Don’t be shocked when you load up your new Blu-ray version of director David Fincher’s 1999 cult classic “Fight Club” this holiday season and the menu screen appears to be from the Drew Barrymore romantic comedy “Never Been Kissed.” It turns out it’s all a prank by Fincher.
After noticing the gag with a preview copy, The Onion’s AV Club contacted Fox Home Entertainment and had its suspicions confirmed: while the original “Fight Club” menu replaces the “Never Been Kissed” one after a few seconds, the “snafu” was no accident.
Turns out that Fincher thought it would be funny to use the menu from a sweet bubble-gum romance — the farthest possible thing from the very dark “Fight Club” — that was a much bigger box office success when both films were released in 1999. Barrymore’s inexpensive comedy grossed $55 million in the U.S., while the big-budget “Fight Club” only brought in $37 million. Of course, “Fight Club” has developed a loyal and vocal fan following over the past decade, and it is listed in the top 10 of Total Film’s and Empire magazine’s Greatest Films of All Time lists.
Don’t worry about the practical joke hurting Drew Barrymore’s feelings, though. “Fight Club” actorEdward Norton is friends with the “Never Been Kissed” star and producer, so she gave the OK for the gag. Sharp-eyed viewers can also spot Barrymore in the movie itself. There is one shot of a discarded Movieline magazine with her on the cover.
Critics that were sent a review copy of the new Blu-ray were specifically asked not to disclose the joke before it went on sale this past Tuesday. Apparently, the first rule of “Fight Club” still stands: you do not talk about “Fight Club.”
