‘Christy’ Review – A Million Dollar Baby Adjusting For Inflation
So Christy flops, Ruby Rose peeks her head out of the cave she/”they” are hiding in to rediscover relevance for five minutes to attack it, and I’m supposed to assume the film is bad – utterly and irrefutably. No passing ‘GO!’ and collecting $200, case closed. Right? Well, I’m here to say “not really.”
I was kinda curious, in the basic strictest sense of the word, with this picture out in its first week (going on second) and getting so much negative attention. I went to see it to find out if it was boring, cringeworthy, or something worse. I left the theater thinking it was a decent time killer, worthy of the buzz it’s received.
The story followed the rise of boxer Christy Salter (Sydney Sweeney), later Martin, from her early days to her big fights in the 90s and 2000s to a near-fatal stabbing at the hands of her unstable husband/trainer/manager (Ben Foster). Her sexuality is a factor in her journey, but the film would play out the same if it were never brought up.
Anyone can be trapped in a toxic marriage with a spouse who is threatening to kill them. We’ve all seen and heard the same story play out with all the same beats in fact and fiction, without someone being a boxer, let alone gay or straight. My reviews this year started with Brave the Dark, a movie that crescendos with the main character reliving the memory of his mom’s boyfriend shooting her dead. That was a faith-based movie!
What sets Christy apart from other films similar to itself, such as The Smashing Machine and Queen of the Ring, is the casting and performances. Sydney Sweeney is terrific, and she owns the whole thing. A win isn’t likely to me, but I can see her earning nominations in a few places. Short of the Oscars, mind you, due to the trumped-up outrage over her jeans ads and alleged politics.
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There are woke elements, but this one is on the low end of the totem pole compared to more graphic affairs. Christy is tame compared to the cleanest episode of Peacemaker Season 2. There is blood and scenes of violence, but no full-frontal nudity, leaving nothing to the imagination. There isn’t even a lesbian kiss or love scene.
Sweeney looks good, regardless. They try to make her ugly with bad wigs and baggy clothing, but it doesn’t work. They must have realized this because in the second half, she gets to show off her real hair. It spoils the illusion and tells me they gave up trying to unpretty her halfway through production because even they knew it wasn’t working.
My other nagging gripe is Ben Foster as the husband from hell. Not because he was terrible acting-wise; Foster plays the part well for what it is, a rather one-dimensional slasher villain who can go off at any point. He fills the toxic male quota and corners that market. Most of the men in the film, although often in the background and unable to help, care about Christy and refrain from undercutting her.
Her story is both interesting and shocking in places. It’s also not as woke as the average DC project, but the movie is still failing. If it’s not due to the gay factor or Hollywood’s general decline, I wager this has more to do with Sweeney either peaking or her star potential being overestimated.
Additionally, I think the producers gambled on the fighter biopic subgenre (i.e., the Rocky cash-in) surging back big time only to wind up empty-handed. Smashing Machine proved that The Rock and that kind of vehicle are no longer unbeatable. The bell you can’t un-ring stopped ringing, so it’s time to throw in the towel.
NEXT: ‘The Smashing Machine’ Review – Rock Smash! Then Rock Talk About Feelings
Christy
PROS
- Sydney Sweeney
- Straightforward story that doesn't overexperiment or push lewd content
- More about domestic abuse than any LGBT agenda
- Chad Coleman as Don King has enough potential for his own movie
CONS
- Ben Foster, while good, plays a very unpleasant guy
- Sweeney can't hide her looks under wigs and tacky clothing
- Ethan Embry is underused
- Decades pass in the story but no one seems to age
