Bad, Bad Movie

I would never have rented a movie called "Fight Club" if it didn't star Ed Norton and Brad Pitt. Both of them have terrific screen presence and seem to choose decent film projects, for the most part. I can take a fair amount of blood and guts, too, so it seemed OK. It wasn't OK.

Two big problems: First of all, the whole thing is about men who can't feel alive unless they're getting the shit beat out of them—and beating the shit out of someone else, too, while they're at it. It was beyond disturbing and put me in one of those frames of mind where I think that however deep down, men have a powerful innate capacity—and, worse, a need—for violence. I don't usually think this way, and I don't usually make generalizations like "Men do this" or "Men don't do that," but that's what this film made me do.

Second problem: Nothing pisses me off more than watching most of an overly long, extremely violent and upsetting movie and then having them pull some weird surreal crap right near the end. I won't give anything away (as if anyone is going to want to see this movie based on my review), but everything is going along very realistically until—pow!—suddenly it's an entirely different movie altogether. Sheesh.

Comments

[GoingLikeSixty]

One of my top ten favorites, and it's the twist at the end that is best.

Was it really "bad, bad?" How many stars out of four?

[Janeen]

I haven't seen it, and wondered what you would think (I saw it in your queue). I think I'll pass.

[Jen Rodis]

"Both of them have terrific screen presence" ...Oh, is that what they're calling perfectly chiseled asses these days?

Fight Club was disturbing to me, and I don't think that I'll ever see it again, but I think it was a fascinating look at the hollowness of many people's lives and the caveman-like thrill pure, reason-free violence gives you.

Well, not *you*, but you know what I mean.

[Karen]

No, good looks isn't what I meant. I do think Brad Pitt is hunky, Ed Norton not so much. But by "screen presence" I mean something less tangible, just something certain actors have where they really take over the screen. Something akin to charisma, maybe? Travolta has it too, and many others.

[Tammy]

"Second problem: Nothing pisses me off more than watching most of an overly long, extremely violent and upsetting movie and then having them pull some weird surreal crap right near the end."

Oh, that. Yeah, that's so people who really just wanted some gratuitous violence can justify it to themselves by saying it's "art".

(See also Kill Bill, vols I and II. I was once talking with someone about those movies, and she -- clearly a fan -- got all "But the violence was STYLIZED. It was an HOMAGE." And I was thinking to myself, "Oh, sweetie. You've never used either of those words before in your life. Go back to curling your eyelashes.")

[Karen]

I don't even mind violence in movies that are well-done, like many Mafia movies. And this in fact WAS violence for a reason -- it was the point of the whole story -- but then they had to add this ridiculous twist to an otherwise realistic movie. ARGH

I liked the Kill Bills because I have a major girl-crush on Uma Thurman.

[pam]

Fight Club is on my list of Movies in the Zeitgeist. Along with the two Kill Bills, The Big Leibowski and Godfather III. It's not that I long to see them. It's that at some level, they become necessary to know just to keep up with cultural references.

[Karen]

I don't know about Godfather III, but certainly I and II. And I would certainly add Pulp Fiction to that list (which I happened to like). It would appear that I need to see Napoleon Dynamite too, for the same reason. Sigh.

[wendi]

wow, you didn't get the movie at all.

It wasn't an amazing, Best Picture movie, but you totally, completely missed the point.

Try doing a decent google search, talking to someone who deals with Dissocaitive Identity Disorder, and then rewatch the movie.
It can really change your perspective on a few things.

[Karen]

Just because I didn't like it doesn't mean I didn't get it. I found it very upsetting to watch, and I thought that the lead-up to the "big surprise" at the end was poorly done. That's all, just my opinion.

[jon]

you really didn't get the movie at all... that's rather disappointing. Did you read the book?