New movie will fight for a piece of the box office
Hollywood goes back to school for its latest effort, writes Chris Lackner.
Big release Feb. 17: Fist Fight Big picture: “Parking lot. After school.” Unless you were homeschooled, you recognize the unmistakable meaning in those words.
Fight rumours have always travelled around classrooms and hallways faster than the speed of light.
This oddball comedy doesn’t showcase the traditional hormonal participants in this crude ritual. The challengers are two man-children standing at the head of the class.
When a timid high school teacher (Charlie Day) — described as “a worm and a bit of a sneak” — is challenged to a fist fight by the faculty bully (Ice Cube), it brings a dysfunctional high school together (spawning everything from a hashtag to a tailgate party).
Tracy Morgan co-stars as a nutbar gym teacher.
Forecast: On the bright side, this film’s not a sequel. But it does make you wonder if Hollywood writers have nothing new to teach us. What’s next if Fist Fight is a box office success? A horror movie called Red Rover, followed by the bloodier, mediocre sequel called Red Rover, Red Rover: Send Jennifer Over?
I predict a romantic comedy called Recess about two oddcouple middle school students who fall in love over one fateful schoolyard break — while inadvertently bringing their feuding teachers together.
(The teachers will be played by Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, and it will be a musical.)
Big events: Doubt (Feb. 15, CBS); The Good Fight (CBS, W, Feb. 19)
Big picture: Doubt is not based on the award-winning play and Oscar-nominated movie.
It’s a soapy legal drama starring Katherine Heigl (yeah, new cast mates for her to drive crazy!) as a defence lawyer who becomes romantically entangled with a client (Steven Pasquale). Of course, he just might be guilty of a violent crime. So not only is she sleeping with the enemy, but she’d defending him in court.
The premise is about as original as plain oatmeal, but Heigl’s co-stars could help win over the jury of viewers. Laverne Cox (Orange Is the New Black), Dreama Walker (Gossip Girl) and veteran Elliott Gould co-star.
Meanwhile, in The Good Fight, unabashed Democrat and lawyer Diane Lockhart (Christine Baranski) comes out of TV retirement.
The fan favourite from The Good Wife gets top billing as she battles the fallout of the Trumpocalypse in the courts.
Other regulars from the original series return, including Cush Jumbo, Sarah Steele and Gary Cole as Diane’s husband. The most notable addition is “Jon Snow’s girlfriend.”
Game of Thrones’ Rose Leslie co-stars as Diane’s niece (also a newbie lawyer). I predict at least one episode will slip in the phrase, “You know nothing, Diane Lockhart. The show’s tagline is “Things Will Get Nasty” (which the Trump administration should really have copyrighted by now). And it all starts when Diane falls victim to her brother-in-law’s Ponzi scheme and loses her life savings.
W Network will carry the series in Canada. (The first episode also airs on Global.)
Forecast: There’s no doubt that The Good Fight wins this battle. And Liberals in the U.S. will at least be able to take solace in the fact they are winning in the Land of Imagination (Thankfully, I it has a very generous refugee policy.)
Big releases on Feb. 17: Sam Patch (Yeah You, And I); Ryan Adams (Prisoner)
Big picture: Sam Patch is a project seemingly named after a once-famous daredevil and professional waterfall jumper.
It’s also the synth-rock solo debut of Arcade Fire bassist Tim Kingsbury — with a little help from his friends (such as bandmate and drummer Jeremy Gara).
Meanwhile, Prisoner is the 16th studio album from prolific alt-country rocker Adams.
Fresh off covering Taylor Swift’s 1989, Adams’ raspy-voiced twang is back on familiar, fertile soil. His own breakups. Haunted House, Do You Still Love Me and To Be Without You are signs of a man still held prisoner by his past.
Forecast: While Adams’ careerdefining Heartbreaker (2000) was a breakup album, Prisoner is more about what happens long after the heartbreak phase. (It won’t be released until after Valentine’s Day, so you’ll have to mope to some other album.)