To be honest, I came in at the middle of this film. but the part I didn't come into was pretty good.I really have to see the entire film to really give an honest opinion.There are so many different reviews on this site - it's just crazy.Tommy seemed to me to be jealous of the old man working with other boxers, so I don't know.I really need to see the beginning of this film to truly understand the core of their relationship.I did, however, feel that Tommy did love this man who was his trainer, but in today's world - of course - this type of love is taboo, which is really stupid.

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.

I have seen many indie feature films in my years on the festival circuit. Usually they suffer from that other variation of the indie 'rule of three'--the one that says you'll get two of the following but never all three: high production value, a good story, quality performances. Well this film to my surprise and pleasure does have all three. I was hooked almost from the outset by the look and feel of the film--a tale of gritty survival on the mean streets of the prize-fighting circuit--and the performance of the main character who managed to take the stereotypical boxer against the world and add a measure of depth and emotion that was different from other similar genre constructed characters. The direction was stellar, both in the technical aspects of camera movement and in the subtle emotional cues that sent the story spinning in an unexpected, and refreshing, direction. The writing and acting are very solid, and Eddie O'Flaherty is a director with a very bright future. I had the pleasure to meet him in a directing class, which is how I came to see his film in the first place, and I was taken not only with his natural ability to paint pictures with words and description, but his charming, humble personality. If you stumble across this film in the video store, do yourself a favor, rent it and sit down and watch it. You will be impressed with the production value (I have an idea of the actual budget, but if you told me this cost over 1 million, I wouldn't doubt it for a second), the cinematography and the lush feel of a big budget film. The only reason you don't already know of this film is because of the unfortunate timing of it's release--sandwiched between Cinderella Man and that little film about female boxers starring Clint Eastwood. Sadly, those two films covered much of the ground this film does, though the story contained here is quite original and will take you on a second act turn of events you do not expect. The filmmakers should be very proud of the work done here and I look forward to seeing what is next on the horizon for Mr. O'Flaherty.

I'll admit upfront that I am a world-class bawl-baby and it's not hard for a movie to make me cry. I cry when I watch a movie that's depressing, uplifting, frightening, adorable, funny, or - more than anything - clearly shot from the heart and at the heart. Therefore, it should surprise no one that Fighting Tommy Riley, which was all of the above, made me sob.The back-cover story is not what one would call original - in fact, it sounds like a rip-off of the wonderful Million Dollar Baby. Old, washed-up second-class has-been meets young, wide-eyed, unstoppable ready-to-take-on-the-world talent and together they make the perfect team, which eventually carries them both to some kind of championship. It even has all the usual heart-of-gold character twists that we know from movies like M$B - young talent is pursued by steel-hearted bigwigs but displays unwavering loyalty to trainer, trainer becomes the parent young talent never had, and eventually, unspeakable tragedy strikes. But this old, washed-up plot has found its way to a young, unstoppable talent - writer and star J.P. Davis - and he has done some beautiful things with it.The performances of Davis and co-star Eddie Jones are electrifying. Jones's monologue (delivered by his character, Marty Goldberg, to the frank, temperamental Tommy) about why it's wrong to judge is a gem on the level of Ellen Burstyn's monologue from Requiem for a Dream. The cabin-in-the-woods scene (those who have seen the film know exactly what I'm talking about, and those who haven't are in for a cinematic treat) is also a thing of beauty, put together in just the right way to wrench at the viewer's heart. Yet the movie manages not to preach, and this in itself is a thing of wonder - when something is told from the heart, it's hard not to get on the soapbox.This should be the point where I say that this disturbing and, at times, extremely adult movie is not for everyone, and I agree that it will probably be lost on young children. It is for everyone else. You will fall in love with these characters, and when it turns out that they aren't (are? I actually figured out what was going on early in the movie) exactly what they seem, you, like Tommy Riley, will find it very hard to abandon them.The gentle, up-close-and-personal style of cinematography was well-deserving of this award it's already won, and Eddie O'Flaherty's direction is the work of a man who knows what he wants and how to get it. The ending is a little hokey, but not so much that it ruins what has already come.I once heard someone say that all boxing movies are great. Excluding all of the ridiculous Rocky sequels, I have to agree with him, though I'm not sure this is so much a boxing movie as a movie about men - REAL men, not great epic-hero conquerers. As a result, you will connect with Tommy and Marty in a way you never connected with William Wallace, Maximus, and Alexander, and you won't be forgetting it soon.Grade: A-.