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IMDbPro

Girlfight

  • 20002000
  • RR
  • 1h 50m
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
11K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
18,503
231
Girlfight (2000)
Home Video Trailer from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Play trailer2:20
1 Video
43 Photos
DramaSport
Diana, without her father knowing it, trains as a boxer and achieves impressive success, blazing new trails for female boxers.Diana, without her father knowing it, trains as a boxer and achieves impressive success, blazing new trails for female boxers.Diana, without her father knowing it, trains as a boxer and achieves impressive success, blazing new trails for female boxers.
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
11K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
18,503
231
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Karyn Kusama
    • Writer
      • Karyn Kusama
    • Stars
      • Michelle Rodriguez
      • Douglas Santiago
      • Jamie Tirelli
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Karyn Kusama
    • Writer
      • Karyn Kusama
    • Stars
      • Michelle Rodriguez
      • Douglas Santiago
      • Jamie Tirelli
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 96User reviews
    • 84Critic reviews
    • 70Metascore
    • Awards
      • 15 wins & 18 nominations

    Videos1

    Girlfight
    Trailer 2:20
    Girlfight

    Photos43

    Michelle Rodriguez stars as Diana
    Diana & Adrian
    Diana & Hector at ringside
    Director Karyn Kusama
    Michelle Rodriguez at an event for Girlfight (2000)
    Michelle Rodriguez at an event for Girlfight (2000)
    Douglas Santiago and Michelle Rodriguez in Girlfight (2000)
    1 sheet movie poster
    Promotional One Sheet
    Girlfight (2000)
    Girlfight (2000)
    Michelle Rodriguez in Girlfight (2000)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Michelle Rodriguez
    Michelle Rodriguez
    • Diana Guzman
    Douglas Santiago
    Douglas Santiago
    • Adrian Sturges
    • (as Santiago Douglas)
    Jamie Tirelli
    Jamie Tirelli
    • Hector Soto
    Paul Calderon
    Paul Calderon
    • Sandro Guzman
    Ray Santiago
    Ray Santiago
    • Tiny Guzman
    Víctor Sierra
    • Ray Cortez
    Elisa Bocanegra
    Elisa Bocanegra
    • Marisol
    Shannon Walker Williams
    • Veronica
    Louis Guss
    • Don
    Herb Lovelle
    Herb Lovelle
    • Cal
    Thomas Barbour
    • Ira
    Graciella Ortiz
    • Female Student
    J.P. Linton
    • Mr. Price
    Iris Little Thomas
    Iris Little Thomas
    • Ms. Martinez
    Dadi Pinero
    • Edward
    Belqui Ortiz
    • Karina
    Chuck Hickey
    • Gym Janitor
    Anthony Ruiz
    Anthony Ruiz
    • Tino
    • Director
      • Karyn Kusama
    • Writer
      • Karyn Kusama
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Michelle Rodriguez trained for two months before the 30-day shoot began. She was also chosen over 300 other women to be cast in the film. It was her first audition.
    • Goofs
      When the girls are lined up to do chin-ups, the girl in the purple shirt changes from being in front of Diana to behind her.
    • Quotes

      Adrian: My life with you is war.

      Diana Guzman: Maybe. Maybe life is just war period.

    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: The Beach/Snow Day/Holy Smoke (2000)
    • Soundtracks
      Fried Neck Bones and Some Home Fries
      Produced by Coati Mundi

    User reviews96

    Review
    Top review
    7/10
    Drama That Rings of Honesty
    The first step to getting off of that road that leads to nowhere is recognizing that you're on it in the first place; then it becomes a matter of being assertive and taking positive steps to overcome the negative influences in your life that may have put you on that road to begin with. Which is exactly what a young Latino girl does in `Girlfight,' written and directed by Karyn Kusama. Diana (Michelle Rodriguez) is an eighteen-year-old High School senior from the projects in Brooklyn, facing expulsion after her fourth fight in the halls since the beginning of the semester. She affects a `whatever' attitude which masks a deep-seated anger that threatens to take her into places she'd rather not go. She lives with her father, Sandro (Paul Calderon), with whom she has a very tentative relationship, and her younger brother, Tiny (Ray Santiago). With her life teetering on the brink of dissolution, she desperately needs an outlet through which to channel the demons that plague her. And one day she finds it, without even looking for it, when she stops by the gym where Tiny trains. Ironically, Tiny wants nothing to do with boxing; he wants to go to art school, but Sandro is determined that his son should be able to take care of himself on the streets, and pays the ten dollars a week it costs for his lessons. When Diana convinces Tiny's trainer, Hector (Jaime Tirelli), to take her on, and approaches her father for the money, under the guise of calling it a weekly allowance (she doesn't want him to know what she wants the money for), Sandro turns her down and tells her to go out and earn her own money. Ultimately, with Tiny's help she finds a way, and the ring soon becomes her second home. It's an environment to which she readily adapts, and it appears that her life is about to take a turn for the better. And the fact that she will have to fight men, not women, in `gender blind' competitions, does not faze her in the least. Diana has found her element.

    First time writer/director Karyn Kusama has done a terrific job of creating a realistic setting for her story, presenting an honest portrait of life in the projects and conveying that desperation so familiar to so many young people who find themselves in dead-end situations and on that road that leads to nowhere. And there's no candy coating on it, either; as Hector tells Diana when she asks him how he came to be where he is, `I was a fighter once. I lost.' Then, looking around the busy gym, `Like most of these guys, they're going to lose, too. But it's all they know--' And it's that honesty of attitude, as well as the way in which the characters are portrayed, that makes this movie as good as it is. It's a bleak world, underscored by the dimly lit, run-down gym-- you can fairly smell the sweat of the boxers-- and that sense of desolation that hangs over it all like a pall, blanketing these people who are grasping and hanging on to the one and only thing they have, all that they know.

    Making her screen debut, Michelle Rodriguez is perfectly cast as Diana, infusing her with a depth and brooding intensity that fairly radiates off of her in waves. She is so real that it makes you wonder how much of it is really Rodriguez; exactly where does the actor leave off and the character begin? Whatever it is, it works. It's a powerful, memorable performance, by an actor from whom we will await another endeavor with great anticipation. She certainly makes Diana a positive role model, one in whom many hopefully will find inspiration and the realization that there are alternative paths available in life, at least to those who would seek them out.

    As positive as this film is, however, it ends on something of an ambiguous note; though Diana obviously has her feet on the ground, there's no indication of where she's headed. Is this a short term fix for her, or is she destined to become the female counterpart of Hector? After all, realistically (and in light of the fact that the realism is one of the strengths of this film), professional boxing isn't exactly a profession that lends itself to, nor opens it's arms to women. And in keeping with the subject matter of the film, and the approach of the filmmaker, an affirmation of the results of Diana's assertiveness would have been appropriate.

    The supporting cast includes Santiago Douglas (Adrian), Elisa Bocanegra (Marisol), Alicia Ashley (Ricki) and Thomas Barbour (Ira). Though it delivers a very real picture of life to which many will be able to identify, there are certain aspects of `Girlfight,' that stretch credibility a bit, regarding some of what happens in the ring. That aside, it's a positive film that for the most part is a satisfying experience. I rate this one 7/10.
    helpful•12
    3
    • jhclues
    • Apr 24, 2001

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 6, 2000 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • Spanish
    • Also known as
      • Жіночий бій
    • Filming locations
      • Yonkers, New York, USA
    • Production companies
      • Green/Renzi
      • Independent Film Channel (IFC)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $1,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $1,565,852
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $197,896
      • Oct 1, 2000
    • Gross worldwide
      • $1,666,028
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 50 minutes
    • Sound mix
      • SDDS
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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