Plot
River Phoenix stars in this period drama about a young man, naive in some ways and worldly in others, who learns an important lesson about the nature of beauty. In the fall of 1963, Eddie Birdlace (River Phoenix) is an 18-year-old Marine Corps volunteer who is about to ship out with three of his buddies for a tour of duty in Viet Nam. Planning a massive blowout for their last night in San Francisco, Eddie, his buddies, and a number of other Marines set up a contest they call a "dog fight." Each man contributes $50 to the pot, and whoever can bring the ugliest date for their meeting that night at the bar wins the prize. Not having much luck finding a suitable contestant, Eddie finds a plain and slightly zaftig woman named Rose Feeney (Lili Taylor), who works in a coffeeshop and dreams of a career as a folk singer. Rose agrees to go out with Eddie, partly because she feels sorry for him, but as the evening wears on, Eddie finds himself growing fond of Rose and tries to worm his way out of taking her to the "party" he's told her so much about. When Rose learns the true nature of the contest, she is furious, not just for herself but for the other women who were cruelly and pointlessly humiliated; Eddie, severely chagrined, asks her out to dinner, hoping to somehow earn her forgiveness. Noted folk singer Holly Near appears as Rose's mother. ~ Mark Deming, RoviReview
One of the best films of River Phoenix's all-too-brief career, Dogfight was widely overlooked in its 1991 release. Like the relationship between its two protagonists, the film is an understated, nuanced affair, built on character development and interaction rather than showy romantic spectacle. Phoenix and Lili Taylor are terrifically subtle, rejecting the opportunity to stereotype their characters, a macho Marine and a plain poet. Thanks to their portrayals and Nancy Savoca's patient direction, Dogfight emerges as more a satisfying character study than a "lesson" film. From the outset, we know that Phoenix's Eddie isn't all bad, Taylor's Rose isn't at all ugly, and the two will end up teaching each other about life; but the joy of watching the film is witnessing the characters discover things about themselves, each other, and the world in general. Set against the early years of the Vietnam War, Dogfight echoes with tender, well-placed poignancy. In watching Rose and Eddie spend the night together, the audience seems to be witnessing the world's last oasis of sanity and understanding. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, RoviCast
- River Phoenix - Eddie Birdlace
- Lili Taylor - Rose Fenney
- Richard Panebianco - Berzin
- Anthony Clark - Okie Buele
- Mitchell Whitfield - Benjamin
Credit
Daniel Talpers - Art Director, Llewellyn Wells - Associate Producer, Marion Dougherty - Casting, Eugenie Bafaloukos - Costume Designer, Nancy Savoca - Director, John Tintori - Editor, Cathleen Summers - Executive Producer, Mason K. Daring - Composer (Music Score), Lester Cohen - Production Designer, Bobby Bukowski - Cinematographer, Richard Guay - Producer, Peter Newman - Producer, Jessica Lanier - Set Designer, Bob Comfort - Screenwriter| Dogboys (1998 Film), Dogadaj (1969 Film) | |
| Dogg Pound Chronicle: The Cleveland Edition (2007 Film), Doggie Adventure (1990 Film) |
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