Dogfight

My God. I can't believe I had never seen this.

The setup:

Eddie has one night before shipping out to Vietnam from San Fransisco. He and his pals all throw in $50 and spend the early evening looking for dates to bring to their so-called Dogfight. Guy who brings the "best", in this case "ugliest" takes home the cash. There are many similar or adjacent stories in this sub-genre of do-something-to-or-with-ugly-person (She's all That & My Fair Lady, 10 Things I Hate about You & Taming of the Shrew, Dinner for Schmucks...etc.) and none come close to the truth in this film. Credit is probably generally attributed to River Phoenix and Lily Taylor and their wonderful chemistry (rightly so!)... but the writing and the music and the supporting casts and sub-plots and the filming locations are all practically perfect. 

I had known of this movie for years but never sat down with it until I saw it on the Criterion channel. The setup itself is not one of my favorites...just somewhat off-putting for me at this point in my life. These days I try to avoid mean for mean-sake stories but the family was asleep when I got home last night, and I was out of ideas, so I threw it on not expecting much. But holy shit! Surprise of surprises! So many perfect little moments... the sweet thrill of getting to know someone and opening yourself up just little pieces at a time. Two immature but sweet and lost kids trading barbs, pushing limits; setting boundries and honoring them. And I'd say, after the first watch, it falls more into a different sub-genre that I truly love; Unexpected Frienship.

The music is used perfectly. Some great late 50s and early 60s pop fare along with some perfectly placed Dylan in the second act which bookends some grittier bluesy Van Morrison (TB Sheets) heralding in the more serious third act. 

Really too much to name in this movie but an abbreviated list:

• Fun scene in tatoo parlor
• Keeping cigarettes in socks
• The piano scene in the closed bar (the camera luxuriating on both Eddie and Rose)
• "Lock your eyes on the numbskulls and brain them!"

10 out of 10

***On a more personal note, a good chunk of the film takes place on Ballard Ave in Seattle (standing in for San Fransisco). The restaurant where Eddie first meets Rose was one of our favorite bars in Seattle circa 2018 (Little Tin sadly now closed). That whole strip is near and dear to my (and my wifes) heart as it was our neighborhood the few years leading up to Covid followed by our sons birth... so I guess sort of the last hurrah of that time of life.