Chuck

The real boxer who inspired the movie "Rocky" is explored in the amiable "Chuck."

Also the co-writer and co-producer, Live Schreiber is unrecognizable yet genial as Chuck Wepner, a New Jersey liquor salesman and struggling heavyweight, the "Bayonne Bleeder," who found 15 minutes of fame for lasting 15 rounds in the ring with Muhammad Ali (a solid Pooch Hall in the film, as the man "who never stops talking").

The real Chuck was also Sylvester Stallone's (convincing Morgan Spector) inspiration for his "Rocky" franchise, placing the pugilist close to fame but just far enough to wreck his marriage (Elisabeth Moss as Phyliss) and get him hooked on coke alongside his sycophantic best friend John (Jim Gaffigan).

Chuck, ranked eighth in the world in the mid-70s, also obsessed over the aging fighter played by Anthony Quinn in 1962's "Requiem for a Heavyweight." He's a disconnected parent from daughter Kimberly (Sadie Sink), a difficult client for his manager Al (Ron Perlman), yet a second chance for bartender Linda (real-life wife Naomi Watts).

The "All About Chuck" Blu-ray feature explores this "cautionary tale of fame and celebrity" for this unexpected "East Coast royalty." In an interview, Schreiber is obviously enamored of his subject matter, for he finds redemption in flaws.

He admires Chuck's ethos of "never stop moving forward," despite personal and professional failings.

Schreiber notes, "Sometimes life is like a movie. Sometimes it's better."

"Chuck"
Blu-ray
$29.15
http://www.ifcfilms.com/films/chuck