52 - Dogfight

    On a brief leave before shipping out, a group of marines have a dogfight party, wherein all participants compete to see who can bring the ugliest girl to a party.  One guy comes with his girl, but gradually relents as he comes to like her.
    This one was suggested to me, and it’s an unusual movie.  It moves slowly, and the roots it has with a stage play is evident.  It’s mostly notable for being one of the few performances that River Phoenix turned in.  Honestly, I don’t care much about him, but it’s a good performance from Lili Taylor that makes the story work.
    There’s one thing that bugged me about this movie, and it shouldn’t be a big deal, but it was a bit annoying.  Lili Taylor wears some padding to make her look a bit fatter.  Since this takes place in 1963, the standard of beauty was a little different - she probably would have been more attractive this way than her normal, skinny self.
    It’s a nice story.  It’s good, but not great.  As pleasant as Lili’s character is, the story doesn’t resonate with me.  I find the main character to be dislikable, even when he has supposedly matured.