Fist Fight (2017) Review!!!!

Synopsis – When one school teacher gets the other fired, he is challenged to an after-school fight.

My Take – Gone are the days when comedies used to be simple, right? Filled with wit, a few goofy antics, cheesy puns and a feeling of goodness at the end, the audience of today has interchanged that with F bombs & drug related crude humor. The result, you can blame the studios who seem to favor comedies driven more by concepts like Dad vs. Stepdad or Frat Boys/Girls vs. Family etc, than by personal narratives or real feelings (mainly as they make money). While, some films still do manage to bring in a little heart at the end of it all, yet they are few & far less in between. This film, marking his feature film directorial debut of Richie Keen, who is known for his work on television shows including It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia which Charlie Day stars in, falls in this category by an inch. The trailer for this comedy immediately got my attention mainly based on the cast, mainly as Ice Cube and Charlie Day together are about as opposite as you can get which is the beginning of comedic perfection. Apparently inspired by a film released in the 80s called Three 0’Clock High, but here the writers gave the story a unique twist by having the teachers battle it out rather than the students, which in this film is oddly also a strong symbol of how good awful the American school system is and how that could cause frustration for those good teachers who want to educate. Keeping in mind that list of comedy films which were released until recently, this film provides what it aims for i.e. solid escapism that’s elevated thanks to a strong cast, several visual jokes, and a few memorable one-liners, and even if the film doesn’t pack the most powerful punch, it still manages to leave an impression.

The story follows Andy Campbell (Charlie Day), an English teacher at Roosevelt High, on the last day of school before Summer vacation begins. But Andy isn’t celebrating yet, as he’s got to rush out at 2:30 to be part of a song and dance routine with his pre-teen daughter (Alexa Nisenson) at her grade school talent show and his pregnant wife Maggie (JoAnna Garcia Swisher) could give birth any second, while also fearing that he may lose his job due to massive budget cuts the school has been undergoing. And to top it off the graduating seniors are in full prank mode. But the worst one comes out of nowhere when the surly intimidating history teacher Mr. Strickland (Ice Cube) asks Andy to help him with some faulty A/V equipment. At that class, Andy sees Strickland lose his temper and the two men are called into Principal Tyler’s (Dean Norris) office, but Strickland isn’t worried since he told Andy that teachers stick together. But as soon as Tyler threatens the two about their jobs, Andy tells the truth leading to Strickland being fired. As he still has till end of the day to leave, Strickland challenges Andy to be in the parking lot at 3 PM where they will settle things with a fist fight. At first, Andy believes it’s a joke, but as soon as the news starts spreading, he realizes Strickland with his insane past, was quite serious. As the hours fly by, a very nervous Andy implores his faculty friends, Coach Crawford (Tracy Morgan), who’s just finished another losing season, and guidance counselor in great need of guidance Holly (Jillian Bell), for any advice. Soon, he’s in panic mode doing everything he can, legally or not, to avoid that confrontation. As the afternoon approaches, it looks like the mismatched pair will square off in an epic battle, not just the school, but the whole town has been waiting for. The entire film hinges on the suspense of us waiting for the titular fight, and, if a deranged coworker actually wanted to kill you, that’d be pretty suspenseful, but here everything is just mostly funny. We also know by the laws of film math that since it stars the spineless wimp, the story will ultimately be resolved when he punches out his future Bff, finally showing some backbone, thus gaining back the respect of the requisite preposterously too-attractive-for-him wife and preteen daughter. Not that you should be looking to this film for moral guidance; there might be something seriously wrong if you do. In the end, if it’s about anything other than why crazy people should not all be stuck in a school together, it’s how there are significant pros and cons to both a violent approach and a strictly passive approach to challenges. And until you find the right balance, everyone else may well think you’re a nut job, and people might get hurt. Frequent It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia director Richie Keene‘s preferred style of humor, at least for this film, is the “so wrong” mode: kids, teachers, and students swear repeatedly and inappropriately, while Jillian Bell‘s fantasizes about seducing male students, Tracy Morgan‘s Coach Crawford obliviously lets his students mow obscene images into the lawn, head of security Mehar (Kumail Nanjiani) refuses to do any part of his job outside designated school hours, and Andy’s daughter delivers a foul-mouthed hip-hop smack down on a bully. Ron’s anger is in part explained as righteous indignation that nobody pays the consequences for their actions anymore and that’s why things are chaotic; he may be violent, but he’s a teller of hard truths. Who knew Ice Cube, of all people, would ever be seen onscreen advocating traditionally conservative values? (Okay, so he does get off his signature “F the police” line, but he also goes directly to jail for it.) The filmmakers ensure the tone is set for its unabashedly random nonsense, lewd behavior, and unrelenting profanity. We’re here to see how far Campbell debases his dignity to worm out of situations of his doing through attitude if not action and whether the build-up will actually be rewarded with a brutal war of attrition. I know what some of you might be thinking right now, how about the actual the titular fight that we keep hearing about? Trust me, the title is no joke. The eventual beat-down was spectacular and fun to watch that it may put a few recent action films to shame.

Embrace the juxtapositions of the film and revel in the absurdity of a coach believing the tradition to uphold is losing. Bask in the glorious usurpation of “guidance” as a concept with a counselor who is both a drug addict and unafraid to voice her fantasies about statutory rape. Let Nanjiani’s trademarked indifference tickle your funny bone and Norris’ tough guy irritation at being the target of student pranks put a smile on your face. Even Christina Hendricks‘Miss Monet’s unsettling rage can entertain too. Here, director Richie Keen proves to be an adept comedy conductor. Like a film veteran he knows how to steer our eyes toward the funny during sequences of mass comedy chaos. Besides eliciting some terrific performances, he knows how to control the flow, whether slowing things down a bit to revel in some inspired wordplay or to accelerate as the senior pranks “amp up” (the mariachi band is a great running gag). Unfortunately he’s tripped up (as are many comedy film makers) by the dreaded lull around the midway mark. Perhaps the script (based on a story by “New Girl” star Max Greenfield and others) needed a bit more polish and another “once over”. This would’ve helped define some characters and trimmed some of the numbing barrage of “f-bombs” and genitalia jokes (to ensure that R-rating, I suppose). As with the many recent comedies, the film does resort to the cheap shock of us hearing a foul-mouthed pre-teen. But the first and third acts are so strong, it’s inevitable that the second act would drag, but thanks to an excess of repetitive absurdity, but it’s never boring. It’s stupid, mindless, and crude, but I laughed throughout and admittedly can’t wait to watch it again. There’s a level of visual detail that should enhance subsequent viewings, a carefully constructed series of asinine events finding their punch lines much later, and an unforgettably unhinged central performance by Day to counteract Ice Cube’s formidable straight man. While his range as an actor might be limited, Ice Cube has proven on multiple occasions (for example in this film) that he can be hilarious. At his best, we’ve gotten Friday, Barbershop, the Jump Street films and the Ride Along films. At his worst, however, we’ve gotten Are We There Yet? Ice Cube is an inspired antagonist here. His glowering grimacing Strickland intimidates students and faculty alike, as they try to get out of his way before he explodes. Scary as he is, Cube makes this guy really funny. After honing his comic skills on TV (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) and supporting roles (Horrible Bosses & its sequel, Pacific Rim), Charlie Day makes the most of this, his first true lead role. Based on his energetic work here, I’m sure it will be the first of many. He’s got a real everyman vibe, which adds strength to his scenes of slapstick panic. There’s the twitching, the awkward body language, and best of all that voice. When he’s truly agitated or trying to lie his way out, his high-pitched voice jumps several octaves until it’s almost a strained squeak. The scene stealing Jillian Bell (22 Jump Street) dashes away with several inspired sequences, whether trying to downplay her enthusiasm for illegal substances or justify a crush on a student. Another source of great supporting gags is the always surprising Tracy Morgan who is endearing and goofy as the clueless coach. However, Christina Hendricks is wasted here. In smaller roles, Kumail Nanjinai, JoAnna Garcia Swisher, Dean Norris and Dennis Haysbert are likable. On the whole, ‘Fist Fight’ is very funny film, which despite its simplistic story works due to its likable cast & consistently hilarious sequences.