The First Rule

Fight Club (1999)  –  movie review
“The first rule of Fight Club is:  you do not talk about Fight Club…”
Okay, now that that’s been said, we can move on…  Cult movies fascinate me.  I’m really never sure why the movie is going to be a cult favorite, so I watch a fair number of movies which friends and associates say, “You’ve gotta see…”  Some times they hook me too.  More often than not, they don’t.  Some rare times, even after viewing, I’m still not sure.  “Fight Club” is one of those.
Now, in fairness to the movie, I’ve seen the last third of the movie about a half dozen times.  I’ve never seen the beginning or the middle parts.  Last night was the first time I’ve seen the whole movie and I’m trying to guesstimate if knowing the twist at the end of the movie spoiled it for me or if it was just a so-so movie and it (knowing the twist) didn’t much matter.
The movie is a quasi-SciFi movie about 30-ish young man  (Edward Norton) who feels like he’s lost in his own life.  By a chance encounter he meets another guy (Brad Pitt) who challenges him to live his life more fully.  In this case, “more fully” means beating yourself senseless and then beating others senseless, too.  And, of course, sometimes they beat you senseless.  How (you ask) does this make you live life more fully?  To tell the truth, I’m not quite sure.  It seems to be some kind of cross between a rite of passage into manhood and the adrenaline rush of living with physical pain as a consequence of risking your life in “moderated” conflict.
The movie is appropriately rated “R” for language, brief nudity and violence.  Of the three, the violence is the most consistent (Duh, Fight Club, right?).  The movie has thee main sections:  pre-club – an examination of loneliness;  club – an examination of an attempt to stem imagined emasculation via participatory violence;  and, finally, post-club – a somewhat feeble attempt to reset civilization as we know it.  Of the three, the last is the least believable, which left me with mixed feelings about the movie.
So, is it a good movie and is the movie any good?  I would have to say yes and so-so.  It is shot well.  The characters are well played.  I particularly liked Edward Norton in the lead role.  The movie has “stirring” scenery – a decrepit house,  Dark and Light, dripping and flooding, falling down and being (moderately) resurrected.  The camera conveys the emotions and the building is almost an allegory for the main character.  This, to me, is the “definition” of a good movie.  But, is the movie any good?  In the end, it comes down to the difference between enjoying a movie for what it is and thinking a move is good AND that it makes sense.  Try as I might, the movie doesn’t make sense.  I guess it’s just me…
So, final recommendation:  moderate to strong.  This is definitely a “cult” classic.  If you discuss it with you’re (male) friends you’ll find most of them have seen it and enjoyed it, but VERY few (if any) would actually participate in such a club.  Why?  Because in the real world, pain HURTS and generally speaking is to be avoided.  And, if you think about it, it (fighting) doesn’t demonstrate you’re a “man” or prove you’re more alive.  …As romantic as many movies may try to make it seem.
Enjoy it for what it is:  fantasy / fiction, and leave it at that.
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On This Day In:
2023	Once Is Rarely Enough
2022	Or Less Perceptive
2021	We Need Professional Journalists AND The First Amendment
	It Was Rainin’ Hard (Taxi)
2020	Neither Alone, Nor Lonely
	Giving
2019	That’s Why It’s Called Faith
2018	So We Agree, #45 Is Dumb – Too
2017	The Morality Of Spying
2016	He Doesn’t Remind Me Of Me
	The First Rule
2015	Free Your Mind And Your Ass Will Follow
	The Man Without Fear
2014	I Blame Robocop
2013	Future Trustees
2012	Praise Not The Day…
2011	Educated Living

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He Doesn’t Remind Me Of Me

People are looking for a presidential candidate who reminds them of the guy they work with rather than the guy who laid them off.
—    Mike Huckabee
[If former governor and former presidential candidate (aspirant) Huckabee is correct (and I don’t agree with either option as criteria for my presidential preference), why in the world would any of the white, male, primarily working class voters who make up the majority of Donald Trump’s base of core support ever favor an individual whose main tag line over the past decade has been “You’re fired!”   …  I’m just asking?    —    kmab]
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On This Day In:
2023	Once Is Rarely Enough
2022	Or Less Perceptive
2021	We Need Professional Journalists AND The First Amendment
	It Was Rainin’ Hard (Taxi)
2020	Neither Alone, Nor Lonely
	Giving
2019	That’s Why It’s Called Faith
2018	So We Agree, #45 Is Dumb – Too
2017	The Morality Of Spying
2016	He Doesn’t Remind Me Of Me
	The First Rule
2015	Free Your Mind And Your Ass Will Follow
	The Man Without Fear
2014	I Blame Robocop
2013	Future Trustees
2012	Praise Not The Day…
2011	Educated Living

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