Girlfight (2000)
84%RT Audience Score: 75%
Awards & Nominations: 15 wins & 18 nominations
Girlfight is a cinematic masterpiece that packs a punch with its raw and authentic portrayal of a young woman’s journey to become a boxer. Karyn Kusama’s direction and Michelle Rodriguez’s breakout performance as Diana Guzman are a knockout combination that leaves the audience cheering for the underdog. The film’s setting in a gritty Brooklyn neighborhood and the peeling walls of the boxing gym add to the film’s realism. The father-daughter relationship and Diana’s bond with her brother provide a touching contrast to the film’s intense boxing scenes. Girlfight is a must-see for anyone who loves a good underdog story and appreciates the art of filmmaking.
Girlfight is a knockout! This movie has everything you need for a great underdog story: a gritty setting, a tough protagonist, and a heartwarming bond with her brother. Michelle Rodriguez shines in her first acting role, and director Karyn Kusama’s raw and unfiltered style makes the struggle feel authentic and pure. Plus, who doesn’t love a good boxing movie? It’s like Rocky, but with a badass female lead. So grab some popcorn and get ready to root for the underdog in Girlfight.
Production Company(ies)
Element Pictures, Film 4 Film Nation Entertainment,
Distributor
Columbia TriStar Home Video, Screen Gems
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Yonkers, New York, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for language
Year of Release
2000
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:SDDS Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 53m
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Language(s):English, Spanish
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Sep 29, 2000 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 2, 2002
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Michelle Rodriguez, Jaime Tirelli, Paul Calderone, Santiago Douglas, Ray Santiago, Elisa Bocanegra, directed by Karyn Kusama, written by Karyn Kusama, drama, R rating, $1.5M box office, reviewed by Rene Rodriguez, Ellen Futterman, Terry Lawson, Jami Bernard, Christopher Kelly, Jay Boyar, Chris Garcia, Kaori Shoji, George M Thomas, Katherine Monk, Alison Gillmor, female boxing, troubled girl, boxing ring, Brooklyn neighborhood, Hispanic, father-daughter relationship, underdog story, independent movie, gritty, natural, unfiltered, uplifting, moving, traditional Hollywood, ragged technique, outsider, broken family, sharpshooting fists, physical impact, personal project, bad-ass, unrealistic fights, female empowerment, coming of age, respect, dignity, discipline, self-respect, love, unlikely place
Worldwide gross: $1,666,028
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $2,889,585
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,324
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 315,113
US/Canada gross: $1,565,852
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $2,715,838
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,962
US/Canada opening weekend: $197,896
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $343,234
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,498
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $1,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $1,734,416
Production budget ranking: 2,043
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $933,983
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $221,187
ROI to date (est.): 8%
ROI ranking: 1,357
Jaime Tirelli – Hector
Paul Calderone – Sandro
Santiago Douglas – Adrian
Ray Santiago – Tiny
Elisa Bocanegra – Marisol
Director(s)
Karyn Kusama
Writer(s)
Karyn Kusama
Producer(s)
NA
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
15 wins & 18 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (129) | Top Critics (48) | Fresh (113) | Rotten (16)
Girlfight gets everything right: Its gritty bleak setting of a largely Hispanic Brooklyn neighborhood; the peeling walls and grimy atmosphere of the boxing gym… her bond with her sweet-natured brother and her combative relationship with her [father].
March 25, 2021 | Rating: 3/4
Rene Rodriguez
Miami Herald
TOP CRITIC
Its richness comes from clear, straightforward storytelling and from a production that looks, feels and sounds amazingly natural.
March 25, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/4
Ellen Futterman
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
TOP CRITIC
In the able and confident hands of director and writer Karyn Kusama, Girlfight becomes an unranked contender for most satisfying independent movie of the year.
March 25, 2021 | Rating: 3/4
Terry Lawson
Detroit Free Press
TOP CRITIC
The director and star both have unaffected styles that mesh perfectly for a movie that’s uplifting and moving in a traditional Hollywood way, while also seeming as raw and unfiltered as cinéma vérité.
March 25, 2021 | Rating: 3/4
Jami Bernard
New York Daily News
TOP CRITIC
What makes Girtfight such a chore to watch is that it isn’t content to wallow in its own shamelessness.
March 24, 2021 | Rating: 2/5
Christopher Kelly
Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com
TOP CRITIC
You get caught up in the story of an underdog whose fight represents the triumph of an outsider. And the movie’s ragged technique only makes that struggle seem that much more authentic and pure.
March 24, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Jay Boyar
Orlando Sentinel
TOP CRITIC
Michelle Rodriguez, cutting a dazzling figure in her first acting role, plays Diana Guzman, a raw product of a broken family in the Brooklyn projects. Despair and anger find articulation in her sharpshooting fists.
March 25, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Chris Garcia
Austin American-Statesman
As they say about boxing, it’s the subtle blows that get to you most.
March 25, 2021 | Rating: 5/5
Kaori Shoji
Japan Times
Kusama’s talent as a filmmaker is obvious. Girlfight doesn’t score a knockout, but it has moxy and some performances that guarantee that seeing it won’t be a waste of time.
March 25, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/4
George M. Thomas
Akron Beacon Journal
Girlfight brings freshness and enthusiasm to a routine we’ve seen several times over.
March 25, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/4
Katherine Monk
Vancouver Sun
This is one of those movies that affects you physically as you’re walking out of the theatre. Musicals make you feel like you can tap-dance. Girlfight makes you feel like you clean somebody’s clock.
March 25, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/5
Alison Gillmor
Winnipeg Free Press
This longshot film has Rocky-like implications going for it on either side of the camera. Safe to say, now, that Kusama is taking lunch with every heavy in Hollywood, and that Rodriguez could well be the next break-out star in the biz.
March 25, 2021 | Rating: 3/4
Bill Brownstein
Montreal Gazette…
Plot
At 18, Diana has a chip on her shoulder; she’s close to expulsion from high school for fighting, her mother is dead, her dad is surly, the popular girls at school set her teeth on edge, she knows men can cause pain. When she picks up her younger brother at a Brooklyn gym where he boxes to please his father, she decides she wants to train. Hector, a coach, reluctantly agrees to teach her. It’s soon clear to him that Diana has talent; he pushes her. She spends time with another young fighter, Adrian, who has a girlfriend, but Diana intrigues him and stirs real feelings he tries to articulate. She, too, must accommodate her toughness and ironic detachment to her feelings for him.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Michelle Rodriguez gives a compelling performance in her first acting role.
Karyn-Kusama.jpg
