One tangled mess

Rating: 6/10 (25 February 2002)

Fight Club is aptly named. No, not because it's about a bunch of middle-aged men who fight, but because you have the message bashed into your skull for about 131 minutes.
I'm not offended by violence. Yes, I did get the point of the movie. And yes, I do appreciate the talents of Edward Norton and Brad Pitt. But no, I did not like this movie. Fight Club is the manifesto for all those frustrated middle class white males out there; a permission slip for them to be mad at the world. The unabashed testosterone-fest will appeal to most males; anyone with a shred of intelligence will see right through it. The issue is complicated, however, by excellent execution and a good first act.
(Spoilers follow)
Edward Norton plays your average joe who has everything--apartment, job, furniture. Everything, that is, but a life. This all changes for him when he meets Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) and is told: "I want you to hit me as hard as you can." They start up a little fight club, a great little counter-culture type of thing where everyone like them can get their aggression at society out. Bully for them.
This is where the movie goes right off the tracks into left field. The movie is complicated by Project Mayhem, an offshoot of the fight club where members are asked to be part of some sort of cult. But wait a minute. Wasn't the point of Fight Club to break away and become an individual? Why are these "liberated" men making themselves prisoners? And does it make any sense to fight against society's propaganda by creating your own propaganda and creating an alternative society?
Not really. But this movie doesn't care, and it doesn't expect us to ask these types of questions. It expects us to sit back, eat up the movie's philosophy and listen to Tyler Durden's endless preaching (only about half of which makes any sense or fit into any cohesive whole). Elements of a psychological thriller, a twist ending, and a minor romance just complicate matters--none of the parts add up to much.