"Fat City" Review

 

by Daniel White

John Huston's Fat City (1972) was a comeback of sorts for the legendary director. After a string of films that failed critically, commercially, or both, he hit the bulls eye with this one. It's easy to see why it was received so enthusiastically, it's a great flick.

Starring the painfully believable Stacy Keach as down for the count boxer, Billy Tully, it's a heartfelt tribute to the losers of the world. But it would be a disservice to these characters to feel sorry for them.

It opens and closes with Kris Kristofferson's melancholic dirge, "Help Me Make It Through The Night." But the movie never turns maudlin or overly sentimental. Mercifully, the superb screenplay by Leonard Gardner (based on his book) is full of wry, offbeat humor. Struggling to survive in a world that not only passed them by, didn't even know they were there, their nobility lies in their endurance. Their very existence makes them worthy of our acknowledgement.

Tully is alcoholic, a has-been who never was. Sparring with a young boxing hopeful (Jeff Bridges) at the local YMCA sparks his desire to get back in the ring. At the same time, he meets fellow "juice head," Oma (Susan Tyrrell) at a downtown dive and the two quickly shack up together. Bruised but cocky, wounded and wounding, she is magnificent. It's one of the best portrayals of chronic alcoholism ever put forth on the screen. Tully returns to boxing but will never be a champion. His final bout in the film with a fellow washed-up pugilist is a sour, sad, haunting look at the brutality of the sport. Ernie Munger (Bridges) gets trapped into marriage by a cunning, vapid little vixen (Candy Clark), while Oma returns to her former flame, who is fresh out of jail. All concerned are heading nowhere fast. In fact, most of them have already arrived and are just ticking the days away.

Filmed on location in Stockton, California, cinematographer Conrad L. Hall has candidly captured the rawness of a migrant town. Conversely, Huston has dreamified it. John Huston is an amazing guy, probably the only macho "shit head" I'd not only want to hang out with, but befriend (if he'd have me). While most of his fellow filmmakers from the Golden Age of Hollywood were either dead, retired, or irrelevant, he was still conjuring up viable, exciting, authentic movie magic. Thanks, dude.

Distributed by Columbia Pictures, with the wonderful Nicholas Colasanto as a caring yet clueless boxing coach, Fat City is currently streaming on Tubi.