"Fright 'Club'"
by Scott Mantz

"Fight Club"
Brad Pitt, Edward Norton
Directed by David Fincher

"Edward Norton and Brad Pitt take male bonding to a painful level in "Fight Club'"

There's no question that the 60's were an amazing decade. Anything and everything that happened during that time continues to leave it's mark on politics and culture. The children who were born during the baby boom era of the 40's were raised to think that everything was as picture perfect as a Norman Rockwell painting. When these kids matured and took a closer look at the canvas, they saw cracks in the paint, put their feet down, and started a societal and artistic countercultural revolution. No doubt about it--the 60's generation had a voice, and it had a purpose.

For the generation that followed, the so-called "Generation-X", things weren't quite so simple. It was a time when the power and influence of art and entertainment was at an all-time high. Between movies, TV, music, art, magazines, and the internet, we're constantly bombarded with so much information, it's a miracle our heads don't explode. While we can absorb some things, there are others that we instinctively and insensitively tune out with mind-numbing jadedness. As a result, most Gen-Xers wind up coasting through their lives without any clear direction or focus. It's no wonder why so many of us hit our late 20's and suddenly ask ourselves "Who am I? How did I get into this rut? What's the use of getting myself into so much debt just to feel trapped in my mind-numbing job?"

This may sound familiar, whether you've asked yourself those very same questions or if you've seen the recent "American Beauty". In that film, Kevin Spacey receives a wake-up call that inspires him to re-evaluate his priorities. That's nothing compared to "Fight Club", where the wake-up call packs all the explosive power of a 50 megaton bomb. Ambitious, fearless, gut-wrenching, and dynamic, David Fincher's stylistic new film pulls out all the stops, stretches the limits, and breaks through the barriers with an astounding sonic boom. One thing is for sure--after this "Fight", you will never be able to look at soap, liposuction, and split-personality disorder in the same way ever again!

The center of our focus is a nameless Narrator (Edward Norton). He is stricken with insomnia and sleepwalks through his miserable, boring, sexless life. His only source of pleasure comes from his compulsive catalogue shopping sprees. He starts going to self-help groups ranging from alcoholics anonymous to testicular cancer just to feel loved, and he hooks up with fellow gate-crasher Marla (Helena Bonham Carter). On a business trip, he meets Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), a hygienically-challenged soap manufacturer. After his apartment mysteriously goes up in flames, he moves in with Tyler and forms the first Fight Club--a secret club where jaded, lost, and insensitive worker bees can pulverize the crap out of each other and finally put some meaning back into their worthless, boring lives.

Looking back on Brad Pitt's career, one thing is for sure. He clearly does not enjoy playing the pretty-boy type. After sleeping through his role in "Meet Joe Black" (as did the rest of us), he turns in his gutsiest and rawest performance since the wacky "12 Monkeys". He's filthy, despicable, and deplorable, yet you still can't take your eyes off him. Edward Norton turns in another great performance and proves he is hands down the finest actor of his generation. He combines the maniacal wit of "Primal Fear" with the intelligent authority of "American History X". The result is one ticking time-bomb of a role. He is a man on the edge, and his situation is something that too many of us will probably be able to relate to. While his solution is better left for fiction, the irony of his situation calls for one helluva ride.

Director David Fincher has solidified a place for himself as the penultimate director of the 90's. The dark, moody, and atmospheric style of his 1995 film "Seven" proved to be as influential in the 90's as Ridley Scott's "Blade Runner" was in the 80's. In "Fight Club", he continues to break new ground. Among the film's finer moments finds Norton walking through an IKEA-like catalog as he furnishes his apartment. If you've ever wondered what it would be like to be on a doomed airliner, you can stop wondering. The film flies along at a dizzying pace, but pay close attention--there are plenty of clues that lead to the best surprise ending to come along in a film since "The Sixth Sense".

While I can relate to the film on a certain level, it goes off on a tangent I just can't follow. The raw and spontaneous feel of the flight clubs evolve into a unified, cohesive, and polished terrorist community. This requires a huge leap of faith I just couldn't take. Fortunately, the overall quality of the film is beyond impressive and makes up for this minor flaw.

Not since Oliver Stone's "Natural Born Killers" came out in 1994 has a film been released to such intense controversy. In the aftermath of the Columbine tragedy, Hollywood has been under the gun (no pun intended) for it's negative influence on society. Let's be honest. Hollywood does influence society, but only to a certain degree. The mere fact that classic lines like "Beam me up, Scotty" and "Show me the money" found their way into popular culture proves this point. Better yet, just peruse your local Elvis convention and count the number of people dressed up like the King (in his fat years, no less!). Yes, movies entertain and inspire us, but it takes a very disturbed person to walk into a school and kill a bunch of innocent students. You can't blame Hollywood for that.

Ultimately, citing "Fight Club" as "irresponsible filmmaking" for its glorification of violence is about as absurd as citing "American History X" for its glorification of the skinhead movement. Don't take it so seriously. "Fight Club" is just a movie. However, if you are going to get any messages from it, there is a positive one that's loud and clear: wake up.

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