Common Sense Media Review
By Monique Jones
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Breakup comedy has clichés, drinking, sex, swearing.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Bar Fight!
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
BAR FIGHT! follows couple Nina (Melissa Fumero) and Allen (Luka Jones) as they decide to break up. Things are fine at first -- until they realize that their favorite bar, where they've shared many memories together, will be something they can no longer share. So with the help of their bartender friends, they undergo a series of comedic challenges to figure out who can stay a regular and who must leave.
Is It Any Good?
This comedy is an hour and 24 minutes long, but it feels like two given how aggressively not funny it is. Bar Fight! feels more like a sitcom, with the types of characters you'd find in Brooklyn Nine-Nine or Grand Crew, two shows that do the ensemble comedy thing much better and more successfully than this film does.
While most of the characters are just fine -- if thinly developed -- Nina's best friend, Chelsea (Rachel Bloom), is very grating. She seems to hate being married and having children and aggressively wants her friend to have a rip-roaring sex life so that she can live vicariously through her. Between how the character was written and Bloom's acting choices, Chelsea comes off as a real problem area for the film. It makes no sense that someone like Nina -- who isn't sexually aggressive or rude -- would have her as a best friend. Also bizarre is how the film decides to call out the fact that Allen's best friend, Milan (Julian Gant), is, indeed fulfilling the tired "Black sidekick" cliché. With Milan breaking the fourth wall in a sense by accusing Allen of thinking of him in such a way, it begs the question as to why the character wasn't written differently in the first place. Bottom line? Bar Fight! isn't worth fighting for.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the way that Bar Fight! addresses communication. Why are communication skills important? How do you use communication skills in a relationship?
Why do Nina and Allen feel like they have to fight over their favorite bar? How is drinking portrayed here?
How are comedic clichés used in the movie? Do they help or hinder characterization?
What do Nina and Allen learn at the end of the film?
Movie Details
- In theaters : November 11, 2022
- On DVD or streaming : November 11, 2022
- Cast : Melissa Fumero , Luka Jones , Rachel Bloom , Julian Gant
- Director : Jim Mahoney
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s) , Latino Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Prime Video
- Genre : Comedy
- Run time : 84 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : November 22, 2022
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