The Boss of It All (2007)

Spoilers ahead for Sweet Girl.

The logline for Sweet Girl is,

For the most part, this is true. Sweet Girl centers on Ray Cooper, a man consumed by revenge after big pharmaceutical company BioPrime shelves the life-saving medicine for his wife, who is dying of cancer. After she dies, Ray sets out to kill BioPrime’s CEO and ensure whoever had a hand in his wife’s death suffers. What follows is a years-long warpath during which multiple assassins try to kill him, the FBI gets involved, and his daughter Rachel -- the titular “Sweet Girl” -- is dragged along for the ride. 

For the first two acts, this movie recycles the tired revenge trope: a dad/husband must avenge the death of his wife/daughter. It seems this film is yet another hypermasculine revenge flick. The central protagonist is a violent male who sets out to avenge his wife and protect his daughter, the former of which is fridged in the first ten minutes of the movie. This was frustrating to watch because of the way women are used only as props to bolster the male protagonist’s story. Amanda Cooper only exists to die and send Ray on his path toward vengeance. Rachel is only there to keep Ray human and give him someone to protect. Ray Cooper is a stagnant character, stuck in his ways and certainly heading for doom. As soon as he makes his first kill, you begin thinking that this can only end badly.