Girlfight 2/10

Girlfight (R) 2000
Reviewer’s Tilt (6)
Drama-110min
Special DVD Features worth a look-None

Girlfight won Director Karyn Kusama the best director award at Sundance and shared the Grand Jury Prize with Kenneth Lonergan’s "You Can Count on Me". Why it received these awards, I do not know. Girlfight is the hackneyed story of angst-ridden teen Diana (Michelle Rodriguez), seeking outlet in an unconventional manner, in this case, boxing. The tale vacillates between inner-city clichés and unbelievable plot turns.

Try as it might, Girlfight simply could not convince me that this young woman, as strong and skilled as she was, could so soundly physically thrash the men in her life. I understand boxing is an art, and that skill triumphs over strength, but this movie does not lay the groundwork to make Diana’s beatings plausible. The film is rife with tired characters, including the former boxer (Jaime Tirelli), living vicariously through his prodigy, the abusive inner-city father (Paul Calderon)., the sensitive, bookish brother (Ray Santiago) that does not want to fight, and the boxer (Santiago Douglas), with the heart of gold. Tirelli, the veteran and Rodriguez, the newcomer are both stunning, but cannot overcome the films many weaknesses.

Format: Color, Widescreen anamorphic, Closed captioned.
Sound: (Dolby Digital 5.1), (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
Extras: Director commentary, making-of featurette, trailer.