TV Review: FX Boxing Drama ‘Lights Out’ Balances Cliché With Character

Submitted by BrianTT on January 11, 2011 - 11:48am

CHICAGO – What happens after the final bell rings in the life of a boxer? FX’s drama centers around a character who goes from having a bloody cut above his eye sewn shut to making breakfast for his daughters within the first few scenes. Hollywood has long loved the saga of the pugilist (in films like “The Fighter,” “Million Dollar Baby.” and “Rocky”) but FX attempts to capture the beloved story on the small screen in “Lights Out,” debuting tonight, January 11th, 2011.

TV Rating: 3.5/5.0

Patrick ‘Lights’ Leary (Holt McCallany) finished his career with a controversial and bloody fight. After one-too-many concussions for his loving wife (Catherine McCormack), Lights retired and we meet him again five years later, doing “what ever happened to” interviews, trying to get a commentator gig, and dealing with the fact that his brother (Pablo Schreiber) seems to be pissing away the little bit left of his finances. His dad (Stacy Keach) used to be his trainer and seems a bit lost himself. Boxers don’t have retirement plans. How does the former champ deal with common mid-life crises?

Lights Out
Photo credit: FX

Lights could clearly use some focus as he forgets to take his daughter to school on time, hysterically giving the teacher signed boxing gloves as an apology, forgets his social security number, and gets canned from a bingo gig for reading the wrong number. Smartly, none of it is played too melodramatically. “Lights Out” could have been the tragic tale of a former champ reduced to barely being recognized — and that’s part of it — but the writing is crisp and well-paced enough that it never feels a sob story. And, to be honest, it’s quickly clear that Lights is going to mount a comeback attempt.

Lights Out
Photo credit: FX

It’s not long before Lights learns that his brother is in even deeper financial trouble than first assumed after the IRS pays him a visit. Will Lights be forced into the ring again? Will he be drawn into playing muscle for some local “businessmen” (including the always-great Bill Irwin). And what if he gets a chance to correct the wrongs of that final fight? Lights doesn’t seem to have the passion to be a fighter (and he has the “Pugilistic Dementia” that should definitely keep him from going in the ring) but he may be forced to pick up his gloves not through passion but need. The best writing on “Lights Out” portrays a man pushed back and forth by situations outside of his control and trying to figure out his next move, not unlike a fighter in a ring getting beat up by life but refusing to hit the mat.

Just as Wahlberg and Stallone were essential to their boxing films, a lot of “Lights Out” falls on the shoulders of character actor McCallany, a man you’ll surely recognize from dozens of small roles. It’s great to see a lesser-known actor given a part this juicy and absolutely nailing it. McCallany is great. It can be tough to be both believable as a powerful athlete and a family man but McCallany has a depth of character that feels genuine. Everyone who falls for “Lights Out” — and I do think FX probably has a hit on their hands — will do so because of McCallany’s likability and believability.

Sadly, McCallany is vastly superior to everyone around him. McCormack is beautiful but she seems miscast at first (an extremely tenuous accent for the British actress doesn’t help) and Schreiber offsets McCallany’s realism with line-readings that feel forced. Neither are comfortable yet in their roles, but they could eventually get there. Stacy Keach is, of course, great. He seems born to play a boxing trainer.

It would be difficult for a show like “Lights Out” to avoid cliche and so it feels like the writers just gave up on doing so and dove in head first. Way too much of the dialogue sounds pulled from the “boxing fiction handbook” and it’s the moments that feel fresh (like the bingo and school scenes or the idea that a retired champ could become nothing more than hired muscle) that stand out. We’ve seen the story of a boxer against the ropes too many times to revisit it every week without a new angle to make it interesting. If “Lights Out” can focus on the everyday truth of its lead character instead of the cliche of his comeback story then it could be one of the more intriguing dramas of the season. It needs a bit more training, but it could eventually win the fight.

“Lights Out” stars Holt McCallany, Catherine McCormack, Pablo Schreiber, Stacy Keach, and Bill Irwin. It premieres on FX on Tuesday, January 11th, 2011 at 9pm CST.