Everyone loves an underdog. The star and cowriter Tim Realbuto, a relative unknown in the movie biz, who boasts losing more weight during this film than Christian Bale did in “The Machinist” (2004), is one behind the scenes and in front of the camera. “Bobcat Moretti” went straight to streaming in most regions, but its few viewers champion the film as if the independent drama is Oscar worthy so let’s see if this film lives up to the hype. Soon after getting diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS), Bobby Moretti (Realbuto) decides to change his life, metaphorically put on his father’s gloves and enter the ring where his father, Nate (Erik Potempa), fought so he can overcome a plethora of personal tragedies and find a sense of purpose in his life.
The biggest star in “Bobcat Moretti” is Vivica A. Fox, who is memorable for performances in renowned films such as “Kill Bill: Vol. 1” (2003), respectable popcorn flicks like “Independence Day” (1996) and some movies that are so bad that they are good like “Sharknado 2: The Second One” (2014). Fox plays the boxing gym owner, Jo, who employs and trains Bobby, which is the central relationship driving the plot forward. Fox is such a dynamic presence that she makes Jo convincing as the unofficial mayor of the community even as the gym’s infrastructure crumbles and the relationships seem problematic. One such relationship is between Lacey (Sheria Irving), a mom and boxer, and her daughter’s father, Tony (Jay Hieron), who is the gym’s most dominant fighter and is the minor villain in the film when Bobby is not battling his demons in flashbacks.
When the story needs conflict, “Bobcat Moretti” uses Bobby’s family to play an ambiguous role alternating between being supportive and alarmed at Bobby’s newfound devotion to boxing. Taryn Manning from “Hustle & Flow” (2005) and “Orange Is the New Black” stands out as his mother of two, pregnant sister-in-law, Debra, who welcomes him into her home, but is not afraid to side-eye him when his behavior leaves something to be desired. No one in this family has learned to shut doors so people keep walking in on him in the middle of Bobby engaging in behavior inappropriate for children to witness, but perfectly legal and normal considering his medical condition. His brother, family man Charlie (Matt Peters), is forgettable and redundant in comparison, but holds his own when wrestling with their shared fraternal childhood trauma and enjoying his brother’s company. Comedic actor Mindy Sterling, who played Frau Farbissina in the “Austin Powers” franchise, has a brief, memorable cameo as Bobby’s fourteen-year, telephobic employer.
The dialogue leans too hard on explicitly calling Bobby inspirational and acting as if being disabled and having a debilitating illness can be overcome with mindset. A positive attitude may help and doing something instead of sitting around waiting to die is preferable, but this attitude is so chronically American. Realbuto’s mother’s battle against MS inspired this story so he can be excused from deliberately exploiting disabled people for consumption. The French are better at tackling mortality and balancing it with the demands of quotidian life without melodramatic theatrics.
“Bobcat Moretti” piles the drama onto Bobby’s past and trots his personal history out to remind the audience of what he has overcome so they will root for him. Realbuto and director Rob Margolies need to show more than tell. While the list of Bobby’s misfortunes may teeter into being unrealistic, it may remind some of the documentary “Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father” (2008), which should keep it safe from accusations of being unrealistic, but still feels heavy-handed at times. The sensational events alluded to in Bobby’s narrative happen, but the documentary’s depiction is more powerful.
“Bobcat Moretti” is safe from being dismissed as the typical heartstring pulling movie because the acting choices and story does not fit into the comfortable tropes expected from long shot sports films. Bobby does not get the girl, win the fight, and start rolling in dough. The locations are limited to a few areas, primarily the gym and his brother’s house. By keeping the surroundings humble as opposed to moving to a big, glitzy arena which appears in the promotional poster, it grounds the film in the protagonist’s humble ambitions. People worry about money, a crucial part of real life missing in most films. He loses some weight, belongs to a dysfunctional but reliable community, but his prospects are not looking too good when the film ends. The triumph is doing what you love, not necessarily doing it well, and Marholias and Realbuto refuse to give a pat happy ending to Bobby, which makes it refreshing. Bobby’s life has ups and downs, but he remains an ordinary guy who is losing control of his body regardless of how much Jo pushes him not to give up.
Lacey is a complex, push/pull kind of character. She treats Bobby like a normal person but pushes him away when he exhibits the slightest whiff of concern. Her relationship with Tony is clearly physically and sexually abusive, and she has no illusions about being in love with him. She sees him as a tool to her and her daughter’s survival; however, the dynamic is so physical and volatile that regardless of how tough a boxer she is, the actual relationship seems so unsustainable and toxic for their daughter to be as oblivious to its dangers as she is. Also it is unclear how either Lacey or Tony can survive a night together even if they had an understanding about their maladaptive relationship. “Bobcat Moretti “deserves applause for not framing domestic violence in the customary, binary ways that it is represented in media, but it felt as if it needed a couple of revisions so no viewer could not interpret it as a consensual sadomasochistic relationship.
“Bobcat Moretti” is uneven in how it features the other characters who rotate around the gym. They either deliver uplifting speeches or are just salty, but loveable characters. It is hard to imagine them as three-dimensional people who exist with a purpose other than encouraging Bobby. In comparison, the kid actors who play Bobby’s nephews are affable naturals, not cute acting machines who are self-conscious and are verging on uncanny valley repulsive. With stronger supporting characters, the story could have been richer instead of just dodging archetypes and flagging as it approached the denouement.
Margolies’ directing needed some work. When characters talked to each other, at times, the cutting matched the rhythm of the dialogue, and it gets tedious. The best scene was when Bobby and Debra share a frame with her paintings. The training and fight sequences understandably lacked excitement because the subject matter is ordinary people, not professional athletes, but the fights needed the Fred Astaire treatment, shots of the entire body, not medium shots, to appreciate the moves. The flashbacks were more intriguing because they did not match the dialogue, and without context, it created a mystery that drew viewers into getting invested in discovering the child’s identity.
“Bobcat Moretti” is not ready to go up against this season’s big dogs vying for your consideration. Realbuto and Margolies’ sophomore collaboration leaves a lot of room for improvement but show some promise at avoiding cardinal cinematic sins of being predictable or dreadful.
