I don't like boxing. So why do I love boxing movies? "Rocky" will probably always be on my top 10 list of favorite films. And "The Fighter" is definitely in my top 10 list of favorite films this year.

Here's another story that, if it weren't based on a true story, I would have panned it for being over-the-top, ridiculous, unbelievable. But, you meet the actual people in this story, and your realize the actors are actually UNDER-playing their eccentricities.

Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg) wants to be a professional boxer like his older brother, Dicky Eklund (Christian Bale). And his family claims they want to help him, but everything they do hurts Micky, personally and professionally. They talk him into fighting better boxers just so they can get paid, regardless of what it does for Micky's career or his body. They slather affection and accolades on his brother, Dicky, while Micky sits quietly alone. And when Micky finally finds someone who will love him (Amy Adams, as a b!#@$ with the heart of gold), they try to destroy his relationship with her. But, ultimately, Micky finds a balance between loving his crazy family and fighting for a chance at boxing history. The fight that's most important in this story is the battle outside the boxing ring, not in it.

For Mark Wahlberg, "The Fighter" has been a labor of love. He built a boxing ring in his house, trained 8 hours a day for 4 years, he even invited the two real-life boxing brothers from Lowell, Micky Ward and Dicky Eklund, to live with him for a while. Christian Bale lost substantial weight to play the louder, wackier, possibly more talented older brother, Dicky, whose claim to fame was sharing the ring with Sugar Ray before his drug addiction ended his career. One of my favorite actors, dating all the way back to her "Homicide" days on NBC, Melissa Leo, will finally get some much-deserved attention for her over-the-top portrayal of the brash, bossy, fake-blonde mother of nine who ruins everything she touches with her cigarette-stained little fingers. And Amy Adams will surprise a lot of moviegoers with her tough-as-nails bartender/sexpot turn.

This movie is obviously hungering for Oscar attention, but another bonus to it's debut at holiday-time is that, while you're hosting in-laws and cousins, you can be reminded just how wonderfully normal your family really is.