Fat City
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Movie Reviews of Fat City
Movie Review: Lives of quiet desperation...
Summary: 4 Stars
Every few years I reread Leonard Gardner's novel, "Fat City" and am awed by how vividly it paints a world of men and women whose lives are going nowhere. Over a hundred and eighty-three pages, divided into twenty-four chapters, each one a model of economy and precision, Gardner manages to say something about defeat that most writers wouldn't be able to convey in twice that length. After every reading of the book, I end up seeking out John Huston's film hoping it will somehow match the brilliance of Gardner's prose. It never does. But it comes pretty close.
The story of "Fat City" involves two men, both boxers, who are at different points on the same arc. Billy Tully has had a brush with a modicum of success but has long lost whatever gift took him even that far. Ernie Munger, ten years younger, has his youth to award him a glimmer of hope but more than likely he will be lucky to achieve even the level of mediocrity Tully climbed to. Interconnected with these two characters are the women they become involved with and the usual boxing hangers-on - the trainers and managers whose meager dreams are built on the Billy Tullys of the world. There is very little plot to speak of, the narrative following Ernie's entry into boxing and the responsibilities of adulthood, and Tully's last few grasps in the ring to rise above the laborers he picks vegetables with at ninety cents an hour.
Whereas the novel is able to directly express the inner lives of its characters by sharing their thoughts and histories, the film is forced to leave much of this content out, relying on visual details presented through Conrad Hall's brilliant cinematography to create its texture of lives gone to seed. The film's screenplay, also written by Gardner, takes its dialogue directly from the novel. Both the novel and film are more about mood or tone rather than plot. There is no conflict or tension to propel the narrative forward. Nothing much happens. We are just given a glimpse into a world. The novel's superiority might be due to the slightness of the story flattening out even more on screen.
The performances in the film are exceptional, with Susan Tyrell, Stacy Keach and Nicolas Colasanto being particularly outstanding. One minor complaint would be that for a film that strives for realism, many of the boxing sequences, particularly those involving Jeff Bridges, are somewhat unconvincing.
Some works of art, for whatever reason, touch you at a level that transcends their actual merit. For me "Fat City," both the novel and the film, achieve greatness because they are examples of that type of art.
Movie Review: 3 Stellar performances
Summary: 4 Stars
The only reason this product isn't getting five stars from me is the lack of extras. This is a much-overlooked film from one of our greatest directors, John Huston, who managed to get stellar performances from all three leads. Stacy Keach has never been better playing a "down on his luck" ex-fighter who has fallen into the clutches of alcoholism and seems to be satified with his fate. When he finds a young fighter in the form of Jeff Bridges in one of his early "star in the making" roles, he sees the hope of redemption. However he must first overcome the life he has willingly let himself wallow in, and one of the biggest obstacles to overcome is his enabler, played to perfection by the always magnificent Susan Tyrrell. Ms. Tyrell was at her peak in this Oscar-nominted performance and is one of the cinema's truly individual and singular actresses. Her portrayal of Keach's alcoholic "girlfriend" epitomizes the despair and hopelessness of someone who has lost their way in life and tries desperately to find it in a bottle. Even Meryl Streep's Oscar-nominated performance in Ironweed can't compare to Tyrrell's depiction of one of life's outcasts "on the skids" and apparently resigned to her fate. She is by far the main reason to see Fat City and to seek out her other performances, which include another Oscar-nominated one in Another Man, Another Chance. John Huston definitely elicited 3 stellar perfomances in Fat City and for that alone this film resonates long after the end-credits. A true standout!
Movie Review: Note to "Review" writers, esp. Mr. Hare:
Summary: 4 Stars
This is not a review,but a request that "reviewers" stick to reviewing, and refrain from writing pointless plot outlines. That only detracts from the viewing pleasure of others, who have not yet seen the film - it is NOT the same thing as writing a review! A review could be defined as "a new appraisal or evaluation", or "an essay or article that gives a critical evaluation". By the way, this movie is not an "epic", as Mr. Hare states - far from it. It's a portrait of desperation and failure, a realistic portrayal of life at the bottom of the boxing game. The performances are terrific; the settings in 70s Stockton's rundown bars and coffee shops vary from garish to bleak, but all are a perfect matrix for the confusion and despair of the characters. If you haven't already read Mr. Hare's long "spoiler", don't bother - watch the film instead.Movie Review: You can count on me
Summary: 4 Stars
I was unfamiliar with Fat City until I saw it referred to in a review of The Wrestler, and there are similarities in tone, theme and plot arc (what there is of it). Director Huston does a nice job of portraying the world of those down and out, and the performances by Keach, Bridges and Colasanto are strong (I am less sure of Tyrell as others are). Race is in the background throughout ("I'm not Irish"; "I told them you were so they'd know you're white"), but Huston doesn't push it. The boxing scenes are well done, keeping in mind these aren't title bouts. Kris Kristofferson is on the soundtrack.Movie Review: Note to DVD viewers...
Summary: 4 Stars
Fantastic film, and I just wanted to add for those interested that veteran director John Huston shot FAT CITY in classic full-screen -- later cropped for theatrical widescreen presentation. Because of this, the original "Full-Screen" version is actually superior in both framing and image quality. (Usually it's the other way around, with much of a widescreen image being lost when cropped into full-screen.) Happily, the DVD allows you the choice of watching the film in its original format, or in the widescreen crop. Either way - enjoy!