Shadow Boxer

Not one of my favorite episodes, SHADOW BOXER has a mommy ghost trying to reunite her husband and son, who is an up-and-coming boxer. The only reason to watch this episode is the once-famous movie actress Sonia Braga as the mommy ghost. She is a strong presence. A cute bit of business has Melinda preparing a meal for father and son, using Braga's recipe for chicken and rice. Problem is, they don't want to be at the same table and end up accusing Melinda of somehow tricking them. Peter Onorati, who some of you may remember from a bunch of past TV shows, plays a somewhat shady promoter looking to take the kid pro when what he really needs is to make it to the Olympics.

SONIA BRAGA plays a woman who can't even think of crossing over until she settles a big dispute between her husband and son who's s boxer that his mother thinks should have been training for the Olympics. What JENNIFER LOVE HEWITT is asked to do, is find out why the woman's husband and son had a rift that caused their relationship to stop.

It takes awhile for the story to unwind and the characters aren't that compelling to maintain interest. A resolution only comes about during the last five minutes when Melinda (Hewitt) manages to get father and son over for dinner, but the outcome is never too convincing.

Some good bits of humor about Melinda's cooking, but one of the lesser entries in the series even though it's well acted. Good performance by NICHOLAS GONZALEZ as the boxer and SONIA BRAGA as his mom.