Monday, November 17, 2008

Fight Club - Does this make me a Brad Pitt fan?

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In our household, Doug and I have totally different tastes in movies. I love suspense, drama and dark psychological thrillers (and classic musicals too, but that's another story). He likes more lighter fare, such as comedies, and even romance (gag me!). I don't like extremely violent films, and I actually walked out of Natural Born Killers. But in the case of Fight Club, I heard enough about it to know that I had to see it. Doug refused to see it because it had fighting in it. But I won't rule out a movie on violence alone, as it is often a necessary device in a story such as this.

I saw Fight Club on one of my business trips last year. It totally blew my mind and I loved it. Yes, fighting is a component, but the psychological mind warp is the main crux of the movie. The inner life of an insomniac exposed (which I can relate to). It pushes sanity right to the edge and into psychosis.  After the plot revealed itself in the end, I thought of watching it again with the twist in mind. But there was no need to, since the scenes had been seared into my memory. I can remember just about every scene, in great detail, even now a year later. I tried to convince Doug to watch it after I got home, but he still refused. I tried to explain that it was originally optioned by a female producer, Laura Zisken, but that didn't help either. Not even saying that it is now one of my all time favorite movies could convince him.

The fact that I love this movie and several other similar movies with Brad Pitt makes me wonder if I can call myself a fan of Brad Pitt. I always thought of him as a pretty boy with no substance. Maybe my previous dislike for him comes from my disdain of Jennifer Aniston (I totally don't understand why guys find her attractive - not cute, not smart and not talented). These movies have totally changed my perspective of Brad: Se7en, 12 Monkeys, Fight Club, and Babel. These are not your run-of-the-mill blockbusters. Yes, he is wildly successful and the target of paparazzi especially in conjuction with Angelina Jolie. But have his "fans" really seen these movies? Se7en is quite disturbing is definitely not for the light of heart (I will not be asking Doug to see that one). Are these movies successful because of him, or is he successful because of them?

This also reminds me of girls who like Johnny Depp vs. girls who like Brad Pitt. (I picked two random links of crazy fans from YouTube, and I think the Brad Pitt girls are embarrassing...) Ten years ago, I would've have definitely said Johnny Depp for his looks and quirky yet sensitive roles in movies. I could not get past Brad Pitt's pretty face and actually look at his work. But in the last few years, these movies have made me think twice. Perhaps I will have to join the ranks of the mindless fandom, but only as a moviephile.  But still, if I were to choose, I would still pick Depp.

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