 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Fight Club
- Review Date: March 6, 2005
- R
- Genre: Drama
- 1999
Common Sense Media says
Lurid, twisted, and violent. Not for kids.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this movie is wayyyy cool in terms of style and flip cynicism, and it's also wayyyy lurid, twisted, and violent. Older teens can hopefully take the over-the-top, R-rated cult hit as a dark-humored novelty act. It derives from a novel by trendy author Chuck Palahniuk. You wouldn't want kids to use either as a blueprint for behavior, which includes hazing-style beatings, vandalism, and bombings.
What's the story?
Ed Norton's central character is nameless (Closed-Captioning and DVD menus call him either Jack or Rupert), a bored office worker suffering from alienation-induced insomnia. He can only sleep after attending anonymous support groups for alcoholics and cancer victims, although he is neither. That option disappears when he finds a hostile woman, Marla (Helena Bonham-Carter) doing the same thing, for kicks and free food. He meets a charismatic soap salesman and part-time movie projectionist named Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), with more extreme coping solutions for modern life. The duo form a "fight club," beating each other for the primal thrill. The notion attracts other bored young men, and soon a number of secret Fight Clubs pummel themselves throughout the city. For Tyler, though, it's only the beginning of something he calls "Project Mayhem," orchestrated sabotage to overthrow the consumerist society. He's already been conducting his campaign on a small scale by splicing subliminal frames of pornography into family movies. Now, using Fight Club as an underground army, he spearheads bombings and monkey-wrenchings against The System. Rupert (or Jack, or whoever) watches Tyler's progress with alarm, as his own condo explodes and police link him to the attacks. Worse, Marla resurfaces, and a dangerous love triangle forms between her, the Ed Norton character, and Tyler. We already know from the film's dynamic opening that Tyler will end up holding a gun on his former friend, and the storyline is a flashback. Not necessarily a reliable flashback, though, and FIGHT CLUB has a celebrated SIXTH SENSE-style plot surprise that demands the viewer rethink all that's come before.
Is it any good?
Even without that whiplash revelation, the film is still a wild ride; among its many inside jokes and eccentricities, the filmmakers, in imitation of Tyler, stuck single-frame subliminal nude photos into the feature. Not-so-subliminal are incidents of extreme violence, as Fight Club members hold nothing back (and wear no boxing gloves), and a sex scene with Marla that's no less intense for being mostly CGI.
FIGHT CLUB derives from a novel by trendy author Chuck Palahniuk, whose book actually has a stranger, more downbeat ending than the movie. You wouldn't want kids to use either as a blueprint for behavior (at least the filmmakers made certain that the bomb-making recipes in the script are ineffective). Unlike BRAZIL, another striking cult picture that advocates terrorism against dehumanizing forces, FIGHT CLUB at least claims to take place in the real world. We can only recommend it for older teenagers who recognize it as more of a punk satire than a real call to arms.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about the cynicism and anarchy shown here. What pushes the main characters to behave that way? Why do the narrator and Marla have a fascination with self-help groups? How are the extremely flawed characters here somehow likeable?
- Show:
- All members
- Parents
- Teens & kids
AGE
Awesome
This is one of my favorite movies. It made me want to live my life to the fullest.
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AGE
Amazing
One of the best movies ever! Sorta violent but nothing a 7 year old couldn't handle if he/she was mature enough. The sex scene might set a few parents back from letting there child/children watching though.
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AGE
MUST WATCH!!!!
Teenagers are perfectly allowed to see this, but caution cause the sexuality is this film is a bit iffy (somewhat graphic sex scene)
Besides that, a bit of language. The violence is very graphic (hence the title: Fight Club) If you want a smart film, watch this.
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AGE
I liked it.
I saw this when I was 14, and honestly I think it's one of the best movies out there. Only thing that bothered me when I first saw it was the unconventional sex.
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AGE
Awesome movie. Very violent with plenty of blood, but humor to go along with it.
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AGE
Great movie, amazing plot, and excellent execution. The Violence is actually not as bad as one would think, there is constant use of strong language, many sexual innuendos and references, some pretty bad nudity. Mostly it was just a brief flash, but there are a few sex scenes. I would recommend this for kids over 14.
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AGE
i rate this title IFFY for ages 15+
What to watch out for
*
Messages:
The plot is pretty much an album of calculated, anti-social acts, from pointless brawls and hazing to impersonating leukemia victims and organized vandalism sprees, all explained as rebellion against a desolate consumer society.
*
Violence:
Graphic hand-to-hand fighting. One character, judged uncommonly handsome, gets his faced brutally battered as a result. Extensive bombings of property.
*
Sex:
A twisted love triangle, and so-called subliminal flashes of pornography in a subplot (if not in fact). Much talk of the breasts that grew on a male supporting character because of hormone treatment.
*
Language:
Graphic expletives.
*
Consumerism:
Not an issue.
*
Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
Drunkenness and frequent smoking.
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AGE
funny bloody violence 16 over
the movie is okay cool fighting some parts and alot of funny parts truth is 16 and over because it has some scenes of nudity and bloody violence worth watching not worth buying
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AGE
A movie most loved by (mature) teens and young adults.
This is a movie that younger people can enjoy, but only if they understand that it is satirical. If your kid is the dumb, monkey-see, monkey-do type, then they are the targets of this film, and probably wouldn't enjoy it anyway.
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| Studio: | Fox Searchlight |
| Director: | David Fincher |
| Cast: | Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Helena Bonham Carter |
| Genre: | Drama |
| Run time: | 139 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | October 15, 1999 |
| DVD release date: | March 7, 2000 |
| MPAA rating: | R |
| MPAA explanation: | disturbing and graphic depiction of violent anti-social behavior, sexuality and language. |
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