Great Comedy, with Interesting Twists

Rating: 9/10 (11 January 2008)

Theory: The entire population of Planet Earth can be divided into three groups: 1) Those who categorize "Fight Club" as a true comedy, 2) Those who think "Fight Club" is something other than comedic, and 3) Those who have yet to see "Fight Club".
I'm in group 1). Seriously, folks, if you miss the humour of "Fight Club," you're too darned serious for your own good, and you're missing much more than half the content here. It is a very, very funny movie. You might think the jokes rather dark, but after a short while I forgot about the humour's blackness, and just laughed out loud at the pervasive hilarity.
This film is not really about young-adult-male-on-male fisticuffs. Although there is a lot of that in there, it is not really the central theme. Yes, those who named the film put another joke over on all of us. But it kind of backfired on them: That misleading title most likely prevented "Fight Club" from garnering more well-deserved film-industry awards than it did.
Once I say that the acting is truly superb (especially from Edward Norton and Helena Bonham Carter); and that the screenplay makes a fine plot, just full of interesting twists and turns; and that the production values are top-notch... Well, there isn't much more to say about this movie, as far as I'm concerned. In a good sense.
What really intrigues is the way this film makes me think about other works of art that might be comparable. Here's a rather trivial example: Consider "Forbidden Planet," a sci-fi flick released a full 43 years before "Fight Club". Yeah, the one with Robbie the Robot. A definitely schlock-ridden film, but it had a fine central premise: Left-over "ancient" technology of an alien planet sensed the monsters resident in the ids (that's as in brain theory, folks, not "identities") of the humans investigating the place. They are attacked by their own brain waves made real. Took them a long time to figure that out.
To me, "Fight Club" is a work of art that invokes memories of prior art, emerging to become even more superior with every invocation.
So good, I might even buy the DVD, rather than just renting it. Loved it. Nine out of ten.