The Mouse . The Boston Phoenix . 12-22-97

The Mouse

DIRECTED BY: Daniel Adams

REVIEWED: 12-22-97

Like its hangdog hero, Daniel Adams's The Mouse doesn't set up overly high expectations for itself. The true story of Bruce "Mouse" Strauss (John Savage), a "shamster" professional boxer whose specialty is holding up for three rounds against superior opponents in order to get paid, this is a genial, fitfully moving film that has no illusions about going the distance. Introducing himself in cartoonishly craggy voiceover, Savage's penny-ante pugilist may not win fights, but he does win hearts with his philosophy that even if losing well isn't the best revenge, it does pay the bills. It also keeps him on the road and out of the house, away from his crumbling marriage to Marylou (a game but colorless Angelica Torn) and his neglected teenage daughter, Jamie (Irina Cashen).

That's about all the dramatic conflict in a film that is mostly a vehicle for colorful character studies (including appearances by real-life contenders Vinny Pazienza and Ray "Boom-Boom" Mancini as well as a cameo by Angelica's dad, Rip, as God) from the bottom-feeding boxing subculture. Sometimes Adams's film strains a little too hard for comic effect, and its slender ambitions become as obvious as Savage's slapstick playacting in the ring. The outcome is as little in suspense as the hero's bouts, but though The Mouse may not roar, its plucky squeaking charms and entertains.

--Peter Keough

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