Where's my Furni catalogue?

Rating: 10/10 (17 December 2009)

It amuses me when some person goes on a talk show and tells people not to see a film! The reaction to "Fight Club" and others by certain mouthy types (who might have even seen it!) was really a dumb approach to avoiding attention directed at what they perceive as dangerous. Michael Medved was a bit less silly in his various objections over the years than others (Kathie Lee Gifford for instance), as a critic having watched Oliver Stone's "JFK", which he called "an evil film" and "Natural Born Killers" (he described it as a lot of things, among them, "never boring", in his pan review).
So here we are, ten years after this David Fincher directed adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk's novel (Jim Uhls wrote the screenplay). Blu-ray is the new standard for watching discs at home and "FC" has just come out in this format (with an adorably annoying "Never Been Kissed" initial menu pop up showing everyone's favourite friend of Edward Norton, Drew Barrymore!). I'll buy it eventually. For now, the old two disc special edition will hold up just fine with it's four commentary tracks (including one with Palahniuk and Uhls). The world is much more screwed up than a decade ago and almost all of that is definitely not the fault of "FC" or any other work which doesn't pretend joining hands and singing "Kumbaya" will make our species love itself and end our crises.
"FC" is like a street and book wise reaction to infomercials that promise some help for the unhappy and broken in society. Any mature adult has reached the conclusion that the bad things in life make up at least half of what even the best adjusted of us must cope with. "Jack", the ultimate unreliable narrator, is burnt out. His life degenerates into travelling as a paid stooge for a big company, weighing whether paying people for what money can't make up in losses works for his bosses. He doesn't just hit rock bottom, he orders Furni (read, IKEA!) products from there! How much can a person have left of their soul when they are drawn to 12 step meetings for conditions nobody in their right mind wants to cope with?
So when the tag team from new friend hell emerge, "Marla" and "Tyler", "Jack" is drawn to both of their live for today spirits. He's such a function of the clock, going out into the world without a watch and an itinerary is his ultimate rebellion. The question is, how long can the narrator keep up with the dastardly duo who shock and invigorate him?
There's a wonderful collection of essays on the film, some long and complex, others short and to the point. Not many movies can warrant a book about what started as a book. "Fight Club" remains as a phoenix rising out of show biz's late 90s ashes. Will offend as many, if not more, than it delights.