Fighting (2009)

In New York City, a young counterfeiter is introduced to the world of underground street fighting by a seasoned scam artist, who becomes his manager on the bare-knuckling brawling circuit.

Director:

Dito Montiel

Writers:

Robert Munic, Dito Montiel

Stars:

Channing Tatum, Terrence Howard, Luis Guzmán

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Channing Tatum	...	Shawn MacArthur
Terrence Howard	...	Harvey Boarden
Zulay Henao	...	Zulay Velez
Michael Rivera	...	Ajax
Flaco Navaja	...	Ray Ray
Peter Anthony Tambakis	...	Z (as Peter Tambakis)
Luis Guzmán	...	Martinez
Anthony DeSando	...	Christopher Anthony
Roger Guenveur Smith	...	Jack Dancing
Brian White	...	Evan Hailey
Ivan Martin	...	Stockbroker Jerry
Danny Mastrogiorgio	...	Trader Jim
Altagracia Guzman	...	Alba Guzmán
Gabrielle Pelucco	...	Lila
Angelic Zambrana	...	Kimo's Girl

Storyline

Shawn MacArthur, the kind-hearted son of an Alabama wrestling coach, makes a grim living selling fake products on the streets in New York. After dealing with thieving punks, he's discovered by bare-knuckle/street-fight manager, Harvey Boarden. He soon proves himself worthy and starts earning a small fortune, part of which he volunteers to spend on single mother Zulay Velez. Shawn doesn't cheat and that seems to be a major problem, notably after the arrival of his Alabama high-school rival.

---

Plot Keywords:

alabama | wrestling | fighting | single mother | new york city | 

---

Taglines:

Some dreams are worth the fight.

---

Genres:

Action | Drama | Sport

---

Certificate:

14A

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [France]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

24 April 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Combats de rue

Filming Locations:

DeKalb Av/Washington Park, Fort Greene, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

£991,180 (UK) (15 May 2009)

Gross:

$23,036,320 (USA) (5 June 2009)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rogue Pictures, Misher Films, 5150 Action

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The character Zulay Velez grandmother pronounces her name slightly differently than the rest of the cast at the suggestion of writer Kevin Misher. Misher thought it would indicate a closer relationship between Zulay and her grandmother as family/friends often have pet names for each other.

---

Goofs

The cardboard box full of umbrellas that Shawn is carrying varies from soggy and falling apart to dry and firm almost randomly during one scene.

---

Quotes

Shawn MacArthur: So... What they got rules, or?
Harvey Boarden: Yeah! You lose, you get nothing
Harvey Boarden: Go make som money!

---

Connections

References War (2007)

---

Soundtracks

Let's Get It On
Written by Marvin Gaye and Ed Townsend

User Reviews

Another Ho-Hum Wannabe Fight Film

Dito Montiel ('A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints') has a sense of the raw flavor of the streets of New York and he is apparently respected enough to have actors of the quality of Terrence Howard and Luis Guzmán sign on to his projects. His latest release on DVD is FIGHTING (co-written with Robert Munic), a rather tepid film trying hard to be a piece of verismo. The story is so overused that it no longer can maintain an audience's interest: the outcome of the film is guessed within the first few minutes. Briefly, Shawn MacArthur (model and type cast actor Channing Tatum) works the streets of New York around Radio Music Hall, selling ripoff copies of books and gadgets to tourists. He is involved in a fight, observed by the quiet scam artist Harvey Boarden (a wasted role for Terrence Howard) and by a young girl Zulay (Zulay Henao), and while Shawn's eye fixes on Zulay, Harvey's eye is on Shawn's possibilities as a 'fight for money' partner. Shawn moves in with Harvey, develops a relationship with Zulay, and proceeds to win fights for money, until he is asked to fix a fight - a bit of conscience blurring created by a clash with his own father and the proposed opponent Evan Hailey (Brian White) - and ends his 'career' in a way we can all imagine.

One would suppose we should care about the relationship between Shawn and Harvey and how mutually saprophytic it becomes, but the script get in the way of have us care about anyone in the film - with the possible exception of Zulay's abuela (Altagracia Guzmán), a little cameo that almost make the rest of the film worth watching. This is one of those movies that promises a lot but simply cannot deliver more than a dreary rehash of street fight movies. Grady Harp, August 09