Girlfight (2000) User Reviews

good showcase for new talent

[mercury-26 · 7/10 · 3 November 2000]

Casting unknown Michelle Rodriguez as Diana was a stroke of genius. She's perfect. Her acting inexperience actually works in her favor. We've never seen her before so it really feels like her story. She also brings across genuine toughness. This works against her though, because we never doubt her. You never have to cheer for her to win because she never goes up against any fighter we don't think she can beat. So as a boxing movie, it fails.

Then again, this isn't really a boxing movie. How do you make a movie about a girl who wants to be a boxer that isn't a boxing movie? You don't. But Karyn Kusama has anyway. Like many indie films, "Girlfight" defies classification or genre and stands on its own as folklore that could darn near happen in real life.

Diana is doing poorly in school. She beats up people she doesn't like (all the other girls in her school for example). She doesn't fit in. Her father is forcing her kid brother Tiny to learn to box so he can defend himself when things get tough. He gives Tiny money for his boxing sessions and gives Diana nothing, as if she has no need to defend herself, nor anything worthwhile to make of her life. Tiny wants to go to art school (cliche', yuck), so he gives up his boxing allowance to Diana, who actually wants to box. Things get complicated when Diana falls for another boxer, Adrian (Santiago Douglas), who's looking to turn pro. From there the story winds down toward the inevitable...the two meet in the amateur title fight.

What left me cold was that I never found any of this all that interesting. It's all just a bit too believable. Kids with tough lives growing up in rough urban areas fall back on sports. A lot of professional boxers have risen from these circumstances. The mental and physical toughness this upbringing requires lends itself to a game like boxing, where anger is your friend. So this time it's a girl. Big deal.

Or there's another position to take: finally, a boxing movie about a girl. Women's boxing has been around a long time. The brutality we usually see in boxing films is replaced here by discussions of people's their lives and their feelings. The whole fighting thing is used as a platform from which to paint a larger picture. Respect. Overcoming adversity. Self-discovery.

I recommend "Girlfight" because it has a good spirit and is an example of some great work by a first time director. The dialogue never rises above soap opera quality, but the story itself actually changed my view on some things. Yes, the world now seems like a better place. A film did that.

Grade: B-

Drama That Rings of Honesty

[jhclues · 7/10 · 24 April 2001]

The first step to getting off of that road that leads to nowhere is recognizing that you're on it in the first place; then it becomes a matter of being assertive and taking positive steps to overcome the negative influences in your life that may have put you on that road to begin with. Which is exactly what a young Latino girl does in `Girlfight,' written and directed by Karyn Kusama. Diana (Michelle Rodriguez) is an eighteen-year-old High School senior from the projects in Brooklyn, facing expulsion after her fourth fight in the halls since the beginning of the semester. She affects a `whatever' attitude which masks a deep-seated anger that threatens to take her into places she'd rather not go. She lives with her father, Sandro (Paul Calderon), with whom she has a very tentative relationship, and her younger brother, Tiny (Ray Santiago). With her life teetering on the brink of dissolution, she desperately needs an outlet through which to channel the demons that plague her. And one day she finds it, without even looking for it, when she stops by the gym where Tiny trains. Ironically, Tiny wants nothing to do with boxing; he wants to go to art school, but Sandro is determined that his son should be able to take care of himself on the streets, and pays the ten dollars a week it costs for his lessons. When Diana convinces Tiny's trainer, Hector (Jaime Tirelli), to take her on, and approaches her father for the money, under the guise of calling it a weekly allowance (she doesn't want him to know what she wants the money for), Sandro turns her down and tells her to go out and earn her own money. Ultimately, with Tiny's help she finds a way, and the ring soon becomes her second home. It's an environment to which she readily adapts, and it appears that her life is about to take a turn for the better. And the fact that she will have to fight men, not women, in `gender blind' competitions, does not faze her in the least. Diana has found her element.

First time writer/director Karyn Kusama has done a terrific job of creating a realistic setting for her story, presenting an honest portrait of life in the projects and conveying that desperation so familiar to so many young people who find themselves in dead-end situations and on that road that leads to nowhere. And there's no candy coating on it, either; as Hector tells Diana when she asks him how he came to be where he is, `I was a fighter once. I lost.' Then, looking around the busy gym, `Like most of these guys, they're going to lose, too. But it's all they know--' And it's that honesty of attitude, as well as the way in which the characters are portrayed, that makes this movie as good as it is. It's a bleak world, underscored by the dimly lit, run-down gym-- you can fairly smell the sweat of the boxers-- and that sense of desolation that hangs over it all like a pall, blanketing these people who are grasping and hanging on to the one and only thing they have, all that they know.

Making her screen debut, Michelle Rodriguez is perfectly cast as Diana, infusing her with a depth and brooding intensity that fairly radiates off of her in waves. She is so real that it makes you wonder how much of it is really Rodriguez; exactly where does the actor leave off and the character begin? Whatever it is, it works. It's a powerful, memorable performance, by an actor from whom we will await another endeavor with great anticipation. She certainly makes Diana a positive role model, one in whom many hopefully will find inspiration and the realization that there are alternative paths available in life, at least to those who would seek them out.

As positive as this film is, however, it ends on something of an ambiguous note; though Diana obviously has her feet on the ground, there's no indication of where she's headed. Is this a short term fix for her, or is she destined to become the female counterpart of Hector? After all, realistically (and in light of the fact that the realism is one of the strengths of this film), professional boxing isn't exactly a profession that lends itself to, nor opens it's arms to women. And in keeping with the subject matter of the film, and the approach of the filmmaker, an affirmation of the results of Diana's assertiveness would have been appropriate.

The supporting cast includes Santiago Douglas (Adrian), Elisa Bocanegra (Marisol), Alicia Ashley (Ricki) and Thomas Barbour (Ira). Though it delivers a very real picture of life to which many will be able to identify, there are certain aspects of `Girlfight,' that stretch credibility a bit, regarding some of what happens in the ring. That aside, it's a positive film that for the most part is a satisfying experience. I rate this one 7/10.

all breakout performances should be this good

[A_Different_Drummer · 8/10 · 1 March 2016]

Watching Michelle Rodriguez deliver a confident performance in FF7 -- just one of many in her career -- it is easy to overlook this breakout role in this semi-indie boxing film.

Just because it is easy does not mean you should do it.

I re-watched Girlfight prior to this review and, just as I remembered, her reaction shots and dead-man stares were the standouts in a film which holds up surprisingly well.

I cannot over-emphasize how elegant this breakout role is. Stallone, the Jedi master of fight films, had his breakout role in a very forgettable film called the Lords of Flatbush. In it, he had a wrestling scene.

Recommended. And the rating should be higher than it is. It was intended as a character study and there are no bad performances, no dull moments.

Foxy boxing this ain't!

[Shiva-11 · 17 September 2000]

Poverty is the great equalizer. Or at least one would think so. Imagine that in addition to financial instability you are a young Latino woman, with no aspirations, opportunities or positive role models, who does poorly in school, and has a powder keg temper. Welcome to Diana Guzman's life.

Whether it's because she refuses to talk about lipstick and boys or because she settles disagreements with her fists, Diana is an outcast. After her fourth fight in as many months, the principal informs Diana that she's run out of chances - one more fight and she's gone. She files the incident under "Whatever", and curses about her detention as she heads to a squalid little athletic club on an errand for her father.

When Diana walks into the gym, she is entranced by the combination of salty sweat, testosterone, and men boxing. In keeping with the atmosphere, she decks one of the boxers after he takes a cheap parting shot at her little brother after a bout. Rather than chastising her, the men edge back, affording her a measure of respect, the first she has ever experienced. And she likes it. Realizing that she has found her niche all she convince a skeptical, chauvinistic trainer to take her on, get money to pay him, and hide her passion from her abusive, dismissive, alcoholic father. Well, at least it's no tougher than anything else she's had to do.

Anyone expecting a female "Rocky" will be disappointed - "Girlfight" is not about endorsements, glory or bone crushing slow motion boxing sequences - boxing here serves as the background for the film, not the main attraction. The film would more appropriately be described as - and I really hate this phrase - a coming of age story. But Diana is a much more complex than the typical lead in this genre - she struggles not only with the issues we normally associate with adolescence - awkwardness, a desire to belong, and racing hormones - but also with discrimination, blinding rage, and expectations that are constantly forced upon her. As Diana's training progresses, she grows both literally and as a person -she learns to control her anger, walk with confidence, discover who she is, smile and risk the vulnerability of romance. The acting is superb.

From the initial appearance of her glowering image on screen, Michelle Rodriguez is superb. Chosen from among several hundred actors at a cattle call, Rodriguez, who had only previously worked as an extra, captures Diana's hostile intensity and indifference perfectly and has a screen presence that most actors would sell a couple of souls for. In addition to honing Diana's persona, Rodriguez underwent four and a half months of gruelling training to develop the necessary boxing skills and physique to match. The final product is one of the strongest performances I've seen since Hillary Swank's Oscar winning role in "Boys Don't Cry". Rodriguez is bolstered by a strong cast: Jaime Tirelli, who plays her Doubting Thomas trainer Hector, and Santiago Douglas, as Adrian, her sensitive partner in love and in the ring.

Rather than opt for the clean Hollywood look, Girlfight feels like a documentary both in the locations and filming. From the dingy little hole in the wall gym plastered with mottoes written on cardboard ("Champions are made, not born") to the crumbling deadly projects where Diana lives, everything has that unpolished grit that is difficult to fake. The director also chose a departure from the accepted standard of choreography in boxing films - instead of the whiplash-in-action slow motion sequences, the sparring is shown from a first person perspective with the glove coming straight at the viewer's face. I flinched more than once.

Take a date, or go alone. Either way you will agree that "Girlfight" works on many levels, and disappoints on none.

Not your usual sports movie

[Quinoa1984 · 7/10 · 7 October 2000]

In most sports movies, you'll have the corny story of triumph and it might be not too great. But this film is different. It uses it's independent edge (it won numerous awards at the Sundance and Caanes film festivals) to not be cornball, but to a good achievement. Michelle Rodriguez definately makes an credible debut as the troubled and always angry Diana, who decides a way to get out some of her aggression is in boxing, and it works, even when she has to face her boyfriend in the (improbable to be sure) ring. Better than I thought, but the liability is that Diana is always angry (so angry that any regular girl's worst day of PMS is Diana's best day) and she does some things to her family and friends that are very questionable, method and emotion wise which almost makes her not the best girl to emmulate. Pretty good, never-the-less. B+

Gloves are not coming off here...

[paul_haakonsen · 6/10 · 11 February 2013]

Well I must admit that I had expected something more in the likes of "Rocky" here, just with a female lead instead, but it turned out to be something more of a 'coming of age' story rather than a hard-punching boxing movie.

The story in "Girlfight" is about a girl who is quite a tomboy, and she wishes to take on boxing, much against the wishes of her father. Training is hard and laboring, but the girl is determined to pull through. Love also comes knocking on her door as she falls in love with a fellow boxer at the gym, but the way to the top is not easy.

What made this movie work out, was the atmosphere during the training scenes and the atmosphere in the boxing gym. Plus the performances put on by Michelle Rodriguez and Jaime Tirelli, as they really carried the movie nicely.

There is a fair amount of late teenage stuff in the movie, which may or may not be suitable just for anyone. And some might certainly think that it is slowing the movie down, and I believe that would be those who come to watch this movie for the boxing scenes. (Which I initially did in the beginning.) For a first movie appearance, then Michelle Rodriguez really pulled it off nicely here and establishes her characteristic face on the map.

I went into this movie with one expectation, but the movie turned that around and made me walk away with something else entirely. "Girlfight" is quite a good movie, entertaining and fun.

Ever wonder why women want to box? Well, here's one answer.

[=G= · 8/10 · 27 March 2001]

"Girlfight" follows a project dwelling New York high school girl from a sense of futility into the world of amateur boxing where she finds self esteem, purpose, and much more. Although the film is not about boxing, boxing is all about the film. So much so you can almost smell the sweat. Technically and artistically a good shoot with an sense of honesty and reality about it, "Girlfight" is no chick flick and no "Rocky". It is, rather, a very human drama which even viewers who don't know boxing will be able to connect with.

Good

[nancyldraper · 7/10 · 17 January 2021]

I thought this was a good little movie about finding yourself but it's ending short changed it by allowing it to resolve as a chick flick. Too bad. The acting was great. The chemistry was great. Michelle Rodriguez was the draw and she certainly was earning her acting chops here. I give this film a 7 (good) out of 10. {Drama}

Surprise Powerhouse

[gbheron · 9/10 · 23 June 2003]

I was not expecting the powerful filmmaking experience of "Girlfight". It's an Indie; low-budget, no big-name actors, freshman director. I had heard it was good, but not this good.

Placed in a contemporary, ethnic, working-class Brooklyn, Karyn Kusama has done an extraordinary job of capturing the day-do-day struggles of urban Latinos. Diana, the protagonist, is seething with anger and lashes out at her high school peers, getting in trouble with the school and her friends. She is being raised by her single father, who appears to love her and her brother, but applies a strict, sex-based double standard on his children. The father's double standard is illustrated by the fact that Tiny, the brother, is taking boxing lessons at the local gym, but Diana is denied similar pursuits. On an errand to the gym to meet Tiny, Diana is captivated by boxing. Tiny doesn't like boxing, so he and Diana trade places; he gets the money from Dad then gives it to Diana to take the lessons in his place.

This is actually a feel-good movie, as Diana grows and learns about herself through boxing, meets a guy, and addresses some very serious issues head-on. There's no giggly, 'everything that can go right does go right' resolution a la "Bend It Like Beckham". The reality and attendant personal issues are too big for pat resolutions, but in my opinion, "Girlfight" is a better and more satisfying film for it.

Michelle Rodriguez is a badass!

[davegir-45616 · 7/10 · 19 July 2021]

I watched this movie after i'd seen the fast and furious movies and loved Michelle's character of Letty in them so much, so i thought i would give this movie a go, and Wow it's fantastic, the growth in her character really shows and i love her whole attitude of not giving up and being strong and powerful. Would definitely recommend!!

Uneven

[irish23 · 3/10 · 30 November 2008]

Diana Guzman is an angry young woman. Surviving an unrelenting series of disappointments and traumas, she takes her anger out on the closest targets.

When she sees violence transformed and focused by discipline in a rundown boxing club, she knows she's found her home.

The film progresses from there, as Diana learns the usual coming-of-age lessons alongside the skills needed for successful boxing. Michelle Rodriguez is very good in the role, particularly when conveying the focused rage of a young woman hemmed in on all sides and fighting against not just personal circumstances but entrenched sexism.

The picture could use some finesse in its direction of all the young actors, who pale in comparison to the older, more experienced cast. There are too many pauses in the script, which detracts from the dramatic tension. The overall quietness of the film drains it of intensity.

This is a good picture to see once, if only to see the power of a fully realized young woman whose femininity is complex enough to include her power. Its limitations prevent it from being placed in the "see it again and again" category.

Next on my list to buy

[MadamTampini · 10/10 · 28 January 2006]

Girlfight is a story about a troubled teen named Diana Guzman (Michelle Rodriguez). Diana is burdened by her mothers suicide and a sexist father living in a sexist community. A short temper and plenty of things to spark a fire, shes about to get kicked out of school for fighting. Her brother, Tiny (Ray Santiago), is training with Hector (Jaime Tirelli) in boxing. Diana is told by her dad, Sandro (Paul Calderon), to deliver that weeks payment for Tiny's training. While Diana is walking through the gym, she realizes thats what she wants to do. She wants to box. Diana asks her dad for money to train but he refuses because shes a girl and should do more 'girly' things. All Diana wants is to be treated like any other guy. Not looked down upon because she is a woman. She steals money from her father to begin training.

Great movie. Genius, pure 'effing' genius. Recommend to anybody who needs to see a good clean movie with no 'monkey business'.

Rodriguez is worth watching; the movie, however, isn't.

[gridoon · 6/10 · 15 February 2004]

Michelle Rodriguez gave an amazingly naturalistic performance in "Girlfight" - she's a real talent. But her character is utterly unsympathetic throughout, and what's worse, the filmmakers don't seem willing to acknowledge that and set her up as the heroine. They argue that the right place for a stuck-up girl who can't control her violent urges, thinks the whole world owes her something and likes solving her problems by punching people in the face is the boxing ring - I say it's the loony bin. The romantic subplot is trite and shallow - Rodriguez and Douglas fall "deeply" in love after meeting twice. Good performance by Joe Mantegna look-alike (and act-alike) Jaime Tirelli, as the coach. (**1/2)

More Feminist Nonsense

[russd-863-263873 · 1/10 · 5 October 2010]

OK, let's get serious here, this movie is just Karyn Kusama's feminist fantasy of sex role reversal and hatred of men put to film.

Spoilers**** Spoilers*******

We have the rejection of motherhood in the beginning where Diana looks down upon the mother and children from above- yes this was planned.

Diana is fairly masculine in appearance and attitude but is showcased as being 'feminine' by the reactions of others outside of her father. So the new definition of 'feminine' gets established as no longer being soft and empathetic but hard, strong, and muscular (masculine).

We have the always present abusive father who also happens to 'support' those bad traditional and 'sexist' roles found in intelligent cultures everywhere across the globe.

We have the 'tiny' effeminate brother, helpless before the might of his sister when she beats down and nearly strangles her father in the kitchen. Tiny boy represents Kusama's acceptable role for a male as he can do nothing but beg his sister who now rules the house.

Lastly we have the ridiculous love interest named after Rocky Balboa's wife, Adrian, who falls in love with Diana but then must fight her in the ring... um yeah right. So in a nutshell Diana beats up all the men in the gym, finds a surrogate father who shows her that, physical reality be damned women can do anything. She then beats her up father, and then beats up her boyfriend who then begs to have her back when it's all over!

Kasuma fantasy is pretty simple- she covets male power, hates men, and despises femininity, so her answer is the fantasy of women becoming men (while still being labeled women) and for men to turn into women or just disappear entirely.

An Emotional and great performance by a very undderated actress

[dark_elf02 · 11 April 2004]

I first saw Michelle Rodriguez in The Fast and The Furious, and was sad that her character wasnt given more to work with because it was a role that could have been a great addition to the film.

Just recently I saw her Girlfight which was the role that started and has so far highlighted her career. And to be honest I found it to be one of the best movies I have seen in the last couple years.

The movie is about a girl named Diana played by rodriguez who has alot of pent up anger about herself and her mother's death. So her life at school is spent mostly by getting into fights, but that all changes when she visits her brother at a local boxing facility.

Soon its her and not her brother being the one trained, and through boxing she finds a way to release her anger, and find something to concentrate on. One of the things I found that I loved about the movie was that at the end not all of her problems were taken care of, just some of them. And her dreams are not realized but just taken a step further which is all she really wants.

But most of all it was Michelle's performance that made this movie the experience it is. Her character is REAL, and people aspiring to be actresses should watch her movie for pointers. She imbues her with the rage, and the full range of emotions that she shows through every scene. So watch it and love it 10/10

Overcomes its weak script

[zetes · 7/10 · 15 May 2001]

Girlfight is, in fact, little more than a female Rocky. In fact, compared to Rocky, this movie is not very good. It is stuffed with some of the most hackneyed sports cliches you'll ever see. Maybe it's just impossible to come up with a decent sports film. It always comes down to a final fight. There are very few options along the way.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS

To thicken the proceedings, three conflicts are built up. One between the main character, Diana, and her friends at high school, one between her and her father and her family situation, and one between her and her new boyfriend. Unfortunately, all are lacking in certain ways. The first, between her and her classmates, falls flat quickly. Maybe I just have a strong distaste for anything involving high school (I've been thankfully out of that situation for several years now), but I feel it is all underwritten. None of her classmates are developed in a significant enough way to make us care about the outcome of the conflict (and, to spoil it, they never resolve the issue). We'll skip her family relationships for the moment (they're a bit complicated) and go on to her boyfriend. It's all pretty cliche, with Diana feeling jealousy over the trampy girl who always is trying to get her man back. Also, and it comes as no surprise, she is forced to box her boyfriend in the film's climactic scene. First off, the director/writer cheats by refusing to give us a good view of the actual match. She films it in slow motion and cuts out significant portions, giving you no idea what is happening in the match; when the decision comes, you have no clue who will win. That adds a bit of suspense, but an actual boxing match, something that you may crave by this time (there's very little boxing in the film, really), would have produced more suspense. However, the boyfriend situation works much better than the friend situation. The actors have chemistry, and, although cliche, I did care about their relationship. Their final scene, although sewn together with formulae, is touching (it is an ode to the famous ending of Francois Truffaut's The 400 Blows, where we end in a freeze-frame towards which the camera moves closer and closer).

Now I must talk about the relationship between Diana and her family. I'm not sure I understood the situation with her brother, and I'm not sure whether that's my fault (it was hot and humid, and thus difficult to pay attention at times) or the writer's fault. Anyway, I'll take the blame for that one. What I can argue over is the relationship and situation between Diana and her father. He is a very interesting character, and I think he's diminished by both the writing and the actor playing him. The casting for this character was very poor indeed. He's supposed to be a brute who has changed his ways (supposedly; I might have misinterpreted this situation, also). Diana accuses him of driving her mother to suicide by beating her. This whole backstory is what stimulates Diana's character the most, and Kusama develops it very by-the-books (straight from Screenwriting 101), mentioning it passim. She (Kusama) thinks she's being really subtle, but she ends up underplaying it too much. If I had written it, I would have given this whole conflict much more prominence, as well as the role of the brother. Still, the way it is done gives any mention of the mother an emotional background, and two scenes involving it are probably the two best scenes in the film: one where Diana is forced to sell a locket which contains pictures of her and her mother (she keeps the pictures of course, but it is heartbreaking when she is standing outside the pawn shop with those two naked photos in her hand) and one where Diana attacks her father physically, accusing him of killing her mother.

A couple of more things about the writing and the direction: it would also have been good to develop more strongly the relationship between Diana and her trainer. It seemed to me as if Kusama had wanted to do this, but chickened out. It ends up being rather cliche. I'm beginning to paint a picture which, to me, seems pretty clear. I'm betting that Kusama had a much more complex film going for her, one that may have soared past its cliches like an eagle, but that she felt as if it would be far too long a film if she had used it all. I have mapped out four different relationships that Diana has to deal with, and all four peter out for the most part. All four could have been developed much further. But it ended up being 111 minutes long, about the average length, maybe even a little more, for a feature film. I've already shown Truffaut's influence on this film. Godard, the other French New Wave giant, also influences quite a bit. Jump cuts are used constantly. Godard's first film, Breathless, is most famous for its jump cuts, and he said that he used them so often because, for his first film, he didn't want it to be too long. Jump cuts cut significant time from the film. This is obviously why Kusama jump cuts so often, and, like Godard's Breathless, it is her first film.

But I have done little besides complain! I must tell you why it "overcomes its weak script"! Michelle Rodriguez absolutely shines. Seriously, I think I'm in love with her and I pray that she'll get more parts. I remember, when commercials for this film would air on television, friends would comment on how ugly Rodriguez was. I think she's absolutely stunning. She has so much personality and so much skill in this film. You may correctly say that she sports only one expression throughout the film, a scowl, but you ought to notice, too, that Rodriguez is expressing a lot of feelings underneath that scowl. It is only a front, a defense mechanism, and Rodriguez (as well as Kusama) knows this. Her Diana is an endearing character, and, as hackneyed as the film can get at times, she always makes it worth watching and I always cared for her.

I give the film a 7/10. May we see Michelle Rodriguez soon in another film. This woman's Oscar material.

The Vidiot Reviews...

[capone666 · 7/10 · 8 March 2016]

Girlfight

The main thing that separates male and female boxers is the hair and make-up team the woman's corner.

Mind up, the feminine prizefighter in this drama doesn't like to cover up her black eyes.

Troubled teenager Diana (Michelle Rodriguez) finds an outlet for her angry when she attends her brother's boxing lesson. But she is unable to afford a trainer until he decides to drops out and pursue art.

Eventually she forms a relationship with her sparring partner (Jaime Tirelli). But it is later jeopardized when they are set to fight one another, and he refuses to step into the ring.

The gritty Indy love story that put Michelle Rodriguez on the map, Girlfight is a balanced battle- of-the-sexes sports drama that confronts heavyweight issues, like poverty, abuse and suicide, with tact and artistry.

However, female boxing would be more popular if opponents didn't apologize to each other after every punch.

Green Light

vidiotreviews.blogspot.ca

Excellent acting

[bjclarke189 · 10/10 · 17 April 2006]

I saw this movie after i saw Blue Crush and other of Michelle's movies, i thought she had a bleak future in this business.I was extremely wrong after watching her performance in "Girlfight" i was amazed in the way she captures the emotion of one a fighter, but also a warrior.In this movie the way she confronts her father about the treatment of her and her brother, the way she conveys anger when getting hit.Her characters learning curve in the movie of she cant always put up a wall and hide from love, or that just because she has power she wont win.I believe this role was fit perfectly for Michelle even though she had no prior experience, the director saw talent, I criticize myself for not seeing the talent in her.

An unexpectedly touching love story in a formulaic plot

[Groverdox · 7/10 · 18 August 2019]

"Girlfight" is a boxing movie that successfully rises above the trappings of its formula to tell what feels like a real, human love story that is even unexpectedly touching.

On paper, its plot structure has nothing to surprise you: a surly girl from the inner city is often in trouble for schoolyard fights, and learns to channel this energy into boxing. Her arty brother is supposed to be the boxer, but more than willingly swaps places with him, because the gender roles don't fit them and blah blah blah , but some people think girls can't box at all because sexism, yadda yadda yadda...

I thought it was refreshing, though, that this stuff takes a backseat to the story of the girl and her new love with a fellow, and eventually rival, amateur boxer. I liked that the movie only spent one line of dialogue on the whole idea that women can't box or fight. Does anyone really think that? If they do, no matter, since it's pretty easy to prove them wrong: Louise Adler was a world champion of women's boxing back in the 1920s.

The movie comes off the rails of its familiar plot when it focuses on the love story, and I give full points for making the object of the protagonist's love a total non-cliché; a young Latino who isn't a player or a thug but a sensitive person with feelings and aspirations of his own.

good movie

[frich71-1 · 8/10 · 7 January 2008]

great first role for Michelle. She's perfect for the role. And I would love to see MRod kick the shite out of Hilary Swank's Arse.

that is all, just a great great fun entertaining movie of a tough girl trying to balance being tough and being feminine.

And MRod is super feminine, super hot, and I love it when she gets Kick Butt roles.

too bad she's gets in so much trouble.

Maybe the time in jail will sober her up in more ways than one.

Lost is horrible and too bad she let her agent talk her into that trash.

is my 10 line min. up yet?

Cool.

How to Succeed on a Modest Budget.

[rmax304823 · 7/10 · 25 July 2009]

Michelle Rodriguez is a well-built high-school senior who discovers that she has a powerful punch and begins amateur training at a Brooklyn gym. Santiago Douglas is a a handsome young man, barely older than she, who also trains there. They meet after class, so to speak, and feel attracted to each other. No sex. Santiago has been instructed to save it for his next bout.

Both are participants in a "gender-blind" athletic program that makes no distinctions between males and females, a misguided attempt to level the athletic playing field.

A conservative radio commentator recently announced -- and I swear I'm not making this up -- "Let's face it; the president is black." I'm here to make an equally perspicacious observation -- "Men and women are different." Now, in 99 cases out of 100, this needn't make any difference in physical performance. But in the top one percent -- trained athletes whose skills have been honed to a fine edge -- men generally have the advantage. With their narrow hips they can run faster. And they have greater muscle mass and upper torso strength. These differences in body build make it possible for women to give birth and raise children and for men to catch and kill food for them. This sexual bifurcation is the result of the perfectly normal process of natural selection. Without it, there might not be any humans at all. And that, boys and girls, is why they have men's events and women's events at the Olympics. I speak to you as your anthropologist. That will be ten cents, PayPal preferred.

That's why I called this gender-blind program misguided. As talented a boxer as Rodrigues is, as she approaches the zenith of the game, she will eventually lose to a male.

That's where the complication arises in this movie. Rodrigues is finally matched against her boy friend, Douglas. Neither wants to loose any anger on the other, not to mention roundhouse rights, but the pride of both is at stake, and the pride is both personal and gender related. Douglas refuses to fight a woman in the ring. And Rodriguez is offended by what she sees as his patronizing attitude. It ends happily.

I wasn't really expecting much from the film. I thought it would be a rip off of Clint Eastwood's "Million Dollar Baby" until I discovered that this was released years earlier. And I'd never heard of the director or of any of the performers. That sort of obscurity generally augers ill -- made-for-television weepers and so forth.

But I was surprised at how neatly this is put together. The total absence of bathos left me open mouthed. So did the minimal use of boxing clichés -- the frayed ropes, the blood, the cutting of the swollen eye, the battered post-bout faces, the fat and sweaty onlooker shouting "Kill him!", the slow motion landing of glove on nose, the spray of sweat from the mauled head, the heroic music signaling the long-awaited apotheosis of the victor. None of that here -- well, almost none. The whole plot could be considered formulaic. Tough kid finds outlet in the ring, etc.

The feeling you're left with is that this is probably pretty much what these amateur contests are like. Different from those we see on TV and in ordinary movies. No bells ring, for instance, Instead a dancing and observant referee yells "Stop!" And "Box!" The contestants wear head gear. The gym is populated not by a crowd of cheering spectators, but only by a handful of people who have some particular interest in the goings on. It's a clean movie, despite the rather grim setting and the unhappy family dynamics.

Michelle Rodriguez can look pretty mean, what with her muscular bulk and her eyes glowing under her lowered brow, but once you get used to the idea that this is a girl who can beat you to a pulp anytime she wants, and once you hear the feminine contours of her supersegmentals, she ain't bad. (A scene in which she battles her father to the floor is overdoing it.) It was a little hard to understand Douglas's restraint when Rodriguez crawls all over him in bed. The director, Karyn Kusama, has chosen her talent carefully.

Shows what you can do with some talent, imagination, and a modicum of money. There ought to be more films like it. Take one of those multi-billion dollar blockbusters full of dinosaurs or space ships and spread the generosity around a little.

Not oh-so-feminist, after all.

[jillheather · 3/10 · 23 June 2001]

Caution: may contain slight spoilers.

This movie was described as a girl power, feminist movie. *The* thing to see.

So I did. It was about a girl who wanted to box. Her family didn't want her to. She has doubts about if she can make it. She has to choose between boxing and her boyfriend.

Why, look! It's every other movie produced in the 80s, except that dancing/singing/acting has been replaced by boxing. What daring! What nerve! Whatever.

Excellent little sleeper movie about the world of womens' boxing. Pre-dates "Million Dollar Baby" and equally as interesting.

[stevec-48 · 8/10 · 9 February 2007]

So I flipped on the digital subscriber channels one night a couple of years ago and thought I'd pass a half hour watching "Girlfight" while waiting for "Hart's War" to start. With a title like that I figured it was some exploitation 'B' flic about inner city girl gangs.

Much to my surprise it wasn't about that at all. Instead it is a well acted, well scripted story about a young woman who almost accidentally gets into female boxing. She is responsible for taking her younger brother to his practice sessions and get interested while observing his bouts. As he doesn't really want to be a boxer (only following through on their father's wishes) she convinces his coach to take her on in his stead.

The story unfolds in an intelligent and believable way as she goes through various trials on her quest. For starters, her brother's coach doesn't want to take on a female boxer. After grudgingly doing so there is the problem of lining up matches for her. Then the confrontation with her father when he finds out what is going on. Yes, a love interest develops but it serves to enhance the plot, coming across more of an interesting inter-human reaction with its own fight related consequences.

All in all this is a great little sleeper movie that few seem to have heard of. Some time later when I saw the much advertised and acclaimed "Million Dollar Baby" I thought "wait a minute, this seems kind of familiar". Needless to say, I didn't watch "Hart's War" that night.

For love and the fight

[Chris_Docker · 7/10 · 29 August 2000]

A well-made film that achieves more than one would expect from the heralded subject matter. It is the story of a young girl in a poor area who wants to be a boxer. That she succeeds is only part of the movie - although this alone would have made it well worth watching. The heroine's romance with a male boxer (who she beats in the ring) tells an immeasurable story of feminist liberation and the men who rise to the challenge of being equal (rather than dominant or subservient).

So this is a feel good film?

[iwatcheverything · 3/10 · 22 October 2003]

I was bored and I do mean bored. It starts slow, the middle is slow, and the end is slow. The acting was not even that great. I liked very little about this film. SPOILER:

I liked seeing her beat up her abusive father.

That was it. The only thing worth the watch. I probably will not watch this film again unless made to. It needed a little more to pull me in. I just did not care about the family enough. It was missing something. Oh well, If you figure out what I missed let me know.