FIST FIGHT: A Briskly Funny Exploration Of The American Education System

Fist Fight follows mild-mannered English teacher Andy Campbell (Charlie Day), who is challenged to a fight by history teacher, Strickland (Ice Cube). The film is set on the last day of school, where every teacher is getting reviewed with the threat of termination. For Andy Campbell, the stress of the day is even higher, as he is trying to make it to his daughter’s talent show so they can perform together.

Van Robichaux, Evan Susser, and Max Greenfield take what could be a generic twist on a classic schoolyard fight, but instead use this base to focus in on the problems of the American Education System. Richie Keen directs Fist Fight while keeping a brisk pace, leading up to a wonderfully shot fight scene. The fight scene is one of the strongest of the film, which I was worried about when I sat down to watch the film.

At first glance, the pranks, bullying, and general violent attitudes of both the teachers and students might seem like something bad to show audiences filled with impressionable young people, but this damaging atmosphere of the public school system acts more as a warning against the current education system.

The titular fight becomes about something more than the loss of a job- it begins to signify the the constant threat of downsizing, losing funding, and cutting beneficial programs. When school loses everything that once made it special, students and teachers alike could react violently, maybe not to this extent, but it isn’t far off from what we already see in the news.

Charlie Day stands out in this film, showing how he can take any material and make it funnier than it deserves to be. Even in scenes where very little comedy was found in the actual dialogue, his frantic delivery made it work. This film was the best when it focused on satirical comedy surrounding the desensitization of our current society, especially our current school system.

A Brisk Pace Helps the Jokes Land

One of Fist Fight‘s strengths is its short running time, which never overstays its welcome. The comedy is well constructed around a central goal. This type of structure can sometimes come across as boring, but here it works to keep the film brisk and fun, while the characters work towards a goal.

The film has jokes that don’t land, but we are never stuck in those scenes for too long, always moving the plot along and going off to something funnier. One of the jokes that did not work in the film was a recurring one of an old teacher angry at everything happening around him.

Every time this character showed up, I felt forcefully removed from the film, only to re-enter once his scene was over once again. This was the only time I felt the pace slow down. These were quick scenes, but they made me wonder when it would end and I could fall back into the quick pace of the film again.

Another strength benefiting the quick pacing is  Day’s delivery of dialogue. The way he frantically flows through his lines works well with the pacing and the music in the film to create a cohesive experience.

A recurring joke involves a horse on meth running through the halls. This is such a small and insignificant joke, yet seeing this horse running around in scenes that begin to drag brings you back into the moment, causing a quick blip of laughter, before continuing on towards more important moments in the film.

The Incongruity of Comedy

One of the funniest scenes in the film involves the talent show Andy was working so hard to get to in time. The scene opens with Andy’s daughter Ally (Alexa Nisenson) quietly singing Seasons of Love, the song she was supposed to sing with her father. He is sad for missing the performance, so he gets the DJ to play the song she wanted to sing.

Her smile is infectious, the audience expects something humorous, but appropriate for the setting. Instead, the song IDFWU by Big Sean starts playing. She sings and dances and soon her father joins in, not caring what happens because he wants her to be happy. The scene is strangely heartwarming as the explicit lyrics come out of a ten year old girl.

This difference from what you expect makes this scene so much funnier than anything else in the film. Yes, the other characters cuss, but hearing Charlie Day, Ice Cube, or Jillian Bell say these same words does not pack the comedic punch as hearing it in a elementary school talent show.

Another one of the funniest moments in the film was a series of quick scenes of what different members of the school have heard about Strickland. The scene was meant to scare Andy after he was challenged to a fight, but the variety of the sequences added more comedy to the scene. One segment featured Strickland as a pianist, something that does not really come across as scary, but he had a dangerous passion in his eyes as he hit the keys.

The Satirical Center of Fist Fight

Most of the humor in the film comes from a place of satire towards the American Education System. Setting the film on the last day of the school year helps bring forth the academic comedy. The students and teachers at the public school displayed in Fist Fight are all tired of their school getting worse every year, as the higher ups sit in an office recounting a fishing trip, uncaring of how many departments don’t get the materials they deserve.

Even when his job was no longer at stake, Strickland wanted to go through with the fight. He wanted it to be seen as a display of the education system making teachers resort to violence to take out their angers against their lack of funding, job security, and importance within the school system.

One recurring joke was the pranks, especially the ones done against the school’s principal. These might paint the wrong idea to some viewers, but this act of rebellion shows how far the students must go to be heard at all by their own principal. Dean Norris plays the principal, who wants his own prank related problems to be fixed, but once he has the chance, all he does is listen to the superintendent recall his fishing trip, laughing at all the right moments, unaware of how this is affecting the other students and teachers who desperately want to be heard.

The recurring joke of a mediocre mariachi band following the principal around is the best instance of these pranks being about the students wanting to be heard while the principal is holed up in his office, ignoring the school that should be his responsibility.

Conclusion

Having the final fight be more about sticking up for your own ideals and making a stance together brings home the importance of the film as a satirical exploration of the American Education System. Some of the jokes along the way didn’t land, but the ones that did worked surprisingly well, creating a well-structured comedy with strong performances and an important voice.

Do you think Fist Fight works as a satire of the American Education System? Do you think  this film will lead Charlie Day into more mainstream success for his comedic talents, apart from his years of stellar work on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia?

Fist Fight came out February 17th in the US and March 3rd in the UK. It is scheduled for a May 30th DVD Release.