe in the lead role - people would go to see it for that alone.

[–] thao 15 years ago

You really think that most people out there know who Ron Howard is? And I can tell you that people who know directors are usually not huge fans of Ron Howard.

As to the lead. Russel Crowe and Rene Zellweger screams romantic film.

Keep in mind, I'm talking about first impressions and for many that is the deciding factor when picking a film.

How else would you explain why this film flopped at the box office?

- No animal was hurt during the making of this burger -

[–] trickg1 15 years ago

Are you kidding? I would say that most people who don't live under a rock know about Ron Howard and his movies. First of all, Ron was Opie on the the Andy Griffith show, which is still in syndication and re-runs, and he was also Richie on "Happy Days" - also still in syndication and re-runs.

As for movies, off of the top of my head, I can tell you Ron directed the following:

Backdraft
Willow
Cocoon
Far and Away
Apollo 13
The Grinch
A Beautiful Mind
Cinderella Man
The DaVinci Code
Angels and Demons

That's off of the top of my head. While I probably know movies a bit better than some, Ron Howard is fairly well known as a director.

As for it's poor box office, it could simply be that it was competing against other movies that were a bigger draw. Also, dramas tend to not have the same kind of box office draw as blockbuster action flicks, so that might have had something to do with. Also, while I was also aware of who James Braddock was, how many folks out on the street do? We're talking about a heavy weight boxer and events that took place in the 1930s - not exactly current events.

[–] thao 15 years ago

Ask people who directed these films and most people don't know that Ron directed them. I do and you do but most people don't. Even though they may love his films (and by the way, you forgot one of my favorite Ron film, Ed TV).

I remember that it was a huge shock to the studio when the film flopped and no one knew why. I don't remember which films where shown at the same time. Would be interesting to look it up.

You say: "We're talking about a heavy weight boxer and events that took place in the 1930s - not exactly current events."

And that was my point. Most people don't know who Cinderella Man was. Men like boxing films more than women and "Cinderella" is not manly. Now tell me, if you knew nothing about Braddock and you had 3 titles in front of you, "Braddock", "The Depression Ring" or "Cinderella Man". Which would you pick?

- No animal was hurt during the making of this burger -

[–] trickg1 15 years ago

Haha! I see your point, and it's tough to say. "Braddock" sounds like a cheesey action flick, (might have gotten better box office!) "The Depression Ring" sounds...well, not like something I'd be clamoring to see. I like "Cinderella Man" because I already knew about James Braddock - just the same, I didn't see that movie in the theater - I rented it. LOL!

Edtv - not one of my favorite movies, although I've always had a thing for Jenna Elfman, and I'm also a fan of Woody Harrelson. I've always thought that Matthew McConaughey more or less plays himself in every movie he's in.

Back to CM, I'm not sure that a different title would have helped it. I love that movie - but to someone who isn't into movies like me, there might not be much of a draw any way you cut it.

[–] thao 15 years ago

You might be right there. It is a good film and should have been seen by more people. Strange and sad.

- No animal was hurt during the making of this burger -

[–] 15 years ago

[deleted]

[–] DragonAge 14 years ago

Personally, the title 'Cinderella Man' didn't put me off.

I knew Braddock was known as the Cinderella Man so I guessed it was a boxing film.

But even without that knowledge, I thought the title sounded quite interesting. And as others have noted, Russell Crowe and Ron Howard were involved - so it demands a closer look.

Saying that, I do agree the title of a film is important and should be given careful thought. For instance, can you imagine if they ever made a biopic of Sugar Ray Robinson and called it 'Sugar'?

I'm not sure that would draw in the audience they'd hope for! :)

[–] lylesanford 14 years ago

The title didn't put me off either, but it did for many people I'm sure. That's the main influence for its underperformance, I think.

Competition from other summer blockbusters didn't help either. Cinderella Man should have been given a different release date. It didn't fit in with the summer releases, and I think that was part of its problem.

Cinderella Man most definitely was more of a November or December type release. Would've done a lot more business, I think.

[–] jtf1986 14 years ago

Don't people watch trailers?

[–] rowenad 14 years ago

THe film is called "Cinderella Man" not Cinderella. Anyone who knew about Bradock will know that is what his nickname was. Surely people read up about films before they see them?