Director Nancy Savoca's (True Love) charming sleeper, set in San Francisco circa 1963, finds four newly arrived Marines on liberty roaming the streets looking for suitable women to bring to a "dogfight"--a dance party where the ugliest date wins top prize money. After Corporal Eddie Birdlace (River Phoenix) meets the sort-of-dumpy-looking Rose (Lili Taylor) in her mother's cafe and talks her into accompanying him, he begins to have second thoughts; unfortunately, Rose beats him to the punch, figures out what the "dogfight" is all about, slaps Eddie a good one across the chops, and returns home hurt. Partying with his friends later that night, Birdlace slips away and goes to Rose's house to apologize, after which the pair spend a bittersweet evening walking the streets on the eve of Eddie's departure for Vietnam. On the surface, Dogfight doesn't sound like it's about much, but the fully realized characters of Eddie and Rose, and the outstanding performances by Phoenix and Taylor, make the film a genuinely touching story of disparate personalities groping towards a common ground. Eddie's rough-and-tough exterior gradually melts in the face of Rose's unaffected innocence, and the two--while not madly falling in love--share one enchanted though realistic night away from the world and its troubles. While the flash-forward ending is flawed, Dogfight remains an excellent character study and one of 1991's most interesting films. Sporting a very nice widescreen transfer, the DVD release also features an engaging commentary track by Savoca and producer Richard Guay. Highly recommended. (R. Pitman)
Dogfight
Warner, 94 min., R, DVD: $19.98 Volume 18, Issue 2
Dogfight
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