Film: Fighting
Cast includes: Channing Tatum (A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints), Terrence Howard (Crash)
Genre: Drama
In brief: Street hustling comes in many forms. Selling umbrellas and counterfeit bestsellers doesn’t pay as well as underground fighting. Not just anyone can be a fighter. You need the ability and the right connections. Shawn sells stuff off a blanket on New York City sidewalks. When a customer notices that the Harry Potter book she’s purchased is a counterfeit, she wants a refund. Being distracted, Shawn lets his guard down just for a second. One thing leads to another, and we learn that Shawn can hold his own in a street brawl. Harvey notices Shawn, too. And before long Harvey introduces Shawn to the world of underground street fighting. No ring, no gloves, no rules.
Fighting isn’t new to Shawn, and we suspect that Shawn’s past might catch up with him. When the Harry Potter customer reappears, Shawn is again distracted. While Harvey may think Shawn isn’t focused enough, Shawn knows exactly what he wants. And he isn’t afraid to fight for it.
Meeting the challenge of making a gritty fight film that passes the PG-13 rating, director/writer, Dito Montiel, has invented an unusual kind of street hustler character. Polite, wholesome and gentle aren’t the adjectives that would describe most characters in this milieu. But we find Shawn’s character to be very endearing and believable. It’s easy to root for both Shawn and Harvey, but they don’t seem to be working toward the same goals.
1 popped kernel
Popped kernels for the sexy Channing Tatum. Unpopped kernels for not making me care that much about most of the characters.
