Collingwood

"Mean Girls" for boys. Certainly NOT the "Karate Kid 1", which was innovative for its time, also a moral story in which the fighting takes place in a formal event. Now the cool thing is "taking it to the street"," stepping up to the street". Well as someone who grew up amidst teen violence I can tell you that it is sadder and uglier and more frightening than these cliches of "the streets". Real street fighting costs you in teeth and criminal charges. I can also tell you that the fighting is ridiculous in that context. Good MMA fighters are disciplined, and I did like the way training moved in the direction of discipline. I also thought the MMA coach was great but his back story was ridiculous. But there is no real lesson for teenagers here, with girls acting like Penthouse trash and boys acting like thugs -- all in the context of a sort of "idealized wealth and sexuality" that only a teenager could imagine as real anywhere. Everything about the film is wet dream fantasy except the triangle choke and the general fact that high school is evil. It's a shame because a story about a troubled teen learning MMA could be really interesting if well done.

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