Fight Club (1999)

"What Would Happen If Men Revolted Against A Society That Was Designed To Turn ALL MEN Into Groveling Sissies?"

• This is a Very Funny & Very Dark Comedy Movie.....very insightful Social Satire.

• Lots of Face Crushing Brutality.

• Lots of Sweaty Guys engaging in Horrific Combat.....only to have Tender Moments afterwards! WTF?????

• Lots of Subtle Homo Erotic Innuendo.....after I saw this movie for the first time, I was afraid it might have turned me Gay!

• There's a whole lot of Naughty Language.....Words like "Ass", "Shit" and Lots of "Fuck"

• The only Female in the movie is a Scrawny Goth Chick.....who really, really, really Loves Death and Sex.

• A Twist Ending that's really Pretty Obvious.....there are plenty of clues throughout the movie, if you're Paying Attention.

• By the end of the movie, the Tyler Durden character has become the re-incarnation of Fidel Castro or Josef Stalin! Durden actually turns out to be a charismatic and Inspiring Leader.....in an Evil Communist Sort of Way.

• This Movie teaches us that the Two Biggest Obstacles that prevents Men from Achieving Greatness in their lives are Advertisements.....and Women!


Running Time: 139 Minutes

"Danny's Personal Feelings About
Fight Club"

Featured Movie Review:
FIGHT CLUB

"How Much Can You Know About Yourself
If You've Never Been In A Fight?"

I didn't have a clue what the plot was about but the commercials showed Brad Pitt kicking ass with a sinister Edward Norton in the background.

The movie came out at a Very Bad Time for Danny.

I was working and going to college at the time and when I finally got around to getting to the theater to see Fight Club, it was already pulled from all the theaters.


Fight Club didn't do very well at the box office during it's theatrical release back in October 1999.

A Few Factors played into Fight Club going through it's theatrical run pretty much unnoticed.....which I'll discuss a little later.

It was amazing to me that a TV Commercials Promoting an upcoming movie would show a Cigarette.

By the time Fight Club came out, I was already getting Sick and Tired of those Bullshit thetruth.com commercials where they came up with Insane Statistics about Second-Hand Smoke.

In fact.....

"Danny Hates Anti-Smoking Commercials"

But those commercials tried to get me to believe that someone else's smoke was going to kill me also.

When I did more investigating, I found tons of people Disputing those claims.

Many people have tried to convince me that the people who are disputing the Claims about second hand smoke are really just protecting Tobacco Companies.

Of course, they say this with No Proof whatsoever.

And I've always wondered.....


• Who Paid for all of these thetruth.com commercials anyway?


• Where do they get their statistics from?


• Why do they try So Hard to Convince me of their Claims?


I deduced that thetruth.com was nothing more than anti-smoking propaganda.

Those commercials prove how powerful Fear Based marketing can be to get followers.

And it just so happens that one of the slams that Fight Club makes is about marketers and advertisers having too much influence on us.

So when all the characters in Fight Club light up a cigarette, they are sending a Great Big "Fuck You" Message to all those people who tell us that we shouldn't smoke cigarettes!

The Main Message that Fight Club expresses is that.....

"Men Do Not Know
How To Be Men Anymore"

Danny gives plenty of examples of Girlie-Men throughout Entertainment Movie Guide.....specifically with many Male Actors from Action Movies acting like Castrated Wimps.

The main character Tyler Durden (played by Brad Pitt in the Best Performance of his Career) believes that Men are being brainwashed into living a lifestyle that they were not meant to live.

Durden believes there are many culprits behind this mass brainwashing.....but he specifically targets advertising.

Let Danny tell you his Point-of-View.....

"Danny Sticks Up For Big Business"

The job of the Advertiser is to sell the product that they are advertising.

That's it.....Nothing else.

It is NOT the job of the Advertiser to determine what people need.

But it is the job of the Advertiser to sell to people the products that they truly want.

This is the Golden Rule of Advertising/Sales:

It's True that Advertisers are really good at using Clever Psychology in their advertising to create Artificial Needs in the mind of the Consumer.

But it is still the Consumer's Responsibility to Exercise some Self-Discipline and Self-Awareness in order to determine for themselves if the product being advertised is something that they truly want to spend their Hard Earned Money on.

The Narrator:

"One Of The Sorriest Excuses For A Man
Ever Caught On Film"

The movie never gives Edward Norton's character a name.....the end credits refers to him as just Narrator.

Even though he Looks like a Man.....he definitely doesn't Act like a Man!

He feels so low and disgusted with himself that in order for him to feel better about himself.....he has to pretend to have Terminal Illnesses and attend group meetings with people who are in even worst shape than him.

It's at one of these group meetings (for Testicular Cancer) than he comes across a phony just like him.....a screwed up Goth Chick named Marla Singer (played by the Fantastic Helena Bonham-Carter).

He feels that Marla has invaded his "Territory."

He feels that Marla is nothing but a "Tourist" looking to amuse herself at what these pathetic zombies are putting themselves through....not to mention she likes the free coffee and donuts.

In other words, Marla Singer is as big a Loser as The Narrator!

Throughout Fight Club, you get the impression that The Narrator actually likes Marla more than he lets on.

But he refuses to show his affection towards her.

Danny thinks this is because Marla's attitude is very similar to The Narrator's attitude.

And since The Narrator hates himself and hates his life.....he can't accept being Attracted to a woman who is similar to himself.

This line from the movie sums up The Narrator's feelings for Marla Singer.....

Tyler Durden:

"One Of The Greatest Alpha Male
Characters Ever Caught On Film"

When Narrator's apartment unexpectedly blows up.....or maybe not so "unexpectedly".....Narrator shacks up with Tyler Durden in his old, run-down, dilapidated, Shit Hole of a Home!

Durden's Philosphy about Life can be summed up in two words:

Durden believes that 'Real Men' are a Dying Breed because Men today have it too easy.

Durden also believes that the Today's Modern Man.....


• Have NO Wars and NO Challenges to make them strong.


• Have become emotionally dependent on Women.


• Lack the ability to be self-reliant because that's the 'Box' that Modern Civilized Society prefer Men to be in.


• Should avoid distracting their lives with the pursuit of material possessions that will do them no damn good in the long run.


• Should constantly live in a state of self-awareness. And since we live in a Sterile, Domesticated Society.....the best way for men to truly understand who they 'Really Are', they must Beat The Shit out of each other!


So.....

Fight Club Was Born.

Men are aggressive by nature.....and Durden feels that every aspect of modern society is set up to take away male aggressiveness in order to have control of men.

Since society is trying to enforce a Civilized and Unrealistic image of Men.....let's do the opposite and be Uncivilized and Violent, as nature intended.

Of course, what you've just read is Danny's interpretation of Fight Club.

The movie doesn't lay it out exactly in those words, so there's always room for slightly different interpretations.

But since this is Danny's Website.....

Danny's Opinion is assumed to be the Correct Opinion!


And has the Underground Fight Club grows in membership, Durden and Narrator start to see real potential to change society in the image that they see.

The Fight Club members are no longer members re-gaining their masculinity.....they are now soldiers in a War that Tyler Durden wants to wage on Society.

The Code Name of this Secret War is Project Mayhem.

But, of course, Marla Singer continues to make a pest of herself.....which annoys the hell out of The Narrator.

However, as far as Danny is concerned, the Twist Ending is just One More Great Reason to watch Fight Club.

"Getting Into The Mind Of A Communist Revolutionary"

Now, there is something about these Fight Club Rules that Danny, and Only Danny, has been able to catch on to.....

Tyler Durden believes that these Eight Fight Club Rules will bring about a "Self-Awakening" from the Fight Club Members.

Well, there is another Eight Step Law that is also supposed to create 'Self-Awakening' from those who practice it:

The Noble Eightfold Path! (new window)

After all, Tyler Durden truly does believe that following The Eight Fight Club Rules will allow you to "Open Your Eyes" and see "The Truth" about the World you live in.

At one point in the Fight Club movie, The Narrator describes himself as being in a state of Enlightenment!

One of the ways in which Tyler Durden uses to Wake People up to "The Truth" is to tell people "The Truth" about Airplane Emergency Landings.....

Now it's time to discuss.....

"The Leadership Techniques Of
Tyler Durden"

He manages to Inspire his "Troops" with lots of Marxist/Communist Affirmations:

• "You are not special. You are not a beautiful or unique snowflake. You are the same decaying organic matter as everything else."

And when you look down, you'll see tiny figures pounding corn, laying strips of venison on the empty car pool lane of some abandoned superhighway."

We are the all-singing, all-dancing crap of the world."

Fuck damnation, man, fuck redemption! If we are God's unwanted children, so be it!"

He understands that many Men Today lack Purpose and a Real Reason for Living.

So these "Motivational Speeches" tap into that feeling of Hopelessness.

It reminds the "Troops" that we are all the same.....no one is better than you, no matter what job they have or how much money they have.

Durden is inspiring his "Troops" to fight back against a Society that wants to Pound them into the Ground and keep them there.

It's important to note that NONE of the Fight Club members are Rich or Famous.

They are the Working Class of Male Society.

Tyler Durden is able to understand the Unhappiness of the Common Working Class Man in Today's Society.

Tyler Durden also understands.....

"How To Get Into Great Shape
Without Being A Showoff"

Brad Pitt got into Unbelievably Great Shape for his role as Tyler Durden!

I was amazed.....like a lot of other guys were amazed.

But I never once felt "Queer" about admiring how Fit Brad Pitt became.

That's because Brad Pitt does NOT spend the majority of the movie with his shirt off.

There are only a few instances where Brad Pitt/Tyler Durden doesn't have clothes on.....and that's when he is Fighting and Fucking!

Which makes Total Sense.

But for the rest of the movie, Brad Pitt/Tyler Durden wears clothes.

It is very unusual for an A-List Actor to get into Shape for a Movie Part.....and not flash off his body, for no good reason, throughout the movie.

When most actors get into Tremendous Shape for a Movie Role they want to show off how great they look.....so they want to have as Many Scenes as Possible with as Little Amount of Clothes on as Possible.

This is very Annoying to Male Movie Goers.....at least, it's annoying for Straight Male Movie Goers like Danny!

It's one thing for a Woman to show off her Great Body in a Movie.....it's a Beautiful and Natural Expression of the Female Form.

Danny has No Problem with a Hot Actresses who wears Very Revealing Clothes in a Movie.

If a Hot Chick wants to exercise her Constitutional Right to show off her Hot Ass.....who am I to try and stop her!

It's NOT Natural for a Straight Guy to take on the Feminine Attitude of Showing off his body.

However, Brat Pitt doesn't act this way in Fight Club.

And because Brad Pitt doesn't fall into this trap of flashing his Washboard Abs everywhere he goes, a guy like Danny can admire Brad Pitt's workout regimen and not feel like I'm secreting trying to become Butt Buddies with him!

Tyler Durden is in shape as a result of being a Real Man.....with includes a lot of Fighting and Fucking!

Tyler Durden is NOT in shape because he purchased a Membership at the local Gym.....Tyler Durden values his time too much to waste any of it at a Gym.

Tyler Durden prefers to live his life the way he wants to live it.....and one of the results of him living his life "His Way" is that he has almost No Body Fat!

Tyler Durden feels no Need to Show Off to Anybody!

While Tyler Durden showing off his physique didn't seem overtly Gay, there were other scenes in Fight Club which lead me to believe that.....

"There Is Way Too Much Man-Love
Going On In This Movie"

And after the fight is over, both Male Combatants do a complete 180 Degree Reversal by Hugging and Kissing each other!

One of the Funniest and Most Disturbing aspects of Fight Club is the Mostly Subtle (and sometimes Obvious) Homo Erotic Scenes.

Don't worry, there are no Dudes "Pounding The Ass" of other Dudes in this movie.

Although.....you always get the feeling that these guys would NOT necessarily Object to the notion of "Pounding Each Other's Ass" if the opportunity presented itself!

Director David Fincher added the Homo Erotic Scenes as a Plot Device in order to trick the audience about Narrator and Tyler Durden's relationship together.....only to pull the rug out from the audience's feet with a Huge Twist Ending!

If you read the original novel written by Chuck Palahniuk, the Many Subtle Homo Erotic Scene from the movie are much more Obvious in the book.

Danny later found out that Chuck Palahniuk is, in fact, a Homosexual.

For a long time, I had assumed that the Home Erotic scenes from Fight Club were there to "Shock" readers and movie goers.

But when I found out that Palahniuk prefers "Guys" instead of "Dolls", Danny started to wonder if Palahniuk wrote those Homo Erotic Scenes because he wanted everyone to know about his lifestyle.

I'm still not sure if that's the case or not.

Because Bob injected too much Testoserone into his body during his Bodybuilding Career, his body put more Estrogen into his bloodstream to create Balance in his body.

Well, this extra Estrogen caused Bob to act a lot more Feminine.....and grow Man-Boobs!

Huge Man-Boobs!

Looking at Bob's Manly Hooters reminded me of the Many, Many Hours I spent staring at Dolly Parton's Enormous Rack.

The difference, of course, is that looking at Bob's Nasty Jugs didn't cause Danny to get a Boner the way that Dolly's Beautiful Milk Monsters used to.

This picture of Dolly Parton was when she was still Young and Hot!

"Why, Dolly, Why?!?" I saw recent pictures of Dolly Parton that were taken in Early 2008. My God.....it looks like somebody took a Tomahawk to her face! She's definitely the victim of Way too many Face Lifts. And, unfortuantely for Danny, looking at Dolly's Magnificent Ta-ta's now does NOT give Danny any Boners whatsoever. These Aging Celebrities have got to learn to Age Gracefully and with Dignity.....instead of letting some Plastic Surgeon turn them into Circus Freaks! So sad. So sad.

And let's talk about something fun.....

"The Funny Brutality Of Fight Club"

There are lots of Social Satire in embedded throughout the movie.

There is also Lots of dark, violent, gory comedy elements.....of course, not everyone will understand or appreciate the Dark Humor.


For example:


• When you watch The Narrator cave his Own Face....in front of his boss.....the scene is somehow funny!

Perhaps it's just the pure shock at what you're seeing on screen.

I'm sure the viewers shock at this particular scene closely resembles the shock on the boss's face!

The totally unexpected way that The Narrator gains the upper hand on his Boss, in his own office, is Classic!-

The Boss's office is a place of business.

A place where The Boss feels he has the "Home Field Advantage."

But when The Narrator turns the office red with his own blood, he shocks his boss to the point where he caves in to the The Narrator's Twisted Demands.

Cutting Off The Narrator's Balls!

The Cops actually argue about which one of them will do the Honors of Removing The Narrator's Balls!


• And what about the Gangster that Pounds Tyler Durden's face into Hamburger.

And how Durden manages to get the Upper Hand by tackling the Gangster and Vomiting Blood into his Face!

That'll leave a Bad Taste in your Mouth.


• And, of course, there is the Climatic Fight where The Narrator totally Kicks The Shit Out of.....Himself!


By the way, this is as Good a time as any to Discuss.....

"Why The Fight Club Movie Is
Better Than The Book"

Rarely do I love the movie more than the book it's based on.....but that's exactly what happened with Fight Club!

Not that the original novel written by
Chuck Palahniuk (new window) isn't good.

The novel is Very Good.....it creates a Completely Dark, Twisted and Morbidly Nihilistic World!

It's just that the movie version is so good that I don't feel the need to spend days re-reading the book.

And in repeatedly watching the Fight Club rather than reading the book, I now have a fondness for the movie that the book can't match.

To me the movie adaptation of the original Fight Club novel is now better than the novel.

Even Chuck Palahniuk himself said that the movie is a Very Faithful Adaptation of his Novel.

When I think of Tyler Durden, I see Brad Pitt in my head.

When I think of The Narrator, I see Edward Norton in my head.

When I think of Marla Singer, I see Helena Bonham-Carter in my head.

The same thing happened with The Godfather.

While I'm a huge fan of the original Godfather novel....it would take me weeks to re-read the book because of how busy I am.

So.....I watch the original Godfather movie instead to save time because much of the book's content is in the movie anyway.

And now, I feel no need to re-read The Godfather book anymore.

"How Did David Fincher Become A
Film Making Genius?"

David Fincher is on Danny's very short list of Favorite Directors!

Fincher is on there not only for Fight Club but for his other movies that he's made


• Alien 3 — I know that the fans and Fincher himself hate this movie, but I think it's pretty good. Even though listening to all of that Gutter British accents gets pretty annoying.


• Se7en — This is one of my favorite movies of all time! When it was over, I was numb with shock! One of the best climaxes to a movie ever made .....Period!


• The Game — one of the last strong performances of Michael Douglas' career.....with the exception of Traffic in 2000.


• Panic Room — Very Tense, suspenseful movie!


• Zodiac — Without a doubt the most overlooked movie of 2007!

I'm not trying to take anything away from the other two great movies of 2007 — No Country For Old Men and There Will Be Blood.

But Zodiac was just as good as those other two movies! And it didn't even get one lousy, stinking Oscar Nomination!

Industrial Light and Magic has done the special effects of many major blockbuster movies.

Some of Fincher's early work with Industrial Light and Magic was on Return of the Jedi and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom!

There a very few directors who make movies that Danny feels compelled to see at the movie theater.....David Fincher is one of those directors.

Director David Fincher knew that this movie would be the first of it's kind.....so he wanted a Musical Score that was also fresh, unique but also blended well with the Themes of the movie.

So Fincher insisted that The Dust Brothers handle the music.....even though The Dust Brothers had never handled the music for a Movie before.

"The Reasons Why Fight Club Struggled
In The Theaters"

Copyright © 1999 20th Century Fox, All Rights Reserved

As I alluded to at the beginning of this Movie Review, there were a few factors that played into Fight Club going through it's theatrical run pretty much unnoticed.


• Many of the "Suits" that had put up the money for the movie were very nervous about the level of violence.

There was a lot of internal squabbling with some of the investors threatening to pull their money from the movie unless changes were made.

They were nervous that there wouldn't be a big enough audience to make any Profits on the movie.

They were concerned that this so-called "Anti-Date" movie would turn off the female audience in particular.

If you understand the Financial Success of a movie like Titanic, I'm sure you'll understand why the movie studio was so nervous about losing the money they had invested.

The reason why a movie like Titanic became such a monster success was because of the female audiences coming back to see it Over and Over and Over.....and Over and Over and Over Again!

The same was also true for The Lord of the Rings movies.....Repeat Viewings from the Target Audience Members which included Women and Loyal fans of the Original Novel.

The Columbine Shootings happened almost Four Years to the day after
The Oklahoma City Bombing (new window) back on April 19, 1995.

This incident had put Hollywood in a state of shock.

For the longest time, Hollywood has regularly been blamed for the low moral fabric of America's youth.

So when The Columbine Shootings occurred, Hollywood was once again on the hot seat.

So a lot of movies that were deemed Excessively Violent were delayed or postponed to avoid any lawsuits.

One super-violent action movie that Danny saw recently was a victim of the "1999 Shakeup."

The writer and director of Shoot Em Up claims that their movie was supposed to be produced way back in 1999.....but was canceled because of the reaction to Columbine.

It took another 8 years before Shoot Em Up was finally made.

When you think about it, it's a miracle that Fight Club was allowed to be released at all!

Fight Club was originally supposed to be released in July 1999.....but was pushed back until October 1999.

I think the only reason that Fight Club was released was because the Money for the movie had already been spent by the time The Columbine Shootings occurred.

If The Columbine Shootings had happened a year earlier, you can be sure that a novel like Fight Club would never have been made in the first place.


• Another factor was the Marketing of the movie sent mixed messages to movie goers.

The marketing people just couldn't decide on how to promote the movie.

The familiar "Pink Soap Bar" advertisment was just one of many different promotional ideas that they couldn't decide on.

They even promoted the movie during WWF (World Wrestling Federation) telecasts.....which angered David Fincher who thought that the Movie Studio was trying to "Trick" people into seeing Fight Club.

One thing that Danny has learned is that a Paying Audience will always want to see what they're expecting to see.

When the audience feels like they've been tricked, they won't be Recommending the movie to their friends. This is what David Fincher was trying to avoid happening.


• The critics, for the most part, slammed Fight Club big time!

They either Loved It.....or Hated It!

But it appears that they mostly Hated It!

The level of Violence and Chaos that Fight Club showed proved too unsettling for those fat, stuffy movie critics.

It's not too often that a Movie comes along that has such a Polarizing Effect on the Movie Going Public.

But Fight Club definitely had that effect!

Fight Club is not for Everyone.....but, in Danny's opinion, it's one of the
Best Movies Ever Made!

"CAST

OF

FIGHT CLUB"

Danny's Top 5 Cool Movie Quotes!

This is your life, and it's ending one minute at a time. You wake up at Air Harbor International.

If you wake up at a different time, in a different place, could you wake up as a different person?

This is your life and it's ending one minute at a time.

Tyler Durden: Guys, what would you wish you'd done before you died?

Steph: Paint a self-portrait.

The Mechanic: Build a house.

Tyler Durden: [to Narrator] And you?

Narrator: I don't know. Turn the wheel now, come on!

Tyler Durden: You have to know the answer to this question! If you died right now, how would you feel about your life?

Narrator: I don't know, I wouldn't feel anything good about my life, is that what you want to hear me say? Fine. Come on!

Tyler Durden: Not good enough.

[Camera pans to a REMAINING MEN TOGETHER sign]

Narrator: [V.O] This was a support group for men with testicular cancer. The big moosie slobbering all over me... that was Bob.

Robert 'Bob' Paulson: We're still men.

Narrator: [slightly muffled due to Bob's enormous breasts] Yes, we're men. Men is what we are.

Narrator: [V.O] Eight months ago, Bob's testicles were removed. Then hormone therapy. He developed bitch tits because his testosterone was too high and his body upped the estrogen. And that was where I fit...

Robert 'Bob' Paulson: They're gonna have to open my pecs again to drain the fluid.

Narrator: [V.O] Between those huge sweating tits that hung enormous, the way you'd think of God's as big.

Chloe: Well, I'm still here. But I don't know for how long. That's as much certainty as anyone can give me.

But I've got some good news: I no longer have any fear of death.

But... I am in a pretty lonely place.

No-one will have sex with me. I'm so close to the end and all I want is to get laid for the last time.

I have pornographic movies in my apartment, and lubricants, and amyl nitrite...

[the group leader takes the mic]

Group Leader: Thank you, Chloe... everyone, let's thank Chloe.

God damn it, an entire generation pumping gas, waiting tables; slaves with white collars.

Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need.

We're the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression.

Our Great War's a spiritual war... our Great Depression is our lives.

We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars.

But we won't.

And we're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very pissed off.

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