The Fighter

2010 boxing movie

Rating: 12/20

Plot: Put all the other boxing movies in a blender, add in a wacky Christian Bale, and throw in an extraneous scene where characters admire Amy Adams' posterior in a pair of cut-offs. Pour in a glass. That's The Fighter.

I'm catching up with movies I missed from 2010. This was missed because I was completely wrong about Christian Bale and thought he was a terrible actor, didn't like Mark Wahlberg at all, and didn't think anything in here could possibly justify its existence as yet another boxing underdog story. And at first, it seemed as if I was wrong. The movie seemed to have the kind of personality that could help it stand out from all the other boxing movies. It was lively, and there was some humor that I didn't expect.

Unfortunately, you realize that almost all the initial momentum is provided by Christian Bale and the eccentric character he's transformed himself into. He's part of an oddball cocaine-fueled collection, and his gaunt appearance, hyperactive physicality, and sketchy-looking bald spot help him fit right in. He moves and punches well enough to be convincing enough as a washed-up, strung-out former contender, and he's simultaneously dangerous and loving enough to almost make what is supposed to be the emotional pay-off to this whole thing work. His performance almost overwhelms this thing, forcing Wahlberg more to the corner of the ring.

Wahlberg, more of a straight man, remains at least a co-protagonist, and that's probably unfortunate because his part of the movie has soaked up all those boxing movie cliches. By the midway point, almost all the boxing cliches had been covered. I was really just waiting for the big training montage, and you know what? I got training montages.

I also still don't understand Amy Adams. Somebody explain Amy Adams to me. Is it just me or could you substitute her with Jenna Fischer in every one of her movies and not lose a thing?

I almost forgave this movie for everything at a point when Bale sees a dog and interrupts everything going on in the story to ask if it's a Cocker Spaniel.

I was looking up the name of the actress who played Wahlberg's daughter because even though her time on screen is limited ("Yeah! Bigger apartment!"), she's got a chance at my end-of-year Tootie award. I noticed that this movie's got characters named or nicknamed Dicky, Micky, Mickey, Little Alice, Pork, Tar, Red Dog, Boo Boo, and Sugar Ray.