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.
... View MoreWhen "Girlfight" came out, the reviews praised it, but I didn't get around to seeing it. I finally saw it when it got released on video, and understand the glowing reviews.The movie opens in a high school in the middle of a ghetto. We quickly get introduced to student Diana Guzman (Michelle Rodriguez). She has a bad-ass expression on her face, and any idea about Diana that we might derive from this expression soon gets corroborated when she gets in a fight. As Diana gets in trouble for this, we then meet her father, an aggressive type in his own right; clearly we can't totally blame Diana for her attitude.But then the movie really picks up, as a new thought germinates in Diana's mind: boxing as a way to escape this grim existence. Her older brother has already gotten into boxing, but her father most likely won't approve. Only Diana herself can decide what to do.Just the first few minutes alone identified that I was in for a very gritty, non-Hollywood movie, but the brief appearance of John Sayles in a supporting role truly affirmed that. Even before they get to any boxing scenes, you feel like you're getting pounded in the face at seeing the ugly life that Diana lives. And when they finally arrive at the film's main story, there's no turning back.All in all, I definitely recommend this movie. I will admit that using boxing as a means to show someone trying to make something of himself/herself has been sort of a cliché in cinema for many years ("Rocky", "Million Dollar Baby"), but I still think that they did a great job with it here. In fact, this may have brought the genre to its apex. Really good. Too bad that Michelle Rodriguez wasted herself in Hollywood movies after this one.
... View MoreI really enjoyed Girl Fight. It something I could watch over and over again. The acting was Fantastic and i thought Michelle Rodriguez did a good job in the film. Very convincing might I say. The movie is showing how women should stand up for what they want to do in life. She had so much compassion and yet so much hate at the same time. Dealing with a ignorant dad didn't really help her much. Even though he loved her he was really hateful. Her mother died when she was younger and that also put some sadness in the role. The love story was a part that i really enjoyed in the movie also. I felt the passion the y had for one another. Then again drama sets in and then its like she is choosing between her boyfriend and her life long dream. I thought it ended just right. It was the kind of ending where you have to decide what happened in the future for them.For all you people who likes a movie based on a sport with a good plot i 'd suggest that you check this one out
... View MoreI 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.
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