Chick Fight is a by-the-book sports comedy that still manages a few, fun, laugh out loud moments. The film focuses on Anna, played by Malin Akerman (Watchmen, The Final Girls) who’s personal business literally goes up in flames. When Anna’s life seems hopeless, her friend, Naomi (Dominique Jackson), introduces her to a female fight club. Anna makes quick enemies with Olivia, played by Bella Thorne (The DUFF, Blended), and must learn how to fight after challenging her. Anna is quickly introduced to Jack Murphy (Alec Baldwin) who trains her to fight with rather unusual methods. If all of this sounds super familiar, it is! If you’ve seen classic fighting movies like The Karate Kid or Rocky you will not be surprised by many of the major story beats of Chick Fight.
However the strength of the film comes in its humor. Thankfully Chick Fight knows it’s unoriginal and does a fairly good job of leaning into it. For example when Anna meets Jack she makes references to Mr. Miyagi from The Karate Kid. The film keeps the jokes rolling with other references to Cobra Kai, Rocky and even The Terminator. The film is also great at making dirty jokes and includes all sexual orientations. Dominique Jackson steals the show in Chick Fight as Anna’s best friend, Monique. Her character is lesbian and her impeccable comedic timing and raunchy jokes made me laugh more than the other characters. She maintains the quick wit and dirty humor throughout the entire film and was honestly the best part of it all. Kevin Nash (Magic Mike, and a former professional wrestler), cameos as Anna’s bi-sexual father, Ed. He and his boyfriend, Chuck (Alec Mapa) do a great job making the awkward, father-daughter moments some of the best in the film.
One storyline I could’ve done without was the potential romance between Anna and Dr. Roy, played by Kevin Conelley (Entourage). Although the love interest plot line is just as stereotypical as the rest of the plot, I felt that it diluted what the film was trying to say. We are in an age where a strong female character like Anna can be happy without a man in her life. The film points out that it is acceptable in society for men to fight to solve their problems but why is it not the same way for women? This point justified the entire film and I saw the female fight club as not just a place to blow-off steam but a place of empowerment for women as well. Having a romantic storyline on the side weakened the effectiveness of this message.
Besides the humor, Chick Fight has a very sleek style and aesthetic going for it. All of the scenes are bright and colorful and the fight scenes are shot particularly well. Most of them are brutal with many of the punches shown in extreme slow motion to emphasize all of the blood sweat and spit. The great sound effects also help the fight scenes seem especially brutal. The brutality of the movie helps give the film it’s R rating and hammers home the female empowerment message,
When it’s all said and done, Chick Fight was better than expected based on the trailer. It is a fun, turn-your-brain off comedy. It’s full of pop-culture references and raunchy humor that should earn at least a few laughs from most audience members. The jokes are good enough that they make up a bit for the fact that the plot is so painfully predictable. The film isn’t horrible but it’s nothing too special either. Chick Fight is good for a few laughs but it’s all too familiar story holds it back from being anything notable or memorable.
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