Punch-Drunk Love Fest… with James Toback?

Body blow. Body blow. Body blow. Boom! Upper cut. Chuck Wepner took his beatings like a man, like a brave, yet foolish man with bad vision. In short, like Mr. Magoo in a real-life version of Punch-Out! Known also as the Bayonne Bleeder, Wepner suffered the sanquinary onslaught of Muhammad Ali in a 1975 title bout that inspired Sylvester Stallone, later that year, to “invent” Rocky Balboa. (O, Sly, you’re so… sly.)

Wepner’s bloodied losses, however, pale in comparison to the punishment Mike Tyson, the  once-invisible heavyweight champion of the world, endured outside the ring. In TYSON, Iron Mike is permitted to tell his tale, in his own peculiar vernacular, this pugilist’s patois a hybrid of jailhouse lawyer and therapized man-boy.

Director (and Tyson’s off-screen confidante) James Toback lets the cameras roll and lets his subject deliver his soliloquy, a mournful life-story, in a succession of interviews that smack of actual analysis, only Mike’s sitting up, not lying down on the couch. Yes, TYSON only provides his take and some have criticized the film for this alleged partiality. But this ain’t Fox News and Toback isn’t declaring the doc is fair and balanced. However, isn’t hearing someone’s explanation/s just as valuable as presenting the prosecution? Besides, Tyson is remarkably self-critical, even if sporadically contradictory. He may not confess to every sin, but consider the possibility that he may not be guilty of them all. 

With the fluid assist of Aaron Yanes‘ brilliant editing, Toback has crafted a stunning portrait of an athlete and ex-con everyone thinks they know, but surely doesn’t. Trust me: TYSON may not change your mind about the boxer, but it does enable you to empathize with the man buried within the maniac.    

Watch the highlights of my interview with James Toback in today’s FILM RAP below. Stay tuned for The Warren Report’s release of the entire conversation.