Punch (2002)

Eighteen year old Ariel is in love with her caring father, who lives with her in the upper middle class part of Vancouver. When he starts dating again, she becomes violently jealous, fails to seduce him, and turns to female boxing.

Director:

Guy Bennett

Writer:

Guy Bennett

Stars:

Michael Riley, Sonja Bennett, Meredith McGeachie

3 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Michael Riley	...	Sam
Sonja Bennett	...	Ariel
Meredith McGeachie	...	Julie
Marcia Laskowski	...	Mary
Vincent Gale	...	Irwin
Kathryn Kirkpatrick	...	Beth
Don Ackerman	...	Markus
Sarah Lind	...	Liz
Stephen Dimopoulos	...	Customer
Mercedes de la Zerda	...	Tanya
Dorota Dragan	...	Muscle Woman
Andrea Nazareno	...	Vicky

Storyline

Dr. Sam Frizzell lives alone with his eighteen year old daughter Ariel Frizzell in the upper middle class Kitsilano neighborhood of Vancouver. Sam has dated little since his wife died when Ariel was a young child, he instead focusing his attentions on his daughter. With the exception of sex, Ariel has almost become a surrogate wife for Sam. Ariel, on the other hand, has taken that role one step further, she who has an Electra complex. Ariel has had behavior issues, in large part due to the circumstances around her mother's death and the way Sam has treated her since. As such, she has no real friends and she is home schooled by a tutor - a young man named Markus who often cannot control his student - as she couldn't function within a school environment. Into their lives comes Mary. As their third date, Sam thinks it would be a good idea for Mary to come to his house to meet Ariel. Mary's already tenuous dating life takes a step backward when Ariel is openly hostile toward Mary over ...

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Plot Keywords:

vagina spreading | female nudity | vagina | female frontal nudity | bottomless | 

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Taglines:

Who Needs Anger Management?

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, nudity and sexual content

Did You Know?

Trivia

Guy Bennett excused himself from the set when they shot the more revealing scene in which Sonja Bennett is sitting naked on a bed with her legs apart in an attempt to seduce her tutor, and watched from a monitor in another room. But the idea of putting his daughter in this vulnerable position never gave him pause for a moment. "Everything is subservient to the drama," he explains. Sonja Bennett didn't have any problem with the scene either. "The only time I was jarred by it was when I watched it on the big screen. It was a little shocking to see my beaver blown up to the size of my head. That's a lot of sharing with the world. But that had nothing to do with Guy." Her father, in turn, sounds slightly disingenuous when he says it's taken him a long time to understand other people's curiosity about their relationship. "I understand that for most father-daughters, what we did would be just unthinkably weird. For some reason, it was really straightforward for us. It was incredibly enjoyable work."

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Quotes

Julie: I'm not crude, I'm blunt. There's a difference.

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Crazy Credits

SPECIAL THANKS TO: Mr. and Mrs. Bennett All our Volunteers

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Connections

References The X-Files (1993)

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Soundtracks

Communicating
by Hellenkeller

User Reviews

Don't be fooled......this is more about relationships than fighting!

First of all then, my proper mark out of 10 here should be 6.5. I think that a 7 would be too generous for a film which, in the main, is very good indeed. I am not plot spoiling here by saying that the film contains unnecessary female topless boxing. In all honesty, the director could have chosen something completely different to link his characters. But then I believe that he has openly admitted that the audience can make their own mind up as to if the boxing is just in there to titillate the majority of the male contingent of those watching. This, in itself, is basically admitting that that is just the reason why it's there. However, if I were a female spectator, I would feel somewhat uncomfortable. This is unfortunate really because, in the main, the bulk of the story is more one that would appeal to the female movie watcher. I think that what I am trying to say here is that I have marked the film down purely because of the inclusion of the boxing.

It is true that the DVD box and its description are a little deceiving. This is a film far more involved in dealing with relationships. The oh so very close relationship between father and daughter, between the father and his new partner (and how the daughter copes with it), and then the relationship between the new partner and her sister. The box clearly depicts the daughter (Sonja Bennett) as a boxer....well, she isn't. Clearly unstable and ready for fight maybe.....but not a boxer.

I believe that Sonja Bennett received awards in her homeland of Canada for her acting in this movie but I really can't say that she was at all brilliant. Her maniacal display of tap dancing was more funny than anything else. However, I feel that the acting awards here should go to the father (Michael Riley). He was outstanding, and his monologue story about his first meeting with his now deceased wife was so so heart wrenching and beautifully done.

I have to admit that when I read that Sonja Bennett is, in actual fact, the daughter of the director Guy Bennett, i felt just a little uncomfortable by the fact that there are two scenes of nudity involving his daughter, one of which leaves nothing to the imagination. It therefore made me watch the scenes with the directors audio commentary to see what he had to say about them. Happily, he did say that he wasn't in the room when these scenes were shot.

So to conclude.......it is a shame to say that this very good movie could so much have been a great movie. Some viewers should not be left feeling uncomfortable about what is, in essence, a simple tale of relationships. Please give it a watch.

Details

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 February 2003 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Övön alul

Filming Locations:

British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

CAD1,200,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Brightlight Pictures, Téléfilm Canada, British Columbia Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Color:

Color