The Movie Guys: Intense ‘Fight Club’ is a bloody good film

Friday, Oct. 15, 1999 | 9:17 a.m.

The Movie Guys, starring Jeff Howard and Dave Neil, appears Fridays in the Sun (o be seen on the 11 a.m. Friday newscast on KVVU Channel 5. You can also read thei magazine. Plus, check them out online at lasvegassun.com/sun/sunlife/ movies andm

Grades: Jeff, B; Dave, B-.

Starring: Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Helena Bonham Carter, Meat Loaf and Jared Leto.

Directed by: David Fincher.

Screenplay by: Jim Uhls.

Rated: R for profanity, graphic violence, sexual and adult situations.

Running time: 120 minutes.

Playing at: Regal Cinemas Texas Station 18, Regal Cinemas Village Square 18, Regal Cinemas Boulder Station 11, Regal Cinemas Colonnade 14, Las Vegas Drive-In, Cinedome 12 Henderson, Century Orleans 12, Rancho Santa Fe 16, UA Showcase mall, UA Green Valley, UA Rainbow Promenade 10.

Synopsis:

This dark tale follows a godforsaken young man (Edward Norton) who discovers that his rage at living in a world filled with failure and lies cannot be comforted by an empty consumer culture. Oddly, he finds relief in the form of secret after-hours boxing matches, known as "Fight Club," held in the basements of bars. His newfound friend and the brainchild behind the club is Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), who thinks he has found a way to live beyond the confined lifestyle that society dictates. But in Tyler's world there are no rules, no limits, no brakes.

Dave: Leave it to the dark mind and stylistic nature of David Fincher to fill the minds of mainstream audiences with the notion that barbaric acts of violence are more therapeutic than damaging. "Fight Club" is a narration of Edward Norton's nameless character, who, when we are introduced to him has a gun forced into his mouth and is threatened by his complete-opposite counterpart, Tyler Durden (a lean-and-mean fighting machine in Brad Pitt). Yet it's here that Norton calmly explains to us his unusual circumstance and begins to recount his experiences with the self-destructive Tyler.

We flash back to Norton, whose employment is no longer rewarding. His life has become a sleepless travesty. Desperately searching for some sort of relief from the curious depression that has a tight grip on his ambitionless life, he visits a variety of self-help groups and begins to find peace of mind -- until he meets Marla Singer (a daring turn by British actress Helena Bonham Carter), a strung-out druggie who has the same harmless intention as his own: finding therapy through other people's misery. Her presence is threatening and it brings him to meet the mysterious Tyler.

Jeff: Life is unfulfilling for Norton's character, and the only therapy that does work is when he and Tyler begin to beat each other up one night in the back of a bar. They begin to hold regular sessions and word quickly spreads of a fight club, a place where men can have their problems beat out of them. It's a bloody solution. When the club is taken underground Tyler conceives a rules list for the club, with the first and second rule being, "You do not talk about Fight Club."

Tyler is a reject of society and he himself rejects society: He shuns all modern conveniences, appliances and personal possessions of any kind. To make his living, he sells distinctive handmade soap, made from the finest ingredients (one being the human fat stolen from liposuction clinics). As the club grows it spreads to other cities and soon Tyler takes on the status of a cult leader, injecting his anti-societal philosophy and strict dress code consisting of all-black attire. This begins to put a strain on the narrator and Tyler's relationship.

Dave: The film's complexities only begin there, provided by a thought-provoking script from first time feature writer Jim Uhls, based on the highly-acclaimed 1996 debut novel by Chuck Palahniuk. Tyler's ideology is the principle behind the film, as he pontificates: "The things you own end up owning you. It's only after you've lost everything that you're free to do anything." That is exactly the sort of freedom "Fight Club" epitomizes. Or so it seems. One may argue that violence is a source of relief in a controlled environment, while another may say that violence is no means to an end.

The latter is exactly what happens at the height of the Fight Club's popularity, when it becomes more political than independent. The film has electrifying performances from both Pitt and Norton, beefed down after his Oscar-nominated stint in "American History X."

Jeff: Fincher grabs you by the shirt collar and uses unique metaphors for declaring social statements, intertwined within the film. The visual style is so unique, using subliminal images and eccentric editing techniques (at one point, the frame of the film became detached from the sprockets, only to correct itself). Much like "The Sixth Sense," "Fight Club" would require multiple viewings to catch everything whizzing by. I know I enjoyed the film, but at times, I didn't know why. What I thought was a film about two guys starting a underground fight club quickly became a declaration about the downfall of society. And there was a twist in the third act of the film that I didn't agree with, but its use made sense. With its sensational cinematography, acting and direction, "Fight Club" is in a club all by itself.

Dave: However, this is Fincher's film as he continues to evolve into one of Hollywood's most sought-after directors. He fills the screen with abstract images and breaks the coveted fourth wall by talking directly to the audience in describing Tyler's past habits. He eventually creates enough answers to the questions you will be left with by the film's bookended finale. The filmmaker is quickly establishing his name as a true visionary with an incredible talent behind a camera. He literally shocked audiences to the core with his gruesome and provocative 1995 box office hit "Seven," and followed up in 1997 with a dangerous underground pastime that star Michael Douglas knew only as "The Game." His latest feature takes another underground practice to a new extreme that sends its two top-lining stars on a perilous downward journey of self-degradation.

Movie Buzz

Scott gets "X"-ed: Actor Dougray Scott ("Ever After") is no longer playing superhero Wolverine in the upcoming "The X-Men" feature film. Scott has been replaced by Australian actor Hugh Jackman. According to Variety, Jackman was hurredly cast in the part last week because Scott's previous obligation to "Mission: Impossible 2" would interfere with his participation in "X-Men."

Pretty Bionic Woman?: Julia Roberts is headed for the big screen version of the sci-fi flick "Adaptive Ultimate." The film, which once had Jan De Bont attached to direct, tells the story of a crippled young woman who becomes the subject of a genetic research project that gives her superhuman powers. Leonard Goldberg ("Charlie's Angels") is producing the film, which has a script by John Cohen.

"Sense"-ing another hit: Writer-director M. Night Shyamalan ("The Sixth Sense") has submitted his latest project to Disney -- and Bruce Willis will take the lead role. Both Willis and Samuel L. Jackson are attached to co-star in their first onscreen pairing since 1995's "Die Hard With a Vengeance." So far, everyone attached is keeping a tight lid on the picture's storyline, which one source described as a supernatural thriller along the lines of "Sense," but definitely not a sequel. The Disney powers-that-be are working out deals for everyone involved in hopes of getting the project before the cameras in April.

Name That Flick

What was the name of the little poodle dog owned by serial killer James Gumb in "Silence of the Lambs?" Mary Dowling was the first to call and make the correct guess: Precious. Way to go, Mary! Now, it rubs the lotion on its skin or it gets the hose again.

For this week what was the name of the musical/comedy film in which Edward Norton sang "Just You, Just Me" to Drew Barrymore? Here's a hint: It's a Woody Allen film. If you think you know, call the Movie Guys' Hotline at 225-9026 or log onto our website at www.themovieguys.com. Be sure to spell your name and if you're the first to answer correctly, we will print your name right here in our column for the entire Las Vegas Valley to read.

Be sure to pick up this week's issue of the Las Vegas Weekly to read our interview with Las Vegas' own motorcycling vampire, Count Cool Rider. See you next week!

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