Fat City Summary
MPAA Rating: PG
Director: John Huston
Genres: Drama
Rating:
With a screenplay adapted by Leonard_Gardner from his own novel, John_Huston's drama examines the meager hopes and resigned dreams of small-time boxers. In limbo between retirement and his youthful prime, alcoholic farm laborer Tully (Stacy_Keach) shacks up with fellow outcast Oma (Susan_Tyrrell) and keeps trying to make a boxing comeback, but his personal demons repeatedly overpower his ambitions. Meanwhile, fellow Stockton, CA resident and budding fighter Ernie (Jeff_Bridges) takes Tully's advice to join trainer Ruben (Nicholas_Colasanto)'s gym and make something of himself. Learning the tough lesson that winning is not as easy as it sounds, Ernie is still determined to get what he can out of boxing and, unlike Tully, not let disappointments get the best of him. Shot on location in Stockton by Conrad_Hall, the film maintains a realistic, slice-of-life view of Tully's and Ernie's struggles, eschewing theatrical boxing victories for psychological and social details. As Huston avowed at the Cannes Film Festival that Fat City's virtue was its "modesty," critics agreed that he had made his best film in two decades; and Tyrrell was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar. However, despite the praise and the efforts of producer Ray_Stark, Fat City failed at the box office. Even so, its unromanticized depiction of modest wins and personal losses revealed that old Hollywood pro Huston had adapted well to the late '60s-early '70s New Hollywood grit, and the film revived his artistic standing. Lucia Bozzola, Rovi
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