Cut-Rate 'Glory' By Desson Howe Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, March 31, 2000

Jimmy Smits (right) plays a former boxer in "Price of Glory." (New Line)

Phil Berger's script about a bitter father (Jimmy Smits) trying to redeem a failed boxing career by making contenders of his sons leaves little room for originality.

The pleasures in the movie are peripheral: boxing movies, even the lesser ones, deliver exciting battles in the ring – and there's plenty of that. And director Carlos Avila creates an often-entertaining, Latin-flavored intensity as three sons (Jon Seda, Clifton Collins Jr. and Ernesto Hernandez) sport gum shields and pound punching bags for their father's approval.

Smits plays Arturo Ortega, a former boxer destroyed as a youth by unscrupulous coaching. Fed like a lamb to a superior boxer, he was battered into early retirement. Now living in Arizona with his wife and children, he's determined to make his sons win championship belts.

As a no-nonsense coach, Arturo toughens his sons over the years with strict training regimens and merciless intimidation, much to the chagrin of his long-suffering wife Rita (Maria Del Mar).

Meanwhile, a promoter named Nick Everson (Ron Perlman) lurks in the proverbial background, offering big money if Arturo will sign a contract and relinquish his tightfisted control over his sons. Arturo has to decide whether he's helping his children or pushing them to fight because of his own busted dream.

A close-knit family dreaming of a better life. A chance to be a champion. A man driven by the demons of failure. Ring the bell when you've heard something original.

Smits, like most people of his profession, has been trained to act nice and lovable, even as a heavy. And Berger's script accommodates this unspoken requirement. So we get almost obligatory scenes in which Arturo turns on the charm before he lapses into his paternally dictatorial ways.

The result is disconcerting. Even though it's pleasant to watch Smits at work – the guy's a likable star – his character is painted too superficially to be truly memorable. And I couldn't tell you a thing about the relationship he has with his wife.

There's something genuine about the boxing sons under all those layers of Hollywood hokum. Seda, who plays Sonny, was a Golden Gloves amateur boxer. And that makes for a credible performance as he enters the ring for the climactic fight of his life. Collins, who plays Jimmy, has trained in martial arts and kickboxing for 10 years. He in particular has a credible Palooka Joe presence as the dark-souled middle son who knows his father doesn't favor him. But all the screen presence in the world can't lick the film's central problem: a by-the-numbers scenario that doesn't take its characters and fighters to that higher level. In this movie, the price of real glory comes at a disappointing discount.

PRICE OF GLORY (PG-13, 113 minutes) – Contains boxing violence and strong language.