Movie Review: Girlfight

Story: The subject matter alone (female boxers) is reason enough to see this terrific Grand Jury Prize Winner and Directing Award for Karyn Kusama - who also wrote the script, at this year's Sundance Film Festival. Almost everyone vocalizes their belief in the equality of the sexes, but -- be honest, do you really think women should box? (I personally think no one should be allowed to box -- but that is a whole other issue.) Well, go see this film and see how you feel at its end. It is about empowerment, awakening and triumph over seemingly insurmountable odds. Sounds a bit likeRocky goes Pretty in Pink, no? Yes, there are some similarities. One of the characters is even named Adrian. Basically, 18 year old Brooklyn HS Senior Diana Guzman is angry. She has no discipline, no direction and is a loose cannon. Her home life is dismal. Her younger brother Tiny (enough said about his obvious personality with that name) wants to go to art school, not be a boxer, as their father is pushing him to be. My favorite line was when the father says, Art school is a waste of time! Hmmmmm! Diana ends up finding salvation in boxing as so many other inner city young men have done in real and reel life before. She finds romance. She finds herself. Go! Have a good time and knock yourself out!

Acting: The smoldering Michelle Rodriguez is just perfect as Diana Guzman. She is beautiful in a 'non-ingenue' way. After watching the Olympics it was also good to see a strong female figure up on the silver screen. I hope she has a full career ahead of her. Jaime Tireli was wonderful as her trainer. A good role model for some of the men in the audience, I think. Santiago Douglas (Adrian) was an interesting mix of sweetness and strength. All of the supporting characters were three dimensional. John Sayles made a cameo appearance as the HS science teacher. Turns out he was one of the executive producers.

Pets: No pets allowed in the gym, I guess.

Visual Art: Some wonderful gritty set decoration. Images of Jesus abound throughout the sets -- in homes, in gyms, in cars. There are also some great hand written isms in the gym.

Soundtrack: Very well thought out and not overpowering.

Theater Audience: I went with my sister to a late afternoon show at my favorite stadium seating complex. It was being shown in the theater with the secret balcony that I have written about before. So I couldn't see anyone else. I am sure there were some people downstairs, but I am afraid of heights and didn't want to lean over the railing to see who was there.

Quirky Meter: 2

Oscar Worthy: Yes

Nit Picking Quotient: The relationship with her father did not work very well for me. That was the only weak link in the film.

Length: 110 minutes

LOBO HOWLS: 8