Catfight

The best thing about Catfight is that it offers a fairly unique and hard to find change of pace from many of the current crop of teen and young adult comedies.

Also on the plus side, it moves from a clearly satirical base into one of the most bizarre and (arguably) violent little feuds ever filmed (in the history of the medium) between two female characters who, presumably, should know better.

"Adults behaving badly" ... on steroids.

Which of course is its charm.

It also boasts performances from Heche and Oh which are not merely good but extraordinary. No matter how bizarre the character, no matter how over-stretched the script and dialog, these two actresses are fully committed to their portrayals.

It is the job of the reviewer to identify analogs of a story to better compare and contrast the production.

In the case of Catfight, this is not as easy as it looks.

While the overall plot can perhaps find resonances (for example) in something like Bad Santa 2003 (the first one, not the sequel) the overall tone and wickedness of the story, the complete disregard for anything resembling a normal dramatic narrative -- such as for example the over-utilization of "coma" as a continuity device? -- would require a trip back in time to the so-called experimental films of the 1960s.

Overall the final effect is remarkably like a car accident that attracts rubber-neckers, moreso than a cinematic breakthrough that attracts fans.

In other words, it is fun, novel, and interesting on first viewing. Something to tell your friends about.

But whether you would ever want to see another film just like it remains an open question.

There's a really good movie in here, trying to escape and transcend the trashy selling point of girl-on-girl violence. When it comes, it is shocking and over-extended, in a way that can only mean someone is getting a kick out of it, thus cheapening the film and taking it perilously close to Russ Meyer, "Faster, Pussycat" territory. Then there's the lesbian couple, who don't get violent but who do a lot of tongues, again unnecessary and overdone. Underneath it all is a fresh and original take on family relations, mother-daughter jealousy, pseudiness in the art scene, etc.

Man this movie is dark. Did I mention that? It is unrelentingly ugly, and brutal in its view of its characters. They're not nice people and they have a long long way to go to get any sense of redemption, and they're a portrayal of the American psyche. A brutal look at modern day America and its inability to see the wrong footed path and twisted self perception. We don't see many movies made along these lines in our sanitised-made-for-forgettable-entertainment-kicks media world. This film is brave to take that on.

It's certainly got its faults. The sound design and music is pretty unpleasant, or maybe that's the point. The fight scenes are brutal and at the same time comic book with their sound effect CD punch sounds and silly unrealistic choreography and duration. For me they watered down the movie and made it drag. The the unrelenting darkness of the story and almost lack of resolution or forward motion and lesson learned, but again, maybe that was intentional. It certainly doesn't leave a pleasant taste in the mouth and even though the actors do a great job it's had to say that cos you dislike the characters so much.

The good bit is the social satire and commentary going on here. It harks back to 60s and 70s social commentary cinema that we really need now more than every to give us insight into our present world. The near future the film portrays is one that has let itself slip into war, and the draft, and believing it's own propaganda, and the stupidity and uncaring nature of its health system.

It is a funny movie, in that there are comical details in it, but it's not played for laughs, and these aren't laugh out loud moments.

This most certainly is a good film, a brave film, a challenging film, an unrelentingly honest film. Did I enjoy it? I don't know, am I supposed to?

It made me think though.

This film tells the story of two women who have been adversaries in high school. They meet each other again in a party, and a huge fight entails.

"Catfight" is a rare comedy that is funny and thought provoking at the same time. The similarity of two women in both the ways they treat other people, and their experiences are remarkable. It tells the message that what comes around goes around, and fortunes are impermanent. Holding grudges aren't the way to go either, even though the three women in the film all hold grudges spectacularly. I enjoyed watching the film.

'CATFIGHT': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

An action-comedy written and directed by veteran indie filmmaker Onur Tukel. It stars Sandra Oh and Anne Heche as two women involved in a very bitter, and sometimes extremely violent, lifelong rivalry. The movie costars Alicia Silverstone, Amy Hill, Giullian Yao Gioiello, Craig Bierko and Dylan Baker. It had a limited release in indie theaters, and on video on demand, and now it's available to rent on video. It's a crazy film, but surprisingly insightful (in a really dark and twisted way).

Veronica Salt (Oh) and Ashley Miller (Heche) were friends in college, but they drifted apart over the years. Veronica is now a wealthy housewife, with a teenage son (Gioiello). Ashley is now a struggling artist, that's trying to conceive a child with her girlfriend (Silverstone). When the two meet at a party, after not seeing each other for several years, they immediately start judging and offending each other. Then the insults turn into a violent (and very bloody) brawl, that leaves the two in a bitter grudge match for many years to come.

The film is definitely funny, but in a really disturbing and gloomy way. It's also very violent, in a very shocking and unsettling way as well. The script is pretty clever though, and the two lead performances are both great in it. It's a hard movie to watch at times, and it doesn't leave you feeling very positive about things when it's over, but it is a very interesting and insightful film too. I would definitely still recommend it.

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