Raunchy movie delivers, sort of
This juvenile comedy filled with F-bombs, meth jokes lives up to title
If you like penis gags, F-bombs and meth jokes, then Fist Fight — a raunchy comedy about two high school teachers prepping for an after-school brawl — is going to be right up your alley.
But if your humour tastes are slightly more refined than a 16-year-old’s, you’re going to feel like you went 12 rounds with a couple of infantile jokesters. The phallic-heavy yuks take place on senior prank day, with Ice Cube’s no-nonsense history teacher, Mr. Strickland, losing his cool with one of his students.
His mild-mannered colleague, Mr. Campbell (Charlie Day), witnesses Strickland taking an axe to the desk of the misbehaving teen.
When the two land themselves in front of the principal (Dean Norris), Campbell rats on Strickland, who promises to give the snitch a beating by the day’s end.
In the lead-up to the advertised brawl (hey, at least the film delivered on its title), Campbell attempts to get out of the fight.
He enlists a security guard (Silicon Valley’s Kumail Nanjiani), tries to plant drugs on Strickland and taps two fellow teachers to help him (Tracy Morgan and Jillian Bell), both of whom joke about having sex with parents and students, and attempts to bribe the student whose desk was smashed to recant his story.
Oh yeah, in there, Campbell has to deal with his wife and make it to his young daughter’s talent competition, where they lip sync Big Sean’s I Don’t F--- With You (this got laughs at the screening I was at, but that might have been me).
Screenwriters Van Robichaux and Evan Susser try to make a slight critique of the American public education system, and the tough time teachers have amid indifferent students, but those moments amount to about 30 seconds of screen time.
When the fight finally happens, if you’re still in the theatre and not headed to divorce court, you’re kind of hoping both Strickland and Campbell knock each other out cold.
But kudos to director Richie Keen for making a movie called Fist Fight — and then giving us just that. Along with copious amounts of penis jokes.