The Great White Hype is a satirical glimpse into the world
of boxing that somehow manages to lose its satiric edge with each new turn of
the plot. Reverend Fred Sultan (Samuel Jackson) plays a corrupt, over-the-top
boxing promoter whose vocation is quickly losing steam as public interest in
boxing wanes. The current undefeated heavyweight champ, James “The Grim
Reaper” Roper, (played by the unconvincingly non-heavyweight Damon Wayans)
just can’t pull in the ticket and Pay-Per-View sales necessary to pay
off his $10 million contracts. So Reverend Sultan, with the help of his cronies
– Sol, the Jewish press agent (Jon Lovitz), Peter Prince, owner of the
MGM Grand Casino (Corbin Bernson), and Julio Escobar, President of the International
Boxing Federation (Cheech Marin) – decides to play the race card with
a white contender in an effort to draw larger crowds. As luck should have it,
the only fighter to ever fell Roper in his days as an amateur is a Cleveland
rock star, Terry Conklin (Peter Berg). Amusement, but never hilarity, ensues
as the dim-witted yet socially conscious Conklin is rushed into contention and
a title fight is thrown together. The plot thickens even further as Sol is fired
and replaced by Mitchell Kane (Jeff Goldblum), a documentarian and self-proclaimed
“freelance crusader” out to discredit Sultan before selling out
to him. The ensuing subplot leads to a fair amount of Machiavellian maneuvering
on Goldblum’s part. In a slightly more entertaining twist, Roper and Sultan
are constantly pestered by real contender Marvin Shabazz (Michael Jace) and
his spineless, gun-loving manager, Hassan El Ruk’n (Jamie Foxx). These
various storylines weave together for the climactic title fight and an unsatisfyingly
surprising conclusion.
Samuel Jackson’s Reverend Fred Sultan is an obvious caricature of real-life
boxing promoter Don King. Sultan’s outrageously exaggerated antics are
surpassed only by those of King himself. Jackson puts his full repertoire of
steel-eyed gazes, arched eyebrows, and winning smiles to work here, often emoting
more with a glance than with any spoken statement. His cronies, played by Jon
Lovitz, Corbin Bernson, and Cheech Marin, are well-cast but never really given
much to do. Lovitz has the largest role and he disappears early on only to be
replaced by Goldblum’s Mitchell Kane. The boxers aren’t given much
more to work with; though they have their amusing moments, they end up seeming
fairly one-dimensional. James “The Grim Reaper” Roper (Wayans) is
an arrogant, self-assured champ, abusive to his entourage and dismissive of
the comforts his successful career has created. When faced with the “threat”
of a white contender, he proceeds to take up smoking and turn into a glutton.
“Irish” Terry Conklin on the other hand is a bad boy with a heart,
a socially conscious boxer turned heavy metal singer turned boxer. Contradictions
abound with this character as he is easily convinced to return to boxing with
the promise of big cash payoffs (“for the homeless” is the flimsy
excuse he buys into). Further, his character is vehemently opposed to sexism
and racism, yet he appears on the cover of Playboy flanked by scantily clad
women and buys completely into the coming title fight, in which the subject
of race is a glaringly obvious undertone. These contradictions in character
are likely meant to be satirical, but that feeling doesn’t come off well
from the way in which Conklin is portrayed.
The boxing world of The Great White Hype is not all that convincing
when push comes to shove. When the title fight finally does occur, all of the
pieces are in place for the right characters to take the fall. Roper’s
vice-laden lifestyle has left him bloated and out of shape while Sultan has
become so obsessed with making money that he can’t recognize the discontent
within his own organization. Conklin, on the other hand, is trained and ready
to fight and accept his expected new life as champ. In a backdoor deal, he leaves
Sultan behind and signs with Kane for all his future promotion. Thus, the pieces
are set and the lines are drawn between black and white. Not to spoil the ending,
but when the fight is over, inexplicably, nothing has really changed. The racial
bias in the writing is most evident here and could have worked if the audience
were more sympathetic to Roper and Sultan. However, by this point in the movie
we have seen that they really have no endearing qualities, nothing that leaves
them deserving of the lifestyles they maintain. There’s more realism than
satire here in that sense, since things are not always so equitable to right-thinking
individuals in the real world. It is the film’s final moments where the
story loses all credibility as a lampooning of the boxing world.
The DVD release of The Great White Hype is rather light on
special features. That’s actually a bit of an understatement. Included
are a behind-the-scenes gallery (yes, a gallery and not a featurette) and a
theatrical trailer for the film. There are also four trailers for other Fox
releases, if that can really be considered a special feature. That’s all
though… don’t pick this up if you’re hoping to get a deeper
glimpse into creative process behind this movie.
The Great White Hype is by no means a bad movie, though it
does have its fair share of flaws. If you’re already a fan of the film,
be aware that you’re not going to get much insight from the added features
included on the disc. If you’ve never seen this before, rent it before
you buy it. In this reviewer’s opinion, the film is by no means a must-have
for any collection. If you’re a fan of boxing or of Samuel Jackson’s
acting, this may be worth owning. You may even chuckle out loud a few times
in amusement at the cleverness of random moments through the film. There’s
nothing here though that warrants rushing out to the store to pick this one
up.
DVD Film Score: C+
DVD Special Features Score: D
Overall Score: C-
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