Dogfight

Wow. Okay. Full disclosure: I'm probably going to end up underrating this.

First of all, diving into River Phoenix's filmography is probably the best decision I made this whole year. This movie is so sweet in such a non-sappy, real-world, almost gritty way. I hate to use the word "gritty." It's not really that. Let's just say, if this movie were a metal, it would have a soft bushed finish instead of a reflective, shiny one. In many ways it's more pleasant to touch because it feels real and natural, but still isn't coarse.

Written by a man (Bob Comfort) and directed by a woman (Nancy Savoca) which probably helped in creating the unconventional tonal balance.

Plot: The night before their unit is shipped off to Vietnam in 1963, some Marine buddies host a party called a Dogfight, where they pitch in money, rent a bar, and bring the ugliest date they can find. The ugliest wins the prize. Eddie (River Phoenix) happens upon the daughter of a coffee shop owner, Rose (Lili Taylor). She's certainly not conventionally attractive, so he invites her. But she's also sweet, genuine, and intelligent person, so when she agrees, Eddie quickly begins to regret the whole situation.

It's literally almost nothing but a developing dynamic between two very different but strangely compatible people; the surface attraction that brings them together for the night, their arguments, how they clash and conflict, their discussions, their differing mindsets, and the slow development of genuine affection between them. All shown through situations that expose their character; flaws along with the good stuff.

An engaging character study that doesn't feel like a chore to pay attention to.

River's character was of course very good. At this point I expected nothing less, but he still impresses me. Eddie's sharply defined with a great balance of positive and negative qualities and is engaging yet not too hard to understand. A great team effort of writing and performance. But I was really surprised with Lili Taylor and the character of Rose. I saw the trailer and was immediately like, "Yeah, okay she's definitely not that ugly" and thought I had the movie figured out.

Basically, she just has some unusual facial bone structure, and clearly they were going to try and make her less physically appealing. So, I went in expecting to not buy that someone who looks like River could fall in love with her, all done up that way; and that it would feel like a pity romance. Like, he feels bad for her, so he hangs out with her to make her feel better, and somewhere along there a romance gets shoehorned in.

But it's not like that at all. From the second she turned around, showing her face for the first time, I understood her appeal. She wasn't physically attractive, but she was instantly warm and open, and she drew me in. Then as she and River started to dialogue, honest-to-goodness chemistry existed between them, and she had this quiet but bold confidence to her that challenged his often brazen attitude -- and I quickly realized I needed to settle in for some real and serious romance. From that moment it had me, and didn't let go through the whole run time.

Serious romance. But there was comedy too; light, well-ingrained, and non-distracting. 

And I loved that at the start she seemed like she could take or leave him, while he was showing signs of being genuinely attracted. Especially when he's regretting bringing her to the dogfight and subtly trying to get out of it. He actually had to pursue her to win her over, and that's such a huge difference for the high school romance cliche where the ugly duckling is finally noticed by the handsome guy when she improves her appearance and shows him her winning personality.

Here, Rose does improve her appearance, and she most definitely has a winning personality, but she has an innate and immediate attractive quality too, and that's why it makes sense when Eddie latches on so fast. Also, he may look like River Phoenix sporting a high-and-tight, but he had hard edges and baggage that made him less of the classic romantic catch. Their flaws complemented each other, and they worked well together. They're unusual, but they make sense. And that's the sole reason this movie works.

Otherwise, the production around them doesn't let them down. Released in 1991 but set in the 60's and it feels every inch like the 60's. As far as I can tell anyway. The cinematography is simple, but made of that same bushed metal to match the tone of the movie. It takes place almost exclusively at night, so that helps. The music was the greatest supporting aspect by far though, with a wonderful and soulful era-appropriate soundtrack. Rose dreams of being a musician, so they put effort into picking the songs to back their relationship.

I expected it to crumble once the premise didn't hold it up, but it only got better. This movie is no flake.

There were some funny moments, some heartbreaking moments, and some honest and heartfelt moments. There were also a few things I wrinkled my nose at and could've done without in theory, (the movie earns its R-rating) but it all served to portray the appeal of finding a person to connect with on a personal level, as opposed to riding the surface attractions and momentary pleasures. And with an intent like that, I can't much fault the method of execution.

With all that, I think I've talked myself into giving it four stars, so maybe I'm not underrating it after all. It really is sweet, genuine, and honest; the kind of thing I look for in a romance. It may seem strange that a movie could be equally comfortable in being wide-eyed and open, and cynical and blunt, but that's exactly the dynamic between the two leads, so, strange, but appropriate.

It's called Dogfight so the natural assumption of its content may be misleading, but don't be fooled. There's a heart of pure gold here; not all shiny and alluring perhaps -- but this movie doesn't put much stock in appearances where true value is concerned.