Fist Fight is a crude comedy directed by Richie Keen. The movie is like other crude comedies being released lately that belong in the 80s and 90s. Charlie Day playing Charlie Day. Ice Cube playing Ice Cube.
Andy Campbell, played by Charlie, is an annoying wuss of a teacher at a school that is completely unrealistic. Strickland, played by Ice Cube, is a hyper violent teacher who loses it after a student’s prank pushes him too far. Ice Cube’s violent response to the pranksters puts both teachers in hot water. In an effort to save his own job, Campbell rats Strickland out. Strickland loses his job which leaves him with the only choice to make. Let’s have a fist fight after school.
It’s baffling that this movie was green-lit. Most of the lines and jokes fall flat. Either majorly improvised or the script is shit. Most likely a combination of the two. The overall story is flaky with characters that just do and say anything to be ridiculous. There is no point to the actual fight. They make a sorry attempt to explain the reasoning at the end of movie. Ultimately, with the lesson being that it’s better to fight than to use words. The only positive in the movie is that some of the characters, like Campbell, develop. He goes from being a wuss to growing a spine. Unfortunately, who really cares when the rest of the movie is hard to watch. Almost everyone in the movie feels the need to overact and/or improvise. This just makes it feel too over the top and cartoonish.
There are funny moments, but it’s overshadowed by the vast amount of crude humor and unnecessary violence to illicit laughs. A new low for pretty much everyone involved. Even though it’s a shorter movie than most nowadays, you still must wade through most of the crap to finally watch the pointless fist fight. There are other negatives to point out, but it’s not worth listing. Fist Fight is garbage.
MPAA Rating: R
Running time: 1 hr 31 min
Director: Richie Keen
Screenplay: Van Robichaux and Evan Susser
Cast: Ice Cube, Charlie Day, Jillian Bell, Tracy Morgan, Dean Norris, JoAnna Garcia, Christina Hendricks, and Kumail Nanjiani.
Producers: Shawn Levy, Max Greenfield, John Rickard, and Dan Cohen
Music: Dominic Lewis
Cinematography: Eric Alan Edwards