By
John LeMay
Fat City, released in 1972,
was something of a “rebound†film for beloved director John Huston, whose
previous two films had been flops. Based upon the 1969 novel by Leonard Gardner
(who also wrote the screenplay), Fat City
follows Stacy Keach as Billy Tully, a small time boxer who never made it big
who is living in squalor. When Billy makes a rare return visit to the gym, he
meets Ernie (Jeff Bridges, hot off of a Best Supporting Actor nomination for The Last Picture Show). Billy sees some
potential in the teenager’s boxing ability and suggests he go see his old
manager, Ruben (Nicholas Colasanto—the future “Coach†on Cheers). Ernie does as told, and soon finds himself under Ruben’s
optimistic wing, while Billy’s life further deteriorates when he begins an
affair with an alcoholic wreck named Oma (Susan Tyrell, who would herself
secure a Best Supporting Actress nomination for this film). At the same time
that Ernie begins his fighting career, he too runs into trouble when he
impregnates his virginal girlfriend and soon leaves the world of boxing behind.
When Ernie and Billy reunite on a work crew in the San Joaquin Valley, both
become inspired to get back into the ring and return to Ruben. However, for
those assuming Bridges and Keach inevitably come to blows in some sort of
bloody boxing ring climax, they don’t. This is because Fat City isn’t so much a “boxing movie†as it is a character
portrait of Kecah’s sad-sack loser who just can’t seem to help himself out of
the bottle and other bad choices. Things seem to be on the up for Billy in the
third act when he finally shakes off his alcoholic lover Oma and wins his
“comeback†fight. Billy self-destructs soon after though when he doesn’t get as
big of a cut from the fight as he hoped for from Rudy (who has already given
Billy plenty of money in advances). Billy soon goes running back to Oma, now
back with her husband, and after her he crawls right back into the bottle.
Billy ends the film just as he had begun it, and though we don’t know his
future, it looks to be subpar as he shares a cup of coffee with Ernie.
Though
character pieces like this are fairly common today, back in 1972 Fat City was something of a trailblazer.
And though things end on an ambiguous if not totally sour note for the film’s
protagonist, for director John Huston Fat
City was indeed a successful comeback as it was both a critical darling and
a financial success. Once again the famous director was back in high demand. As
to those who no doubt puzzle over the film’s title, which is never spoken in
the film itself, author Leonard Gardner told Time in 1969, “Lots of people have asked me about the title of my
book. It's part of Negro slang. When you say you want to go to Fat City, it
means you want the good life. I got the idea for the title after seeing a
photograph of a tenement in an exhibit in San Francisco. 'Fat City' was
scrawled in chalk on a wall. The title is ironic: Fat City is a crazy goal no
one is ever going to reach.â€
So
in summary, those hoping for an inspiring sports movie might be disappointed,
but for those that love downbeat realistic character studies, Fat City is a real winner. The Twilight
Time Blu-ray comes with the film’s theatrical trailer, an isolated score track,
an audio commentary with film historians Lou Dobbs and Nick Redman, and also
some wonderful liner notes written by Julie Kirgo. This is a limited edition of 3,000 units.
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John LeMay is the author of The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies Vol. 1: 1954-1980. (Click here to order from Amazon)