Blonde Fist

I came across this on Netflix and thought I'd give it a go as the clip was amusing and featured a very very young Stephen Graham. The star is undoubtedly Margi Clarke who deserved to be much more of a star than she ever did. She was approaching 40 in this and was still incredibly beautiful. But looks aside she was a damn good actor too who unfortunately never really broke out of tv shows set in her roots of northern England. The film definitely loses much of its appeal once the story shifts to New York in the second half but don't let that put you off it's still worth the time.

The adventures of Ronnie, a tough working-class girl from Liverpool. The film follows Ronnie from the rough streets of Liverpool, to prison and then to New York. The characters are cliched and comical but the film doesn't take itself seriously, so I think it gets away with it. It has many funny and touching moments and I enjoyed it. Everyone I know thought it hilarious and Margi Clark suits the role of crude-talking wisecracking Ronnie. A film of its time.

This film requires few words of commentary. The plot is laughable, the script dismal and the acting appalling. However, as a Liverpudlian myself, I have rarely felt as embarrassed as I was by Margi Clarke's grotesque performance. She makes a laughing stock of Liverpool people. A dud without equal.

On my way to work I once passed a pair of teenaged girls engaging in a furious fight which revealed a capacity for aggro by the opposite sex that came to mind when I saw 'Blonde Fist'.

Margi Clarke is in her element as a chain smoking Scouse blonde bullet whose bright red lipstick matched her nails who turns her pent-up anger and frustration to financial advantage by joining the fight game.

The cartoonish credits are reflected by the nature of the violence that follows. Despite a couple of nostalgic black and white flashbacks to the 1950s depicting the early days of Clarke the bulk of the action takes place in 199 (complete with a woman wearing an anti-Poll tax teeshirt) which from today's perspective is almost as remote an era (as attested to by the fact that cast member Carroll Baker is now 92).

Ravishing platinum-topped pugilist Margi Clarke is on prime gobby form as pugnacious single mum Ronnie O'Dowd in cult 90s Lively-bird drama 'Blonde Fist'. This engagingly rough-hewn, Kirby-set gem about a boozy working class scrappin' scouser and his no less hot-headed daughter is a comedic knock-out ripe for rediscovery! While some of the dramatic elements are a trifle ham-fisted, Frank Clarke's mostly witty text scintillates with a number of eminently quotable zingers!

There's a brief appearance by a young, snot-nosed Stephen Graham, Margi's fiesty prison scrap with fathole (Big Alice) remains a squalling cat-fighting treat, and the still-gorgeous Giallo Siren Carroll Baker is an absolute riot as sassy, warm-hearted ex-showgirl Lovelle Summers. You have to hand it to Margi as it takes some Promethean chutzpah to gamely deliver this deliciously clunky line to her absconding ex: "Don't come back 'ere like a thief in the night!!!!" and, almost, get away with it! I'm not claiming Blonde Fist is Ken Loachian quality, but the noisome protagonists are frequently fun, and this quirky 90s time capsule is a joyous reminder that Margi's a phooken goddess, mate!