I became a boxing fan on September 15,
1978, the night that Muhammad Ali beat Leon Spinks by decision to
become the heavyweight champion for the third time. There was only
one TV in the house, and since my sister and I were 10 and 8
respectively, we ended up watching what my dad wanted to watch just
about every night. And while I'm sure I had watched fights with my
dad before, I don't remember any prior to this match, mainly because
of the impact the decision had on my dad. He cried, he laughed, he
mooned over the images of Ali on the TV screen. He was deeply moved. I remember it like it
was yesterday.
Such is the type of emotion that
Muhammad Ali generates in those that lived through his tenure as a
prizefighter. Ali was more than an athlete; due to the strength of
his voice in both the civil rights and anti-Vietnam
War movements, he became an icon. During the 60s and 70s he was at the
same time the most loved and most hated athlete in the world, and the
single most recognizable face on the planet. He was bigger than
boxing. He was bigger than just about everything.
Directed by Clair Lewins, “I am Ali”
virtually ignores Muhammad Ali the athlete and focuses on the icon. And not to put too fine a point on it, basically
treats him as Muhammad Ali the saint. Or martyr. Or God..... I
appreciate that Lewins tried to do something different here - the
amount of media available about Muhammad Ali is so vast that it is
virtually impossible to learn anything new about the man. So Lewins
doesn't even try and instead made a movie hailing the wonderful-ness
of Ali. But since this is a documentary I feel it fell very short of
making any kind of real statement, more because of its omissions than
its content.
It would be okay to have the people that love
and admire Ali discussing how he has influenced them. It's fine
to have his family talk about how much they love and admire him.
What I found not okay was the absolute refusal to address the reality
that Ali left a trail of broken hearts in his wake. The film shows
an interview with Muhammad Ali Jr about his upbringing, but fails to
address the non-relationship between he and his father now. It also
shows interviews with Marvis Frazier where he speaks to some degree
about how Ali's taunting hurt his father Joe during their three fight
history, but glosses over it rather than hit it head on. I have zero doubt at all that
Marvis had a lot more to say about this, but the editing left it as a
“they loved each other in spite of it all” feeling to it. Joe forgave Ali in the end but spent DECADES being eaten up inside about being called "Uncle Tom" and "The Gorilla".
Even Veronica Ali, Muhammad's third
wife, gives a “kid gloves” treatment to Muhammad. When she discusses Ali's
infidelities, it's more in a “nudge nudge wink wink, isn't he
naughty” way than how in reality it was the sole reason for their
broken marriage. So overall I can't say this paints a real portrait
of Ali – it just paints the bright side and leaves the dark side
almost completely alone.
There is some great stuff in this film
though. Being an Ali-o-phile I noticed quite a few photos and videos
that I hadn't seen before, and though it is all daddy-daughter stuff
the recorded conversations from the 70s of Ali with his kids is also
new to hear. And since there is so much Ali-related stuff out there,
it is difficult to make a new documentary that doesn't simply
re-tread the same old footsteps. “Muhammad Ali: The Whole Story”
(1996) is the most complete, comprehensive and honest documentary
about the man, and “AKA Cassius Clay” (1970) gives you a really
great account of what he meant to the civil rights movement.
Unfortunately, “I Am Ali” falls into the vein of the dramas made
about Ali (“The Greatest 1977 and “Ali” 2001) – they are just
not very good viewing.
Muhammad Ali is many things. A
superior athlete, a great but deeply flawed man, an entertainer, a
cruel egomaniac, an icon of anti-war and anti-segregation. But he is
no saint, despite what “I Am Ali” seems to convey. I love the
man personally – loved him as an athlete and loved his courage as a
political statesman. But I most love him because on the night of his
last great triumph, my dad cried tears of joy because of what Ali
meant to him. He deserves a better tribute than this film provides him.
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