The Prize Fighter

This movie won't win any Oscars, but it was a solid, believable story that held up and kept my interest throughout. With a few exceptions, the performances were all believable. I especially enjoyed Pat Richardson as Arliss King, but I'm afraid Gary Busey seemed to be sleepwalking through his role. As a rule, I've never been a big fan of boxing movies, though this one presented a story and characters that were pretty credible. I spent some time in Oklahoma in the 1990s, so some of the locations brought back a few nice memories and the regional characters were much like I remember them. To be honest, I wasn't sure just what to expect from this movie, but the writing, story, camera work, editing, pacing and other production values were on par with a lot of the made-for-cable movies I've watched over the years. Considering its rather modest budget and mostly unknown cast, it was surprisingly well done. This movie didn't disappoint me at all and I can recommend it without reservation.