Such a frustrating disappointment

The acting in this movie is really good.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

"Fighting Tommy Riley" is so naively scripted, and presented in such a pedantic, pedestrian manner, that I couldn't tell what the point of the picture was more than half-way into it. Grossly elongated and slower than molasses, it tells the extremely tired tale of a hot-headed young boxer, once an Olympic hopeful with coach/stepfather issues, who is taken under the wing of a burnt-out ex-coach-turned-schoolteacher; both men learn to appreciate life again through training and becoming friends, until the fighter finds out his coach is not only gay, but harbors a secret, shame-filled yen for him. Screenwriter and co-producer J.P. Davis plays the boxer, and his youthful confusion over the circumstance at hand is understandable--though I would think the kid might be a bit more street-smart than this. Eddie Jones has the showier role, seated ringside and always handy with the literary quotes and speeches about trust. The film doesn't seem to know much about the sport of boxing, and the camera is never in the right place for us to get the feel of a bout, the rush of adrenaline. Still, some of the dialogue isn't bad, and Davis' attempt to get at something intense and personal is surely commendable, yet the movie is never much more than ordinary. ** from ****

FIGHTING TOMMY RILEY is a movie that tries to bring up an issue but manages to corrupt it and come off stinking in its own hypocrisy. Coming off of having seen such films as Cinderella MAN, ROCKY, and MILLION-DOLLAR BABY, this one was shown on gay network LOGO and I felt the curiosity tugging at me, because (I thought) it would be interesting to see a film that touched gay issues while showcasing a plot in a masculine environment. The plot: nothing out of the ordinary. If anything, it follows Clint Eastwood's movie almost step by step from start to about two thirds, when it suddenly devolves into a complete mess tinted with shades of shrieking maudlin. (Actually, MILLION DOLLAR BABY did have a similar detour into maudlin but we're comparing fine, aged wine and this is poor man's vino.) Because, you see, there is the catch: the trainer (Eddie Jones) is gay, and the cocky fighter with the chiseled looks (J. P. Davis) is prone to gay panic and fake machismo. And in this world, the mix is as harmonious as oil and water. The problem with FIGHTING TOMMY RILEY is that it offers no resolution to the way the relation between Riley and Marty has until then progressed, and the implausibility of Tommy not being aware of a speck of gay interest coming from Marty, especially in the scene where Marty decides to massage Tommy, is ridiculous. Even more implausible is how Marty later comes off as a male (and portly) version of Martha Dobie, but the crowning achievement is how Tommy sheds not a tear at learning of Marty's fate and moves on. Because, as you see, when you become close to another person, that is exactly how you should react to their demise. And that's probably why this dreadful movie is not more known: it's a travesty.

This film was utter garbage, the shame of it all was it had promise if it weren't for the absolutely stagnant acting by Diane Tayler. It was like she was reading cue cards the whole film. Anyone who has been to film school could spot overacting a mile away. I would say if you took her performance( and i use that word lightly)out of the film, it would be watchable. In fact the scenes with Marty and the boxer were touching in a few of them and them wham back with the phony trying to be hard assed acting. Save your time & money & go see Million dollar baby or even the Meg Ryan movie has this beat. Mrs. Tayler please do the world a favor and pick another profession!

What is it with Great White Hope stories? And why do so many of them have to be Irish? Fighting Tommy Riley was an attempt at a boxing film with heart. That was the first mistake. The second mistake was naming it "Fighting Tommy Riley". This whole subject is tired and hackneyed. The element of succeeding against odds is a worthy principle, but there must be a better way to do it instead of yet another "Irish" boxing story.The story is set in LA (I think) - how many Irish boxers are there here? Why couldn't the story have been about 'Fighting Juan Gonzalez' or 'Battling Hector Lopez'? At least then there would have been an element of authenticity. I guess it just doesn't have the same ring. So we're treated to an ahistorical account of Tommy Riley and his fabulous boxing skills with no accounting for his prowess or prominently displayed physique.After being found at a local gym by an agent and a washed up trainer and now high-school teacher with a penchant for quoting Melville, Tommy agrees to be trained by the rotund Marty. Why and how Marty is such an expert is glossed over yet Tommy accepts his wisdom and becomes his disciple. Unfortunately, it seems that Marty's weakness is not limited to self-discipline at the donut shop. His self-loathing is evident in the debris littered around his living room: empty Chinese food boxes, donut crumbs, sleeping pills...The film tries to create a bond between trainer and boxer, as all boxing films do. But Tommy has no past; at least, we don't get much insight into his past. And yet he seems troubled. He has a very attractive girlfriend, who occasionally deigns to reprimand him for "not opening up" and "not knowing where she stands." Poor Tommy grinds out his days on the loading dock and his nights at the gym. So Marty becomes the father figure, and a jealous one at that. But he does get Tommy some fights and victories.When Marty offers to cook for Tommy, you can sense that something is not quite right in his intentions. This is fairly early in the film, yet I found myself wishing the inevitable would not happen. Marty's "protective" instincts for Tommy lead them to an isolated cabin in the woods for a week-long training session. Ah yes, father and son, bonding in the woods: sparring, shadow boxing, rubdowns, quivering hands, and... The ride back to LA is quiet.Tommy's wins in the ring attract the attention of a promoter with self-aggrandizing intentions (as usual). But he can get Tommy a title shot. On the condition that Marty is removed from the picture. The wholesome and principled Tommy will indignantly have none of that, but after a ride in a limo with his chick, the writing is on the wall. Marty slumps home to beat himself up and hit the bottle. Of sleeping pills.Ultimately Marty's sacrifice was for Tommy's gain, a not-unmoving theme. But for weak dialog and one-dimensional characters, "Tommy Riley" might have had a shot. For me, the boxing film (Irish or not)needs to be grittier, the way Rocky Balboa started out in a Philadelphia Catholic hall. Otherwise, the whole theme can hung up like a pair of worn-out Everlast gloves.