Erika Eleniak Instagram – The Opponent (2000) is the directorial debut of Eugene Jarecki, which he also wrote and produced.
The film is about Patty (Erika Eleniak) who is
hounded and knocked around by her boyfriend Jack (Harry O’Reilly). Patty is spotted and befriended by club fight promoter Fred (John Doman) and one of his round-club gals, June (Aunjanue Ellis). Patty finds that she can confide in June and get into shape care of Tommy (James Colby), who runs a gym with sleazy Fred. Patty begins to learn how to box and gain self-esteem. Tommy takes Patty through a rigorous training program to prepare her for her first professional match.
The film’s low budget meant that Erika Eleniak had to do all the boxing scenes without stunt help. In other words, she had to go through what real boxers are subjected to in the ring during competitions.
In addition to being Eugene Jarecki’s debut film, The Opponent is his only feature film to date, as his other films are documentaries. Several of his documentaries have been nominated for both Emmy and Grammy Awards. His brothers Andrew and Nicholas are also active in the film industry.
The Opponent premiered at the AFI Film Festival in Los Angeles on October 20, 2000. However, the film was not a great success in theaters when it was released. One reason for this may be that The Opponent was the fourth film that year that was about female boxers. The film ended up in the shadow of, for example, the more successful Girlfight with a similar theme. Another reason may be that it did not receive such good reviews in the press, mainly of Jarecki’s script and direction, when it was released in theaters.
#theopponent #eugenejarecki #erikaeleniak #johndoman
#aunjauneellis #jamescolby #boxing #2000 | Posted on 22/Apr/2025 22:37:25
