Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

The film was still a fun one that will make you laugh and have you leaving the theater feeling like you just stole something valuable and got away with it.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

This movie benefits from its sweet and sensitive approach and mainly from Lili Taylor's incredibly likable performance. I absolutely root for this girl and wish I could have a real-life friend like her. The enthusiasm by which she talks about most things, her aspirations in life, even the music she listened to where reasons to fall in love with this character. Unfortunately, I can't say the same about River Phoenix's character, a character I felt unable to empathize with as you do not get a true explanation as to why he'd previously behaved so callously, you do not get a big enough insight into his character, something to show his humanity, his fears, ambitions or insecurities. And I think that is because while Rose is such a driven and opinionated young girl, Eddie's character is the exact opposite, a guy frustrated with his situation for a reason he himself can't really explain. This makes their romance believable however, as you can see Eddie's attraction towards this girl's optimistic and at the same time strong aura. When their date comes to an end however, Eddie seems to choose to forget about this encounter and return to his previous life of bullshit-loaded tomfoolery, in a way a protective mechanism when entering the world of blood and horror that was Vietnam back then. He returns from war, having potentially lost his mates, seeming somewhat changed (if that) and enters Rose's café to see Rose again, hugging her and remembering that one night of pure sincerity in an otherwise bullshit-filled way of living.

While the characters that were created for Taylor and Phoenix to play were (IMHO) two-dimensional, the performances by both took these roles above and beyond and turned them into something that, while at times bordered on cliché phrases used by either a girl into the music of the 60's, or a jarhead, as it were, were utterly believable and seemingly natural.Also, on a different note, I was taken aback by how River slipped into this role so seamlessly. It was great to have seen some movies of his and to think I had a sort of grasp on potential roles, being type-cast, but then to see him in this and see how he truly made the role his own, and how he came across, no, he was, so very genuine.

Sometimes films just click - and this is a film that had everything right - the right actors cast in the right roles, the right screenplay, the right direction and the right story line. The result is an absolutely unforgettable film that takes you on a delightful roller-coaster ride of emotions that you will want to experience again and again. The performance of River Phoenix and Lili Taylor make this film timeless.The storyline is pretty much this - young marines on the eve of shipping out to the eventual destination of Vietnam stopping over in San Francisco with an pretty sick party idea - a competition with prize money for who can bring the ugliest woman. The real essence of the story begins when the date of one young marine finds out the true purpose of her presence at the party and stands up to him - verbally ripping him to shreds before storming out with as much dignity as she can muster - and his immediate true remorse and shame - resulting in his pursuit of the girl he initially wanted to use as part of a cruel competition but ends up falling deeply for.I have seen a few of River Phoenix's films and i have to say after experiencing him in the role of Eddie Birdlace it is absolutely impossible to imagine any other actor that could come close to presenting us this initially downright unlikeable character in such an layered and completely charming way. Even his role in Stand by Me pales in comparison with what he has managed to pull off here. Though the character of Birdlace represents the young, cocky, male macho teen generation on the brink of manhood - with a large capacity for insensitivity when it comes to the opposite sex - he effortlessly manages to reveal layer by layer the hidden sensitivity and sweetness of this character that only a person like Rose could bring out. He manages to convey emotion in a 2 second look that the majority of actors would not be able to achieve in an entire film. I think that River never looked sexier or played a character so detached from who he was as a person in real life - but who the audience could believe so easily that it wasn't acting - the mark of a true artist - imagine what he could have achieved had he not left us so young.As for Lili Taylor - one word - AMAZING - this woman was born to act! Lili Taylor plays the character of Rose in an ugly duckling role that has you wishing by the end of the film that you had a smidgen Rose's appeal and true beauty. A young girl on the brink of womanhood who while she embodies all the insecurities that a non-pretty girl at that age has towards the opposite sex, she nevertheless chooses to hope, trust and put herself out there in order to experience life and not let it pass her by stuck in her mother's diner - even after a humiliating experience.The way the film takes you on the characters journey together throughout the evening is believable and natural - you begin to truly like Eddie and see why Rose is attracted to him and you begin to LOVE Rose even more. The story progresses in such a way that you could totally believe that two such different people could fall in love (real love) in the space of a night. The intimate scenes between Eddie and Rose are full of the angst, hesitancy and downright passion that only first love can bring. In my opinion the ending is appropriate and respectful of the type of love the two discovered on that fateful first night.I repeat that it is a movie that will stay with you and one that you will want to re-visit again and again - a film that i consider a true masterpiece of the simplicity and power of human emotion and what can happen when people get down to just being themselves and taking a chance of opening up to another human being.

When I heard the title "Dogfight" and knew that it had something to do with the war in Vietnam, I could never think that it would be this kind of movie. Normally that word is used to describe the battle between two fighter pilots, so I was more or less thinking in that way (although I know all too well that the Vietnamese didn't have a fighter jet). But it wasn't, this was a romantic drama.I could never imagine that it would be a movie about four friends who play a cruel game, which they call 'Dogfight', with some unsuspecting women. On the night before they are shipped to Vietnam in 1963, they will seek a woman to go to a party with and the one who finds the ugliest, wins a prize. Eddie finds Rose, a nice girl who works in her mother's coffee shop and who likes folk music. She's happy to accompany him, but when she sees through the game, she thoroughly hates him. But Eddie has already started to like her and feels bad about what he has done to her. He follows her home and will do everything possible to win back her heart...If you are hoping for some gun fights or big explosions, than this movie will be a big disappointment. This is nothing more or less than a romantic drama with the Vietnam war (far away) in the background. Does that mean it is no good? Certainly not. River Phoenix, Richard Panebianco, Anthony Clark and Mitchell Whitfield did a nice job portraying the four friends and Lili Taylor was nice as Rose. I would even say that it is there performances that save this movie, because the story on itself, even though not bad, isn't exactly the most original one ever. But it's worth watching and it's a relief to see that there are still directors in Hollywood who can do better than to put some cheap action in a movie to make it more 'interesting'. Overall I liked this movie and that's why I give it a 7/10.