Now Showing: The Champ

 

The Champ

Genre: Drama/Sports

Director: Gavin O'Connor

Writer: APJ

Based on the 1931 and 1979 films

Cast: Ben Affleck, Dakota Johnson, Gabriella Sengos, Chris Messina, Halston Sage, Aldis Hodge, Seth Gilliam, Brett Gelman, Matthew Maher, Marc Menchaca, Judith Hoag

Plot: Former heavyweight champion "Furious" Jack Flynn (Ben Affleck) boxes in a rundown gym in front of a sparse crowd. Jack makes easy work of his opponent as his young daughter Wilhelmina "Willie" Flynn (Gabriella Sengos) loudly cheers on, making more noise than the rest of the crowd combined. Willie repeatedly calls her dad "The Champ" as she roots him on. Jack knocks out his opponent as Willie screams in excitement. After the fight, Jack changes into his street clothes in the locker room. Willie recaps the entire fight, but Jack isn't particularly happy about it. Willie reminds her father that just because the match was small-time, it doesn't mean his punches were. Jack smiles and ruffles Willie's hair. The two go to the office of the promoter of the fight, Grover (Matthew Maher), to collect his pay. Grover gives Jack a handful of bills. Jack counts the money, noticing that it is only half of what was agreed upon. Grover motions out his window overlooking the gym, commenting that the gym was only half-full, so he only gets half-pay. Jack is clearly angered by this. Grover tells Jack he can take it or leave it. Willie reminds her father that at least the match was an officially sanctioned professional fight, so at least it counts toward his overall record. Grover tells Jack he has a smart daughter and he should listen to her. Jack begrudgingly leaves the office with Willie. 

Willie sits on Jack's shoulders as they walk home late at night through an industrial section on the outskirts of Las Vegas. Willie has fallen asleep by the time they make it to their small trailer in a dilapidated trailer park. Jack puts Willie to bed. He then walks toward the Las Vegas strip and into the office of loan shark Howie Rifkin (Brett Gelman). Howie tells Jack that there's a guy named Dennis (Marc Menchaca) hanging around the Horseshoe Casino that is delinquent on his loan payments. Jack heads over to the casino where he finds the at the roulette table and a pile of chips. Jack grabs the guy by the collar and threatens to beat him to a pulp if he doesn’t pay what he owes Howie. Dennis isn’t convinced until cocktail waitress Destinee (Halston Sage) steps in and asks Dennis if he knows who “Furious” Jack Flynn is. Dennis shakes his head no. Destinee informs him that Jack is the former heavyweight champ and could probably punch his head clean off his neck if he felt like it. Dennis, finally intimidated, hands over a wad of bills to Jack, who dutifully counts out what Dennis sent him to collect. Jack is about to hand Dennis back the difference, but Dennis has already hustled off. Destinee asks Jack what he’d do if it weren’t for her. Jack uses some of the extra cash to buy Destinee a drink, but he orders a club soda without specifying why. Destinee slams the drink down quickly and takes Jack by the hand to a stairwell. Destinee removes her underwear and leans against the stairs. She tells Jack that she wants him to fuck her. Jack does as he is told. Afterward, Destinee tells Jack if he ever wants to do that again he knows where to find her. Jack goes back to Howie’s office and turns in the money he collected from Dennis. Howie gives Jack his cut. Jack puts the cash in his pocket and begins the walk home as the sun begins to rise. 

In the morning, Jack returns home in time to make eggs for Willie before she catches the bus for school. After she has left, Jack sleeps for a few hours before heading to the gym to get some work in on the heavy bag. After his workout, he tries to talk to Grover about booking another fight, but Grover refuses to see him. Jack jogs down the Horseshoe to see if Destinee is working. They briefly flirt, but they are interrupted by Dennis, who holds a gun at Jack. Dennis is angry at being embarrassed by Jack the night before. Jack’s boxing instincts kick in and he easily dispatches Dennis, disarming and knocking him out. 

Jack goes to a small Catholic church to attend an Alcoholic Anonymous meeting. The group leader Meredith (Judith Hoag) invites him up to speak. Jack states that he has been sober almost three years now. He describes how his drinking and other addictions ruined his boxing career, and sobriety is more difficult than winning a Heavyweight championship belt, but that he tries his best every day in order to take care of his daughter. After the meeting, everybody is clearing out, but Jack stays behind. Meredith asks why, and Jack says that he is staying for the gamblers anonymous meeting starting soon after - gambling is the other addiction he alluded to.

Jack returns home just in time to greet Willie as she gets off the school bus. As they eat dinner, Willie tells her father about a bully at school making fun of her. She asks him to teach her how to fight so she can beat him up. Jack laughs and tells Willie that she doesn’t need to learn to fight at such a young age, she should just go get a teacher to deal with the bully. 

After Willie is asleep, Jack sneaks out and meets up with Destinee. She shows him that footage of Jack knocking Dennis out has gone viral. Jack is clueless to the concept, so Destinee has to explain that Jack is going to be famous again from the video. Their conversation is interrupted by Lucas D’Amato (Chris Messina), a promoter with the North American Boxing Organization (NABO), who asks Jack if he would be interested in another chance at the title. Lucas gives Jack his business card and tells him that he’ll be in touch. Jack looks at the time and tells Destinee that he has to get home. She gives him a kiss. He can taste the alcohol on her lips.

Walking toward home along the Strip, Jack runs into Angie (Dakota Johnson) - his ex-wife and mother of Willie. He says it is convenient that she shows up once things are going better in his life. She says that she just moved to Las Vegas with her new husband, pointing toward Lucas, and she was too afraid to talk to him alone. Jack bluntly asks what she wants. Angie says that she would like to see Willie. Jack brushes her off, stating she never showed any interest in being a parent to Willie before. Before walking away, Jack tells Lucas that he’s up for the title fight. Lucas shakes his hand and says he’ll have things put in motion immediately. On his walk home, Jack stops in a liquor store and buys a small bottle of vodka, which he promptly drinks.

In the morning, Willie excitedly wakes up a hungover Jack telling him that he’s on the morning news. Together they watch as the news covers Jack’s viral fight video and the rumors that he is in talks for a title fight. Willie hugs her father and tells him she is proud of him and that he really can be “The Champ” again.

After Willie leaves on the school bus, Jack goes to a meeting at the NABO offices. Jack agrees to the fight and is given a cash advance on the fight fee. Lucas informs Jack that he will be fighting the current heavyweight champion of the world, Antonio “The Predator” Pollard (Aldis Hodge). Lucas displays some footage of Pollard fighting, which makes Jack nervous. After leaving the meeting, Angie is waiting for Jack. She asks if she can meet Willie. Jack finally agrees.

Jack begins feeling stressed out about the importance of the fight and his encounter with Angie. He stops in the Horseshoe to relieve some stress. At first he looks around for Destinee, but when he can’t find her, he sits down at a poker table and orders a drink. Before he knows it, he has been at the table for hours and has burned through most of the advance for the fight. He gets a phone call from Willie’s school saying that he missed picking her up from the school bus. Jack rushes to Willie’s school to pick her up. She’s the only kid left in the building. He tries to apologize to Willie profusely, claiming that his meeting just went longer than he thought it would. Willie is angry, telling her father that she can tell that he started drinking again.

Jack visits his former trainer, Virgil Clancy (Seth Gilliam), who now teaches boxing at a local youth center. Virgil is not initially happy to see Jack as his career never survived Jack’s downfall. Willie has tagged along. Virgil turns down returning to train Jack until Willie asks Virgil if he could train her to be a boxer so she can fight The Predator instead. Virgil agrees to work with Jack again after seeing how excited Willie is about the chance her father has against the heavyweight champ.

Jack holds his word and brings Willie to meet Angie for lunch. Jack tells Willie that Angie is her mother. Willie doesn’t know how to feel as Jack had told her that her mother had died. Jack apologizes to Willie for lying to her about her mother, he just didn’t want her hoping Angie would come back. Angie takes this revelation in stride and apologizes to Willie for not being around. Angie tells Willie that she recently moved back to Las Vegas and would like to see more of her. Angie asks Willie if there is someplace she would like to go to together. Willie tells Angie that she saw on the news that the zoo got some new baby elephants and she would like to see them. Jack sees that Angie is trying hard to build a relationship with Willie, and agrees to allow Angie to take Willie to the zoo and he will pick her up after.

Lucas takes Jack to the pre-fight press conference where he sees Antonio “The Predator” Pollard for the first time. Pollard immediately starts trying to get into Jack’s head, repeatedly referring to him as a washed-up has-been. Jack has not had to deal with the press for several years and struggles with the questions and camera flashes, which trigger a blistering headache.

While Jack is at the press conference, Willie and Angie are at the zoo looking at the baby elephants. The mother elephant is teaching the babies how to use their trunks to clean themselves by spraying water over their bodies. Angie apologizes to Willie for leaving when she was little, telling Willie that she needed a change of scenery. Angie promises Willie that she’s never going to leave like that again and gives Willie a hug. 

After the press conference, Jack goes to the Horseshoe where he runs into Destinee. She plies him with drinks to get close to him now that he’s a somebody again. After hours of drinking, Jack finally realizes that he forgot to pick up Willie from the zoo. He takes a cab to the zoo, finding it long closed. He frantically calls Angie, who gives him her address. Jack arrives at Angie and Lucas’ large house outside the city. Seeing that he is drunk, Angie suggests that Willie spend the night there since she is already asleep and Jack goes home to sleep it off. Jack, furious, demands his daughter back. Angie says that Willie is her daughter too. Jack screams at her, saying that she abandoned Willie years ago, leaving him to give up everything to take care of Willie himself. Angie refuses to let Jack inside to see Willie. Lucas emerges and says that he doesn’t want to be involved in any drama before the fight, but that he will call the police if Jack doesn’t leave and come back when he has sobered up. 

Jack goes back home, dejected. He wakes up the morning of the fight with a blistering hangover. He can’t find his phone or his keys, so he walks all the way back to Angie’s house to see Willie. When he finally arrives, Angie tells Jack that she wants shared custody of Willie. Jack refuses, saying that Angie gave up any claim to Willie when she ditched them. Angie tells Jack that she will take him to court for full-custody if he doesn’t agree to split custody of Willie. Jack looks at Angie with disgust, but sees Willie inside playing happily. Jack tells Angie that he will think about it, but has to focus on the fight right now. Jack asks Angie if she can watch Willie during the fight. Angie agrees as long as Jack agrees to have another conversation about Willie’s custody.

Jack gets to the gym to do some last minute preparation with Virgil. Virgil smells the booze on Jack, telling him that he is in no shape to face off against Pollard or any other competent fighter and urges that he back out of the fight for his own safety. Jack refuses, insisting this fight is his only chance to get back on top in the world. Virgil asks Jack if winning is more important than being there for his daughter. Jack refuses to answer.

Jack arrives in the locker room at the MGM Grand Arena and gets dressed and gloved up for the fight. Willie, Angie and Lucas take their seats in a suite to watch the fight. Angie is wary of Willie being present at the fight, but Willie insists that her dad needs his biggest fan cheering him on in order to win. Lucas agrees that Jack’s going to need all the help he can to beat Pollard. Angie gives Lucas a look. Lucas apologizes, saying that the fight could go either way to not worry Willie about her father’s chances.

When the fight begins, the younger, faster Pollard quickly controls the fight. He lands blow after blow to Jack’s head. As Round 1 ends, Jack is clearly disoriented from the bright flashing lights and brutal hits to the head that Pollard has landed. Virgil tries to correct his defensive positioning, but clearly Jack is not listening. He is too busy scanning the crowd for the suite where Willie is watching from.

The fight continues and several rounds pass. Jack’s face is beaten and bloodied with one especially powerful punch from Pollard opening a cut above Jack’s eye and knocking Jack to the mat. He struggles to get back on his feet, barely doing so before the referee counts to ten. Willie runs away from the suite, frantically insisting that her father can’t hear her cheers from up in the suite. She runs through the crowd until she gets up close to the ring. Security stops her, but Virgil tells them that she’s part of Jack’s team and they allow her to come up to the corner of the ring with Virgil. 

At the end of Round 11, Jack is still standing but clearly losing the fight and has blood streaming down his face from the cut above his eye. Virgil tries to convince Jack to throw in the towel, but Jack refuses, joking that Pollard is slowly getting tired from punching him so many times. Virgil laughs. Willie tells her father that he’s right, Pollard is off-guard on defense now. The referee calls Pollard and Jack back to their feet. Willie calls her dad “The Champ”. 

The final round of the fight begins. Pollard is cocky and not playing defense as he continues to punch Jack, but his punches have less power behind them. Jack sees an opening and lands a series of powerful haymakers to Pollard’s head, knocking him to the mat. The referee counts to ten and Pollard is still on the mat. To the shock of everyone in the arena, other than Willie, Jack is named the heavyweight champion of the world. 

Virgil and Willie help Jack to the dressing room. Jack is faint. He thanks Willie for believing in him. Jack then passes out. Virgil urgently calls out for a doctor. Angie and Lucas arrive in the dressing room and see doctors frantically working on Jack. Angie tries to take Willie away, but Willie fights her. Willie cries, desperately trying to wake up “The Champ”. The doctors give Angie a slight head shake and she knows things are bad. Angie and Lucas carry Willie away as the doctors tell Virgil that Jack has died from head trauma sustained during the match.