Schusterman Levine: A Boxing Fable, is the fictional tale of a talentless amateur boxer’s desire to make it to the Olympics. Shot as a mock-umentary, complete with voice over narration, turns out to be more of a joke-umentary as the title character proves he couldn’t fight his way out of a paper bag.
After losing his job, Schusterman Levine (Evan Jacobs) decides to pursue his dream of becoming a prizefighter upon having a vision of a boxer following a mugging. Tall, out of shape and hopelessly uncoordinated, Levine doesn’t have a chance. But staying true to the film’s satirical tone, Levine manages to obtain trainers and a manager, Susan King, a local magic shop owner and part-time fight promoter. After several boughts, in which he is knocked out within the first few minutes of the fight, Susan dismisses them as learning experiences. Upon discovering that Levine is suffering from pain in his hands, Susan injects his hands with Novocain. As a result Levine suddenly feels the need to “floss and brush his fingernails.” After a disqualification for the Novocain and his horrible record, the Amateur Boxing Commission moves to ban him from the sport. Following an additional series of loses while awaiting his judgment; Levine eventually capitulates, leaving the sport to become a chef.
There is some comedy in the fact that such a pathetic person would even attempt to make it in a brutal sport, but it’s not enough to support the length of the film. 45 Minutes of slapstick comedy style scenes of Levine training and losing, as well as the uninteresting hijinks of his training staff is to say the least, boring.
