First-Round TKO
FILM: Price of Glory
DIRECTOR: Carlos Avila
STARRING: Jimmy Smits, Jon Seda
GRADE: C-
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YOUNG BOXER SONNY (JON SEDA, MIDDLE) AND HIS FATHER (JIMMY SMITS,
RIGHT) PREPARE FOR THE FIGHT OF SONNY'S CAREER IN PRICE OF
GLORY.
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Some don't mind taking off on some movies, those that are pretentious, or,
worse, those that are shameless. But I take no pleasure in ripping films that
exhibit a decency of spirit and an earnestness of purpose. Carlos Avila's
Price of Glory is such a movie. It labors to develop its characters, and
it strives to say something intelligent about the pitfalls of parenting. But
intentions aside, it's a very bad movie, indeed.
Written by Phil Berger, Price of Glory stars Jimmy Smits as
Arturo Ortega, a Mexican-American boxer, washed up after being over-matched by
a shady manager. After opening a gym to earn his living, Arturo endeavors to
train his three sons for the world championship that eluded him. Everything
here is heavy-handed. All mom Rita (Maria del Mar) has to do is mention the
word college, and Arturo flashes on her like a desert gulch after a
thunderstorm. Later, he screams at the boys even when they win. The idea is
that he's truly a loving dad who's just got his priorities out of whack. In
fact, he's a selfish jerk who never learns his lesson. But Mom doesn't learn
hers, either, because she lets Arturo run roughshod over her sons until he's
steered the family into tragedy.
Here's where a sputtering flick crashes into a canyon wall. Within
an eyeblink, the whole family puts the tragedy behind them, and
oldest son
Sonny (Jon Seda, no doubt wondering whatever happened to those good scripts
from TV's Homicide) gets down to the
serious business of beating a
smart-mouthed opponent. With a family this immune to the loss of a loved one,
the whole bunch of them deserved to get their brains scrambled, inside the ring
and out. Smits has benefited from some of the best writing in TV history. Why
he thought this was good material is thoroughly perplexing.
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