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"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.

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