Big George Foreman, review
Big George Foreman: The Miraculous Story of the Once and Future Heavyweight Champion of the World
UK release: 28 April 2023
Director: George Tillman Jr.
Starring: Khris Davis, Jasmine Mathews, Forest Whitaker
Review by Edwin Lerew
“They say Big George is fit as a fiddle…but he looks more like a cello to me.” —Dan Duva
The killer put-down from Lou Duva’s son doesn’t appear in the film, but stinging insults mark key moments in this script by George Tillman Jr. Big George Foreman is the story of a man cast as the underdog—the one they all doubt—that always bites back.
The biopic starts where most do: the beginning, Foreman’s come-up, in rural Texas. We see Little George sitting in a schoolyard with worn-out shoes…a kid shouts “George Foreman? More like George Poorman!”—the other kids jeer and snigger. George can’t take a diss on the chin, everything cuts deep…so he puts knees and elbows on his childhood bullies, angry and undisciplined, unleashing combinations beyond the ability of most 11-year-olds…but he soon this gets him into trouble, and he needs an outlet.
“I didn't know about circular motion back then.” —Charlie Murphy
In early adulthood, he learns discipline in the form of boxing. With the guidance of Doc Broadus (Forest Whitaker), he accepts that boxing “isn't fighting…it’s a sport…with rules…” Charlie Murphy’s Chappelle Show quote comes to mind as Foreman practices against an experienced boxer—they circle around him, confuse him, calculate against him, not going for the one-two or a heavy sucker, but jabs that throw him off-course and crosses that cut him short. Foreman learns to use strategy instead of impulse. Tillman Jr’s direction gives us a vicarious experience of the learning process, through shots, edits and SFX, shifting between first-person and wide shots, giving us the full picture of the fight.
The audience views the fight game as spectators—but also as players—which is a hard thing to pull off. The filmmakers get us to root for George, not just by showing him as the underdog, the dark horse, but also by giving us a first-person sensory experience of going toe-to-toe in the ring. This has been done before, of course, from Raging Bull to Ali, but the heft of the punches, the actors’ responses, and the sound effects accompanying, make this film a benchmark of boxing realism in cinema.
Speaking of realism, Big George covers historical events…but embellishes, for better or for worse. The well-known interview with Muhammad Ali & David Frost was foregone—instead, we see Ali talking to a group of pundits & promoters in a lobby, doing an impression of “that big ol’ mummy”—as George watches on… later, at the Rumble in the Jungle, the young champion is met with chants of “ALI! BUMAYE”… and George is forced to listen… until a man, who is literally the foreman, says to him “Foreman. Bumaye” – a validation of his underdog status. Of course, Young George is punished in the ring, given the rope-a-dope (“and I was the dope”), and hangs his head when he loses, but the audience is left more sympathetic for George in the end. Much of the above happened in real life, but the layout of these chapters is what makes the film compelling. Anyone can write a timeline, it’s clear and linear, but making it meaningful is the big challenge, and Big George Foreman does an admirable job.
Discursively, this film touches a few bases on race… not so far as to be alienating, but not light enough to be ignorant. I will maintain that there’s no way the words “ALI” and “ELIJAH” can be used in one film and not go there as a subject, and it does, but with feathered touch. Ali’s decrying of Foreman as an agent of the white man, a puppet for the elite, is done almost as a throwaway line, but we feel how deep it cuts in George’s reaction – because how can you do well as a sportsman and not be the white man’s pawn? It’s a burning question that’s raised, but unanswered in this film.
Big George Foreman covers the man’s vast career, but we’re left wanting more. There’s only so much you can pack into a film of such short length, covering such an expanse of—not just a nation’s history—but a man’s history. Yes, we can split the story into 3 acts: from early career boxer, to preacher & grill merchant, then to comeback fighter, but do we really get enough time in each to embrace his journey? Perhaps a miniseries is in order, I’m not sure… but I will say that Big George Foreman, with its strengths and shortcomings, should be used as a benchmark for the visual, audial, and aesthetic experience of boxing in cinema.