Fight Night

I don't get it. Or, maybe a little, but it just made me sad. Three generations of mental disease, like a case study in neuroses compounded by underdeveloped prefrontal cortices: Swiv, the narrator, a hyperprecocious and ultra-hyper-anxious nine-year-old; Mom (not much of one), a learned-helplessness pity party who mostly just ignores Swiv; and Grandma, who I guess is supposed to be the Live Your Life To The Fullest influence, a happy-go-lucky free spirit—except she requires pretty much constant caretaking by Swiv, the only responsible one in the bunch.

Everything looms large to Swiv: who, at age nine, has any perspective? Who understands what matters? So to her everything is a Big Deal, every little issue a reinforcement of her anxiety... and there are lots of little issues. Grandma just laughs everything off, maybe trying to set an example for Swiv that there is joy in life, but in practice just adding to Swiv's workload and stress. Then, at the end (this is not a spoiler), a new baby for Mom to ignore and for Swiv to caretake.

The humor eludes me. The rat-a-tat stream-of-consciousness narration, with no pauses for breath, was almost too effective in conveying anxiety: it just made me feel hopeless.

Unrated, because once again I'm not the target audience. [Two for two in 2022. I wonder if I can go a whole year without assigning a rating?]