User:JimDunning/Sandbox/million/

Response
The film received highly positive reviews with the review tallying website rottentomatoes.com reporting that 192 out of the 210 reviews they tallied were positive for a score of 91% and a certification of "fresh". Roger Ebert gave the film four stars and stated that, "Clint Eastwood's 'Million Dollar Baby' is a masterpiece, pure and simple, listing it as the best film of 2004." Michael Medved stated that: "My main objection to Million Dollar Baby always centered on its misleading marketing, and effort by Warner Brothers to sell it as a movie about a female Rocky, with barely a hint of the pitch-dark substance that led Andrew Sarris of the New York Observer to declare that 'no movie in my memory has depressed me more than Million Dollar Baby'.

In January and February 2005, the film sparked controversy when some disability rights activists protested the ending of the film, in which Frank carries out Maggie's wish to die after she becomes quadriplegic as a result of a spinal cord injury suffered during her last fight. Disability Rights activists believed that the ending supports the killing of people with disabilities. Conservative commentator Debbie Schlussel panned the film, but said it would continue to win awards because "it's Hollywood's best political propaganda of the year ... it supports killing the handicapped, literally putting their lights out." Wesley J. Smith in the The Weekly Standard also criticized the movie for its ending and for missed opportunities; Smith said, "The movie could have ended with Maggie triumphing once again, perhaps having obtained an education and becoming a teacher; or, opening a business managing boxers; or perhaps, receiving a standing ovation as an inspirational speaker."

Eastwood responded to the criticism by saying the movie was about the American dream. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Eastwood distanced himself from the actions of characters in his films, noting, "I've gone around in movies blowing people away with a .44 magnum. But that doesn't mean I think that's a proper thing to do". Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times, who named the film his favorite of 2004, believes "a movie is not good or bad because of its content, but because of how it handles its content. Million Dollar Baby is classical in the clean, clear, strong lines of its story and characters, and had an enormous emotional impact".

Some Irish speakers have also criticized the fact that the phrase Mo Chúisle, a term of endearment meaning My pulse, was misspelled in the movie as Mo Cuishle, as shown on the back of Maggie's robe. In Irish and other Goidelic languages, consonants soften when followed by a vowel, hence the "c" in "cúisle" turns into a guttural "ch". It is translated in the film as "My darling, my blood". The original phrase is short for A chúisle mo chroí, meaning "O, pulse of my heart". It was cited as one of the most influential phrases from a Hollywood film that year. The movie has also been praised for stirring interest in the Irish language in the U.S..