Fist Fight (2017)

“Fist Fight” stars Ice Cube, Charlie Day, Tracy Morgan, and Jillian Bell.  Released on February 17, 2017, the film is about an English teacher who is challenged to an after-school fight by a strict history teacher.

The film features the directorial debut of Richie Keen.  Remember that moment in school where a bully challenges you to a fight after school because you did something “wrong” to that bully?  Well, imagine that moment again, but this time, imagine yourself and the bully as teachers.  That’s pretty much the best way I can describe the premise of this film.  It’s nothing original, really, but when they got a cast such as this, it’s hard for me to pass this one up.  With that said, does it have enough star power and laughs to survive the fight, or will it wind up getting punched repeatedly in the face?

If you’ve seen this type of situation in any film or television show, then you’ll probably know what to expect from the film’s story.  Aside from the fact that they have teachers fighting after school instead of students, the story felt more like an extended generic episode of a mature-rated television show that you would watch on Comedy Central.  On the plus side, the film does provide a good message that I won’t spoil for you in case you haven’t seen it yet.  Ice Cube and Charlie Day were good together as the two teachers, while Morgan provided some decent laughs as a gym coach.  Speaking of laughs, there’s plenty of R-rated humor that hit some marks, but not all of them, ranging from characters screaming to students pulling some idiotic pranks at school.  There’s even this one joke that made me go “Yeah, that will never happen in real life”.  But by the time the film reached the second half, the humor started to feel a bit dried out.  It felt like the film was trying to force some laughs instead of focusing on the main purpose of telling its story.

Overall, “Fist Fight” provided some passable laughs, an entertaining cast, and a solid message, but they’re not enough to call it “the biggest fight of the century”.  If you’re looking for a comedy that has a perfect mixture of storytelling and humor, this one might not be for you.  This film has a lot of stupidity and a whole lot of screaming and raunchiness that went overboard by the second half.  However, if you don’t mind any of that stuff and just want some laughs, then it’s worth seeing once at the theater.

C+