Before Brangelina there was David Fincher's "Fight Club" (1999), an existential movie about the state of masculinity in American culture (based on gay author Chuck Palahniuk's book), starring a nihilistic and ripped-to-fucking-shreds Brad Pitt, fighting for the state of masculinity via bare-knuckle brawls. John Bruno's "Brawlers" seems to be aesthetically inspired by Palahniuk's motifs (masculinity, fighting, bruises, bloodshed, power), yet the dialogue is purely of the pornographic variety. But the visuals are stunning -- most of the men here give Mr. Pitt a run for his money body- and looks-wise (not so much when it comes to fighting, however). The scenes are individually titled, and after some preliminary roughhousing, the guys get down to the business of being lovers, not fighters. The ouch-that-must-have-hurt make-up is rather authentic (bruises, black eyes, busted lips, etc., looks as believable as Russell Crowe's did after he got the beat-down in "Cinderella Man"). Top-notch production values throughout.
"Fuck Your Best Friend" (Cal "Speedy" Reynolds vs. Tyler Michaels): Tyler, a blond blue-eyed tank of a man, guzzles down gallons of beer with best friend Cal, a bearded muscle god, before getting up the nerve to seduce his bud. Cal doth protest (but not too much, a brief no-means-yes struggle) and soon Tyler and his purty mouth are sucking down Cal's meat. Cal takes a turn on Tyler's fat dong (a nice hard piece) and rims his pink-pink hole but good. Tyler dives into Cal's very hairy hole, and then takes a missionary and doggy pounding from his hirsute buddy, both a-sweatin' and a-hollerin' up a storm. Tyler then takes another ride reverse-cowboy before he and Cal shoot their spunk.
"Pick a Fight in a Bar" (Shane Rollins vs. Ray Stone vs. Tamas Eszterhazy): After a madcap bar fight (Ray's girlfriend smashes a beer bottle over his head and flashes her tits and stomps out in a huff), Shane makes love not war by munching on Ray's gorgeously furry butthole (long ass hairs mixed with Shane's saliva looks quite delish). In walks Tamas with an erection as long as his arm that he promptly shoves down Ray's throat as Shane continues to suck Ray's ass. Ray is a sensational muscle bear, and Shane and Tamas are sleek and muscular hotties (Tamas also has elaborate arm tatts). The positions change, each man's huge dick getting much love in one or the other's mouth, Tamas or Shane continuing to suck Ray's juicy hole. Each man also takes a fucking atop a pool table (Ray fucks Shane, Shane fucks Tamas, Tamas fucks Ray). Tamas' missionary assault is particularly good -- he slams into Ray so hard that Ray's flesh undulates, but Shane's dirty-talk directed at Ray is also a highlight. In fact, while spewing expletives, he fucks the cum out of Ray, then they give Ray an amazing facial, globs of cum dripping all over Ray's handsome face.
"Fuck Your Boss" (Tamas Eszterhazy vs. Mark Slade): Tamas is on a construction site with his boss as they discuss female trouble the boss is having (Mark can't get his woman to suck his dick). Tamas promptly offers his services as soon as Mark finishes his she-won't-suck-me complaint. Mark eagerly accepts the work order, and Tamas goes down on Mark's humongous penis in earnest. It's a perfectly proportioned huge cock, and Tamas seems to go into a sort of trance with this pleasurable task. Tamas is a slender fellow, and Mark appears to be at least twice his size. Tamas eats the big man's hole next, Mark's giant asscheeks filling the screen with ass and more ass. Tamas stands on a table to feed Mark his long uncut dong, Mark incredibly skilled in his effort. Mark fucks Tamas to climax, and then jerks off as he lords over a crouched and in awe Tamas.
"Tag-Team Bathroom Orgy" (Matt Majors vs. Trey Casteel vs. Jon Galt vs. Nick Marino vs. Tommy Blade): The finale, the most "Fight Club"-like of them all, finds five hooligans brawling in a dingy men's bathroom. After the fight sequence, replete with pratfalls and moody lighting, the winner, Matt, declares that he's going to fuck the loser, Jon. The punishing fuck is watched from the sidelines by fighters Trey, Nick and Tommy (three of the prettiest brawlers I've ever seen, save for the fighter make-up). They trade blows and such and then Matt and Jon take turns fucking Trey and Tommy, and later Nick gets to fuck Tommy too. Pretty-boy Tommy takes the lion's share of cock here and after all the guys have shot their loads, he's the one to get Matt's big-ass cock to pop.
DVD features: Chapters (with fetish sub-chaptering); interviews (Rod Barry chats with Jon Galt, Mark Slade and Tommy Blade) sound option (discreet-viewing version, sex sounds subdued); galleries; outtakes; fight montage; bios (photo and stats); trailers ("The Hunted" and "Trapped") and no regional coding (playable worldwide).
A DVD Review by Butch Harris