This Day in Theaters: Oct. 15, 1999

Fight Club (1999)

First rule of "Fight Club" is that you do not talk about "Fight Club". The second rule of "Fight Club" is you do not talk about "Fight Club"! Apparently movie audiences didn't pay attention because in 1999 all I heard my buddies talking about was "Fight Club"; and it happened all over again when it came out on DVD. However, I think a lot of my friends enjoyed it purely for the fact that on its surfaced it revolved around guy fighting each other and creating an underground army. So when I finally saw it a few years later I really had a chance to grasp the anti-consumerism message at the core of the film and understand why it was presented in the way it was. The plot involves a boring corporate fellow played by Ed Norton who is dealing with some emotional issues when he meets a soap salesman played by Brad Pitt. After his apartment blows up he moves in with Pitt and they eventually form a fight club in which men bare-knuckle box each other. From there the club slowly morphs into a cult like revolutionary group led by Pitt with the aims of taking down those responsible for America's material obsession. Throughout we also get to experience a love triangle between Pitt, Norton, and an equally depressed Helena Bonham Carter. Underneath all of this we are fed some subtle, and not so subtle, messages about how we should not live our lives trapped by the almighty dollar and other influences and how we should be free.

Bob Graham of the San Francisco Chronicle was more than pleased:

"'Fight Club' delivers a sucker punch to the audience and then pulls the rug out from under it. It is sensational." 

Andrew O'Hehir of Salon.com didn't quite fancy this one:

"'Fight Club' is a distinctively dense and often hilarious film, but in the end it’s nonsense."
 

I'm cool cause I think I am but really don't know

I will like to add what many other reviews state and that it "Fight Club" looks cool. David Fincher brought his A-game to the directors chair and made something the stimulates the eyes. But beyond that I don't really get this film. I thought it took itself a bit too seriously at sometimes and went for the tongue in cheek approach at others which brought out a mixed tone. Do we take Brad Pitt's actions and ideals seriously or is he an over the top caricature of the hipsters of the time?  And if you've seen "Fight Club" feel free to answer that question. Or do you just like it for the fights and action scenes and tell people you get the film when in reality you have no idea what it was trying to get you to think? I think many of its fans are the latter cause at its core the movie is a bit over the top. I usually judge films on if they are entertaining regardless of plausibility but this time around the premise kind of brought down the entertainment value. To be honest if it was a movie about just a fight club it would've been better but being as it was based off a book that was not doable in this instance. I only recommend this for the fact that I want to know what people think about it and it is worthless on TV so give it a rent but don't be surprised if you have no desire to see it again.

IMDb Score: 8.9

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 81%