I did NOT like this movie

Rating: 5/10 (28 December 2010)

Unlike most of the IMDb reviewers, I did not like The Fighter. Perhaps if I had read the book or even read some of these reviews so I knew some of the background, I'd have understood it better--but I still would have wondered why anyone thought this movie needed to be made.
Haven't there been enough movies about underdog boxers who persevered until they came out on top? Haven't there been enough movies about drug addiction--and don't most of them make it plain right away that the addict is addicted, not the victim of having been hit a few too many times in the head? Haven't there been enough movies about overbearing, controlling mothers who would sacrifice their children if doing so suited their purposes? Haven't there been enough movies about dysfunctional families that are unemployed and just sit around the house minding each other's business? Rolling them into one movie does not a "fresh" approach make.
The redeeming feature of this film is the cast. Melissa Leo and Christian Bale take turns chewing the scenery. One of the recurring "jokes"--when "Dicky" dives out of the window (of what I found out too late to appreciate it was a crack house--I thought his racist mother objected to his having an Asian girlfriend) into the dumpster--provided some humanity to their characters. Their leaving the scene while singing "I Started a Joke" provided the most poignant moment in their on-screen relationship. Mark Wahlberg was much more understated, by contrast, to the point that my companion opined that "He was just playing himself." Amy Adams was spot-on with her portrayal of the hurt-to-the-core-but-still-spunky bartender cum girlfriend. Their scene with "Micky's" daughter provided their opportunity to show a human soft side. The exception is the "seven sisters," who were like a Greek chorus. I cringe to contemplate what the original Eklund/Ward sisters thought of the way they were portrayed on the screen.
Christian Bale looks much older than his actual age in this film, and he apparently lost a huge amount of weight again (after doing so for The Machinist). I hope he wins enough awards for this film to satisfy his ambition before he permanently damages his health!
I never could identify with any of the characters in The Fighter. I could never actually like any of them--they were either shrill, whacked out, displaying their worst behavior, committing crimes with nothing to redeem them, or generally providing a negative demeanor--so I never cared one way or the other about any of them. Considering that so many people found the movie entertaining, I have spent a lot of time analyzing why that was not true for me, and I have to conclude that the Eklund/Ward family is like a train wreck. It's awful, but a lot of people want to see every awful moment of it.