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Primetime Show Reviews

"Girl Fight"
review by Suzanne
Premieres Monday, October 3rd at 9 pm/et on Lifetime
This movie, "Girl Fight" is based on the real life Florida story
about some teenagers who beat up their friend and filmed it so they could put it
up online. The movie does not take place in Florida, though. It shows mountains
and looks to be in the midwest, although I can't be sure. The real-life girls
were cheerleaders, but they don't seem to be cheerleaders in the movie. Other
than that, a lot of the facts in the movie seem to correspond to what really
happened in Florida.
This was a very moving and disturbing movie. It was hard to watch at times
because of the violence, even though I knew it was staged. Also, it made me cry.
This is because it hit so close to home. I was bullied when I was a girl, but
obviously not to this extent. But it didn't stop me from thinking, "This could
have been me".
There were differences, though, between this girl and those of us who were
bullied a lot. She didn't seem to be the type that is routinely bullied, so she
did not act the same way. She befriended these girls, and for a while, she was
one of the "cool kids". Then they turned on her. For those of us who were
bullied regularly, we were not likely to be friends with these girls, but that
meant we were also not likely to risk such anger and violence. Not that I'm
saying it's her fault...I'm sure they would have taken their anger out on
someone or something, eventually. It's just that if you are bullied regularly,
you learn to stay out of the bully's way as much as possible. I was probably
more like her nerdy friend in the movie, the one that she stops talking to for a
while.
The performances in this movie were great. Anne Heche, one of my favorite
actresses from way back, plays the girl's mother. Her boyfriend, James Tupper,
plays the dad (they worked together previously on "Men in Trees" and fell in
love there). You may recognize either of them from the many TV shows they've
been in. The actresses who play the young girls are all very good, too. This
movie was really well done. It may be the best movie I have ever seen on
Lifetime.
It's really sad to read about the real-life story that was so similar to the
movie. I feel bad not just for the girl who was beat up, and her family, but for
the girls who did it because you have to figure they were abused before that.
Normal girls don't act that way, so they had a lot of anger coming from their
lives. It's so sad that anyone acts that way, and to be ruined at such a young
age is horrible.
What amazed me in both the movie and in real life is how the girls did not get
that much punishment. You will see in the movie why they don't get a very stern
punishment, but still, I think that they went way too easy on them. I just hope
the real-life ones learned their lessons and turned their lives around.
The movie tries to blame the internet and youtube, but even if there had been no
internet, no doubt the video would have ended up on TV and been bootlegged.
People are going to want to see sensationalized things like this. I guess it's
just part of human nature, like going to a freak show or stopping to watch a
traffic accident. The girls, and their families, are the ones to blame--not the
internet.
More Info:
Internet “hits” take on a whole new meaning in the Lifetime Original Movie, Girl Fight,
premiering Monday, October 3, at 9pm ET/PT. Inspired by a true story, Girl Fight follows the
story of 16-year old Haley Macklin (Jodelle Ferland) as she attempts to navigate the intimidating
halls of high school and discovers getting “in” with the popular senior girls is harder than she
expected.
Frustrated by feeling left out, Haley thinks nothing of it when she criticizes the seniors by
posting a note about them on a social network site. But when she comes to one of the senior’s
aid one afternoon, they strike up an unexpected friendship and Haley soon becomes wrapped up
in being part of their crowd, straining her relationship with her parents Melissa (Anne Heche)
and Ray (James Tupper) when she begins to come home late, talk back and disobey their rules.
Ultimately, the girls discover Haley’s online comments about them. Betrayed, they decide to
make her pay by ambushing her and beating her up on camera with plans to post the video online
to gain some Internet fame. Devastated by their daughter’s brutal beating and footage of it
surfacing online, Melissa and Ray put their hope into the authorities for justice in punishing
Haley’s former friends to help their daughter get her life back on track in this story about peer
pressure, media scrutiny and forgiveness.
Girl Fight is executive produced by Linda Berman (Crazy In Love), David Craig (Flight 93) and
Rocky Lang (Racing for Time). Harvey Kahn produced the film which is directed by Stephen
Gyllenhaal (Num3ers) from a teleplay written by Benita Garvin (The Killing Yard). Girl Fight is
produced by Front Street Productions Ltd for Lifetime Television.
ANNE HECHE
BIOGRAPHY
Anne Heche has proven herself as an exceptional actress in film, television, and stage. Her
talents have earned her critical praise, as well as, both Tony and Emmy award nominations.
Currently, Heche co-stars with Thomas Jane and Jane Adams in the HBO comedy-series Hung.
The third season will begin in October 2011. In 2007, Heche starred in the ABC series Men in
Trees as a female relationship guru who moves to Alaska to get over her philandering ex-fiancée,
only to discover herself surrounded by available men.
Heche earned her first primetime Emmy Award nomination for her portrayal of a drug-addicted
mother in the 2004 Lifetime Television, original movie Gracie’s Choice alongside Diane Ladd.
In 2005, Heche appeared in the Lifetime movie, Fatal Desire and the Hallmark Channel’s
holiday movie Silver Bells on CBS, which was seen by over 16 million viewers. She has created
memorable characters in several guest starring performances on hit shows including Nip/Tuck,
Everwood, Ally McBeal and HBO’s telefilm, If These Walls Could Talk, directed by Cher.
For film, Heche will next be seen in Rampart alongside Woody Harrelson, Steve Buscemi,
Sigourney Weaver and Ben Foster. The film will premiere at the Toronto International Film
Festival this September. Heche was last seen in Fox Searchlight Pictures’, Cedar Rapids,
opposite Sigourney Weaver, John C. Reilly and Ed Helms. The film premiered at the Sundance
Film Festival and was released on February 11, 2011. Heche was seen alongside Ashton
Kutcher in Anchor Bay’s Spread, directed by David Mackenzie. The film was released on
August 14, 2009. In 2004, Heche was seen opposite Nicole Kidman and Lauren Bacall in New
Line Cinema’s Birth, directed by Jonathan Glazer. Birth was screened at the 2004 Venice Film
Festival and the Deauville Film Festival.
Heche won The National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress for Barry
Levinson’s Wag the Dog, in which appeared opposite Robert DeNiro and Dustin Hoffman. In
the previous year she starred opposite Harrison Ford in Six Days Seven Nights. She starred with
Tommy Lee Jones in Volcano and achieved critical acclaim for her role in Donnie Brasco. She
co-starred in Gus Van Zant’s update of Psycho with Vince Vaughn and Julianne Moore and
Auggie Rose, alongside Jeff Goldblum, which was screened at the Montreal Film Festival. In
2002, Heche co-starred in the Denzel Washington drama, John Q and opposite Christina Ricci in
the Miramax film, Prozac Nation. Other film credits include Agnieska Holland’s The Third
Miracle opposite Ed Harris, The Juror with Demi Moore and Alec Baldwin, Walking and
Talking, The Wild Side, Twist of Fate, Pie in the Sky, Milk Money, The Investigator and I’ll Do
Anything.
In 2002, Heche made her Broadway debut in the critically acclaimed production of the Tony
Award-winning play Proof. She garnered rave reviews from theatre critics and the show was
extended, making it one of the longest running non-musical plays in recent history. She
triumphantly returned to Broadway in the Roundabout Theater stage production of Twentieth
Century in 2004. Her critically acclaimed performance opposite Alec Baldwin earned her a
Tony Award nomination for Best Lead Actress in a Play.
Also a writer and director, Heche wrote and directed a short feature entitled Reaching Normal,
for Showtime’s First Director Series, as well as the second installment of If These Walls Could
Talk II. In September 2001, Simon & Schuster published Anne’s autobiographical Call Me
Crazy, which appeared on The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times bestseller lists.
JAMES TUPPER
BIOGRAPHY
James Tupper is best known for his role as wildlife biologist “Jack Slattery” on the ABC
television series Men in Trees where he starred alongside his real-life sweetheart, Anne Heche.
The two reunite onscreen in Lifetime’s Girl Fight as parents to a 16-year-old whose friends
brutally beat her up on camera with plans to load the video online. Tupper will soon be seen in
ABC’s fall drama, Revenge. Other television credits for Tupper include starring as “Dr. Chris
Sands,” in the highly-rated NBC medical drama, Mercy, starring opposite Michelle Trachtenberg
and James Van Der Beek; a recurring role as the sexy “Dr. Andrew Perkins” on ABC’s Grey’s
Anatomy and the loveable philanthropist “Owen,” from Samantha Who.
Tupper impressive acting resume include roles on How I Met Your Mother, CSI: New
York, Gilmore Girls, Time of Your Life and Dr. Vegas. Tupper also starred in the Hallmark
Channel’s original movie Love’s Abiding Joy. Tupper enjoyed a starring role alongside
Hollywood elite Sissy Spacek and Alfred Woodard in Pictures of Hollis Woods for CBS and the
Hallmark Channel.
For film, Tupper starred opposite Zac Efron and Claire Danes as “Joseph Cotton,” the
title character’s best friend, in the screen-adaptation of the best-selling novel by Robert Kaplow,
Me and Orson Welles. Tupper most starred as “Rick,” the eco-fanatic boyfriend of Popper’s exwife
opposite Jim Carrey in the live-action family comedy film Mr. Popper’s Penguins. He also
recently completed filming Millenium’s Playing The Field with Uma Thurman, Catherine Zeta-
Jones, Dennis Quaid, and Jessica Biel. Tupper’s career-launching role in Joe Dirt led the
ruggedly handsome actor to a star role in the critically-acclaimed independent film, Peroxide
Passion, for which he won the Toronto Planet Indie Film Festival’s Best Actor Award. Other
star roles for Tupper have included the independent films For Heaven’s Sake, playing the son-inlaw
of Florence Henderson, and the biopic Who Flew?, playing legendary novelist “Ken Kesey”
during his time spent writing the award-winning One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. In addition
to star roles, Tupper co-conceived and wrote Loudmouth Soup, a fully-improvised film about
actors trying to make it in Hollywood, which was released in 2005.
The soft-spoken heartbreaker has been named one of TV Guide Magazine’s Sexiest Stars
and US Weekly’s Sexiest TV Men, but did not always aspire to be an actor. Born and raised just
north of New England in Nova Scotia, Canada, he describes his hometown as a place with oldfashioned
charm. Growing up with four brothers and sisters, he played street hockey and learned
carpentry from his father and grandfather. Tupper was devoted to football throughout childhood,
and in high school played on the varsity team. After graduating high school, Tupper traveled to
London and Africa, finally residing in the foothills of Mount Kenya where he worked on a
locally-owned coffee and tea farm.
Inspired by his experiences, he started and successfully ran the Blue Shoe Theatre
Company upon his return home, which toured Nova Scotia schools with a play about fitting in
and feeling different. The money he made helped fund his education, first at Concordia
University in Montreal and then at Rutgers University in New Jersey where he received a
Masters in Fine Arts.
After Rutgers, Tupper moved to New York where he was immediately spotted by talent
agents and managers. While there, he produced and starred in the off-Broadway play After the
Rain, which won the Moliere Prize in Paris the same year. Tupper has been adding to his body
of work ever since.
On top of taking on television and film roles, Tupper continues to pursue his passion for
the stage. He has performed in King Lear opposite James Gammon and The Things We Do For
Love at the Odyssey Theatre in Los Angeles.
When not on set, the father of two enjoys relaxing in his Los Angeles home with Anne,
his sons, and beloved Great Dane, Harold. Having worked as a carpenter between acting jobs for
15 years, he still enjoys building things for his friends, as well as bird-watching, jogging and
playing the guitar.
CREDITS
Produced by Front Street Productions, Ltd for Lifetime.
THE CAST
Melissa -Anne Heche
Ray -James Tupper
Haley -Jodelle Ferland
Alexa -Tess Atkins
Kristin -Keely Purvis
Lauren -Genevieve Buechner
Taylor -Taylor Hui
Becca Caley Jane Dimmock
Marylou -Linda Darlow
Dana -Chanelle Peloso
PRODUCTION
Executive Producer Linda Berman
Executive Producer David Craig
Executive Producer Rocky Lang
Producer Harvey Kahn
Director Stephen Gyllenhaal
Writer Benita Garvin
Director of Photography Adam Sliwinski
Casting by Susie Glicksman
Casting by Candice Elzinga
Edited by Neil Mandelberg, A.C.E.
Music by Nick Urata
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