The best version of this movie would compete for best picture. They Fight has all the elements you need for a crowd pleasing life affirming tale: cute kids, boxing as life metaphor, Andre Holland. But Rocky flew now first, and They Fight will have to fight for their movie to be loved in a similar way, though it probably needs a little more time in the script gym.
Walt Manigan (Andre Holland) is finally out on bail from his prison sentence. No one was there to pick him up, so it’s up to himself to forge a brand new life so his ex Ketta (Samira Wiley) will let him see his son regularly again. Using the only skill he has, Walt goes to his DC roots, asking his friend Slim (Wendell Pierce) to let him help train 8th grade kids Peanut (Anthony B. Jenkins) and Quincey (Toissaint Francois Battiste) to box their way into a new life…for everyone.
Sheldon Candis correctly surmises he has something here. He wants They Fight to feel as big as that title: about a part of Washington DC far away from 1600 Pennsylvania avenue, and the day to day grind living takes on the body and soul there. But at 93 minutes, he’s jabbing when he should be going for the body. There’s no way to build up each of his main characters in any satisfactory way. We have to jump from Slim’s school issues to Peanut’s attempts to date to Quincey’s struggles with his mom to Samira raising a bunch of foster kids to Walt and his attempts to return to a real life, and back again. 5 stories in 90 minutes? 20 minutes isn’t enough time per tale to deliver to really show how They Fight, all day, every day, and have it be fully rewarding. Most of the time it ends up an unfocused jumble, especially the “wait, already?” ending.
But Candis didn’t shortchange us on Andre Holland, the main reason to watch They Fight. Holland makes Walt’s journey completely worth it because of his criminally underrated talents. You can feel Walt at war with himself, trying to suppress the bad parts that got him in trouble and channel them to better use. Brick by brick he finds little victories to keep himself going. Andre makes us really feel elation from those wins, but never once does Holland make us think this path he’s on is easy, or will have a happy ending. Sounds like a real character amongst a sea of broad types, hence why when the kids start winning, its actually the coach we are happiest for.
I hope this does well enough that Hulu let’s Sheldon Candis try again. Just as a TV show next time. That’s more room for real characters and a bigger story, letting They Fight really earn that title like the real Walt earned his comeback. Props to you sir, especially your reward of Andre Holland playing you in a movie!