A knockout scene by that grand old battler, John Huston.

The movie's bleak, but it's funnier than most comedies, and it suggests that life's toughness doesn't preclude joyfulness.

So you say to yourself, this Fat City is pretty damn realistic, even if you know in your heart that "realistic" and Hollywood should not be printed on the same page-otherwise paper ignites. Still, you're marveling at it.

Fat City is about our need for companionship in the face of life’s ongoing adversities.