History Film / FistFight

!!This film provided examples of:

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Strickland may be a hard-ass, but he does care deep down and is ''trying'' to get students to make something of themselves. There are various times when it's implied he does truly see his fellow teachers as friends who he trusts to look out for him as he does them. Several times through the film, he does cool off and be willing to call the fight off, though Andy stupidly keeps sparking it in one form or another. After the titled fist fight, he helps Andy get to the hospital for the birth of his second child, and by the end of the film, he even comes back for the next semester despite contemplating leaving the job earlier. admitting to Andy that he would miss the students otherwise. [[spoiler: It's even implied he set up the fight both to get Andy to stand up for himself and to get the school some much-needed funding through media attention from their fight.]]

* KarmaHoudini: Mainly because it's the last day of school, none of the cold-hearted prankster students ever face comeuppance. [[TheBadGuyWins Neil even ends up getting rewarded by Andy with a MacBook Pro]].

** Campbell not wanting to fight Strickland is understandable, but the absurd lengths that he will go to to avoid the fight really do not paint him in a sympathetic light.

* WorldOfJerkass: From the roudy teenagers to the equally dysfunctional faculty, this trope is in full effect. Even outside the school, the other characters (except Campbell's wife and daughter) aren't much better. Even Campbell himself has proven himself to be a DirtyCoward, with no qualms against framing others for drug possession and staging a prison fight.

* AdultsAreUseless: With the exception of Strickland, every adult is either spineless, incompetent, or both. [[spoiler:Campbell himself manages to avoid this trope after [[GrewASpine growing a spine]].]]

* WorldOfJerkass: From the roudy teenagers to the equally dysfunctional faculty, this trope is in full effect. Even outside the school, the other characters (except Campbell's wife and daughter) aren't much better. Even Campbell himself has proven himself to be a DirtyCoward, with no qualms against framing others for drug possession.

* WorldOfJerkass: From the roudy teenagers to the equally dysfunctional faculty, this trope is in full effect. Even outside the school, everyone else (except Campbell's wife and daughter) isn't much better.

** Campbell. He wastes thousands of dollars buying two [=MacBook=] Pros for other people, gets picked on by students in or not in his class and Strickland is after him.

* ScaryBlackMan: '''Strickland''' full stop. Near all the faculty is terrified of him and most of the students aren't even willing to try any absurd pranks on him, save one smart aleck who hacks the VCR while he's trying to show a civil war documentary and keeps turning it on and off. Once Strickland finds out, he smashes the student's [=iPhone=]. When a fellow student gives a spare to continue the prank, Strickland has enough, smashes the TV, leaves the room '', comes back with an ax and chops the student's seat''.
* SuckySchool: Roosevelt High School. The students are incredibly unruly; the staff is either too spineless and incompetent to manage them or going too overboard with their methods; and the school board decides to lay off ''all'' the teachers to save funding. Not to mention the security guard, who couldn't care less about his job unless the incident occurred ''during'' school hours. [[spoiler:Strickland's fight with Campbell does help the school go back on track and obtain enough funding.]]

* WellIntentionedExtremist: Strickland seems to, at least to some degree, think that getting into a fight will actually help Campbell grow some balls, as Campbell snitching on Strickland, while also personal to some degree, he saw as completely spineless. The ending also implies that [[spoiler:he did it to draw attention to how bad that public school had gotten so they would get the funding they needed]].

* SuckySchool: Roosevelt High School. The students are incredibly unruly; the staff (bar Strickland) is too spineless and incompetent to manage them; and the school board decides to lay off ''all'' the teachers to save funding.

* ButtMonkey: Campbell. He wastes thousands of dollars buying two [=MacBook=] Pros for other people, gets picked on by students in or not in his class and Strickland is after him.

* AgeInappropriateArt: Campbell's daughter Ally's talent show routine she wanted his help with is an uncensored performance of "I Don't Fuck With You" by Music/BigSean directed at her bully Trisha. Surprised at first, Campbell just rolls along with it while Ally's teacher desperately tries to literally pull the plug on them.

** He also says, [[Film/{{Friday}} "you got knocked the fuck out."

** He also says [[Film/{{Friday}} "you got knocked the fuck out"]].

* AnAesop: Words have consequences, and weaseling out of a situation can make it worse.

* TheBadGuyWins: [[spoiler: Strickland wins the fight, though because his victory assuaged his anger he acts kinder towards Campbell and the film ends with the two on good terms]].

-->'''Student''': [[RefugeInAudacity I still came, motherfuckers!]]

-->'''Principal Tyler''': I've got a '''goddamn''' mariachi band following me around wherever I go! (''scene cuts to band playing outside his office'')

* CurbStompCushion: [[spoiler: Campbell gets knocked out by Strickland, but he manages to get several blows in first.]]

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Strickland may be a hard-ass, but he does care deep down and is ''trying'' to get students to make something of themselves. There are various times when it's implied he does truly see his fellow teachers as friends who he trusts to look out for him as he does them. Several times through the film he does cool off and be willing to call the fight off though Andy stupidly keeps sparking it in one form or another. After the titled fist fight, he helps Andy get to the hospital for the birth of his second child and by the end of the film, even comes back for the next semester despite contemplating leaving the job earlier. Admitting to Andy that he would miss the students otherwise. [[spoiler: It's even implied he set up the fight both to get Andy to stand up for himself and to get the school some much needed funding though media attention from their fight.]]

--> '''Holly:''' Isn't it weird though seeing these kids grow up then one day it's just like BAM, They're 18 and you can fuck them?
--> '''Campbell:''' ...No.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: While the two are in jail, Campbell convinces a rough-looking prisoner that Strickland wants to beat him up, and tells him to wait for a cue. He then goes back to Strickland... only to find out Strickland has decided to let bygones-be-bygones and call off the fight. He ends up triggering the fight with the prisoner anyway, and when he finds out Campbell set him up, he calls the fight back on.

* TeensAreMonsters: Thanks to a lack of discipline and law enforcement as well as access to paint, rope, glue, horses, lubricant and smartphones that can manipulate outdated technology.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Campbell gets '''''completely''''' fed up when he realizes that not only are his friends fired, but that he's been forced to wait outside well past his interview because the Principal and Superintendent were too busy talking about a ''fishing trip''. As such he tells them off and calls them out when they refuse to tell him what cutbacks they've been planning considering he has every right to ask as a teacher who will be affected.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Strickland seems to, at least to some degree, think that getting into a fight will actually help Campbell grow some balls, as Campbell snitching on Strickland, while also personal to some degree, he saw as completely spineless. The ending also implies that [[spoiler: he did it to draw attention to how bad that public school had gotten so they would get the funding they needed.]]

* AgeInappropriateArt: Campbell's daughter Ally's talent show routine she wanted his help with is an uncensored performance of "I Don't Fuck With You" by Big Sean directed at her bully Trisha. Surprised at first, Campbell just rolls along with it while Ally's teacher desperately tries to literally pull the plug on them.