|
New This Week
Critics & Publications
Archives: A-Z Index
Advanced Search
Upcoming Release Calendar
Awards & Bests By Year
All-Time High Scores
All-Time Low Scores
How Metascores Are Calculated
Discuss Film In Our Forums
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
|
Girlfight
Screen Gems Inc.
FILM:
MPAA RATING: R for language
Starring
Michelle Rodriguez,
Jaime Tirelli,
Paul Calderon,
and
Santiago Douglas
A fierce rites of passage story about a quick-tempered young woman (Rodriguez) who finds discipline, self-respect and love in the most unlikely place - a boxing ring. (Columbia Tristar Interactive)
| GENRE(S): |
Drama
|
| WRITTEN BY: |
Karyn Kusama
|
| DIRECTED BY: |
Karyn Kusama
|
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: March 27, 2001
Video: March 27, 2001
Theatrical: September 29, 2000
|
| RUNNING TIME: |
110 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: |
USA |
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
91
Entertainment Weekly
Lisa Schwarzbaum
While Rodriguez punches through the indie clutter to announce herself as a superb new movie talent, so Kusama scores big points in her first main event.
90
TNT RoughCut
J. Rentilly
Confirms its place as one of the best first films in recent memory, and one of this year's very best films.
88
Chicago Sun-Times
Roger Ebert
It's always about more than boxing.
88
New York Post
Jonathan Foreman
Refreshing and surprising, the way independent movies are supposed to be.
88
Charlotte Observer
Lawrence Toppman
The effect is as potent as a straight right to the solar plexus.
88
Boston Globe
Jay Carr
A terrific little uppercut of a boxing movie and close to a perfect one.
83
Portland Oregonian
Shawn Levy
Rodriguez, who never acted before auditioning for the director, is utterly convincing, fluid and determined and jaded and wild like any teen-ager, but with a bracing spirit and a shocking store of ferocity.
80
Rolling Stone
Peter Travers
A strong, stinging film, alive with conflicts that defy glib resolutions.
80
Time
Richard Corliss
Gives its fine actors room to breathe and behave--and in Michelle Rodriguez's case, glow.
80
Variety
Emanuel Levy
Blends in a most satisfying manner the conventions of several genres, resulting in a coherent picture that is at once a poignant inner-city drama, a rousing sports movie, an emotional family yarn and, above all, a sweet romance.
80
The New York Times
Dana Stevens
The movie belongs to Ms. Rodriguez. With her slightly crooked nose and her glum, sensual mouth, she looks a little like Marlon Brando in his smoldering prime, and she has some of his slow, intense physicality. She doesn't so much transcend gender as redefine it.
80
Slate
David Edelstein
Belongs to that most promiscuous of genres -- the go-for-it sports melodrama -- but transcends it and then some.
80
Village Voice
J. Hoberman
A near-irresistible button-pusher that's agile enough to hold a mirror to its own aspirations: The Sundance prize-winning filmmaker and her prize discovery, Michelle Rodriguez, merge in the image of a self-invented amateur boxer.
80
Washington Post
Desson Thomson
Luminously understated.
80
Los Angeles Times
Kenneth Turan
A powerful and empathetic melodrama with feminist underpinnings.
80
Film.com
Ernest Hardy
Held together by strong writing, insightful direction, and a stunning turn by newcomer Rodriguez, who is not only a gorgeous young woman but a fiercely charismatic screen presence.
75
New York Daily News
Jami Bernard
Uplifting and moving in a traditional Hollywood way, while also seeming as raw and unfiltered as cinema vérité.
75
Philadelphia Inquirer
Steven Rea
Rodriguez is riveting, with a drop-dead cynical charm.
75
San Francisco Examiner
Walter Addiego
There's a sense of genuineness throughout Girlfight.
75
San Francisco Chronicle
Edward Guthmann
The movie belongs to Rodriguez: A gorgeous woman with a powerful body and the face of an Aztec princess, she's also a natural talent who instinctively understands the importance of economy in good acting.
75
Miami Herald
Rene Rodriguez
Gets everything right.
75
USA Today
Susan Wloszczyna
A coming-of-age tale that truly floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee.
75
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Paula Nechak
A genre-twisting surprise.
70
Chicago Reader
Lisa Alspector
A persuasively feminine coming-of-age story.
70
TV Guide
Maitland McDonagh
Kusama's impressive feature debut is an affecting coming-of-age drama whose story is familiar without being hackneyed.
70
Washington Post
Rita Kempley
A scrappy independent film that packs the same emotional punch as "Rocky."
67
Austin Chronicle
Marjorie Baumgarten
A rousing, girl-positive, indie success story whose dynamic rhythms deliver a connecting punch.
63
Chicago Tribune
Michael Wilmington
Girlfight, for its skill and theme, will please many. It's a shame it's no knockout.
60
Film.com
Gemma Files
Kusama understands her subject intimately, and it shows.
50
LA Weekly
Manohla Dargis
Kusama leads with feminist empowerment, but her sucker punch is a sappy romance.
50
Salon.com
Charles Taylor
A little more flair and polish could have made Girlfight a terrific movie instead of just the decent one it is.
50
Christian Science Monitor
David Sterritt
Rodriguez's acting almost scores a knockout even though the movie's directing and dialogue are fairly routine.
48
Mr. Showbiz
Michael Atkinson
A modest project with an agreeably modest point of view, but it cries out for a sharp, believable naturalism Kusama simply doesn't supply.
20
Dallas Observer
Gregory Weinkauf
We're in for a long, unpleasant, reactionary ride.
 The average user rating for this movie is 9.3 (out of 10) based on 14 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Read more user comments...
Discuss this movie in our forums |
|
GameSpot | GameFAQs | SportsGamer | Metacritic | MP3.com | TV.com
