The Rules of Attraction (film)
Encyclopedia
The Rules of Attraction is a 2002 satirical
dark comedy film directed by Roger Avary
, based on the novel of the same name
by Bret Easton Ellis
. It stars James van der Beek
, Shannyn Sossamon
, Ian Somerhalder
, Jessica Biel
, and Kip Pardue
.
. The opening sequence introduces the three main characters - Lauren Hynde (Shannyn Sossamon
), Paul Denton (Ian Somerhalder
), and Sean Bateman (James Van Der Beek
), in turn. They are three college students at an "End of the World" party, and although they don't interact at the party, they share a certain apathetic perspective. Lauren, previously a virgin, is raped by a townie
while being filmed by a film student; the humiliation culminates when the rapist vomits on her back.
Paul is bashed
by a deeply closeted
jock (Thomas Ian Nicholas
) whom he attempted to seduce, and Sean fails to recall the last time he had sex sober. After the introduction of each character, time moves backwards until we meet the next character. The story develops into a love triangle
, where the main characters fall for one another but their love is never returned, leading to disastrous consequences.
The story then jumps back in time, and for the remainder of the film, we follow the lives of the characters and learn how they came to know each other. Throughout the film, the characters, Sean in particular, exude somewhat of an indifference toward the people and events around them. For example, despite being set at a college, not one of the characters is ever shown attending a class.
At the end of the film, Sean rejects Paul, Lauren refuses to see Sean, Victor doesn't remember anyone, a girl who has been sending Sean love notes commits suicide, and the credits move in reverse, starting with the finish and ending with the cast list.
in California.
The film was one of the first studio motion pictures to be edited using Final Cut Pro
. Using a beta version of FCP 3, it demonstrated to the film industry that successful 3:2 pulldown matchback
to 24fps
could be achieved with an off-the-shelf product. Roger Avary
, the film's director became a spokesperson for FCP, appearing in print ads worldwide.
. Additional songs that are in the film are from the era in which the book takes place, including the Cure
, Love and Rockets
, Blondie
, The Go-Go's
, Yazoo
, and Erasure
. The film also includes songs by The Rapture
, Milla Jovovich
, Der Wolf, and Serge Gainsbourg
.
in the U.S.
and other areas.
Lions Gate
originally received an NC-17 rating from the MPAA
, but director Avary made cuts to the film in order to achieve an R rating, for "strong sexual content
, drug use
, language
, and violent images".
The Australian version of the film is uncut, retaining 22 seconds that were removed in the R-rated US version.
The French 2-Disc Special Edition entitled Les Lois De L'Attraction is the longest known version available. It contains a small number of scenes not shown in the US and UK DVD
s and also includes more footage of the suicide scene (including the girl actually cutting into her wrists, instead of just seeing her reaction). It also includes more content in commentary tracks than the other DVDs available.
The uncut version was shown at UK cinemas. However, the BBFC, under its power as censor under the Video Recordings Act 1984
, shortened the suicide scene, even at the highest (18+) rating.
, and faring slightly better on Metacritic
, getting a score of 50 out of 100 from reviewers, though with an average score of 7.0/10 from users. According to The New York Times, "if The Rules of Attraction,...is a much more faithful novel-to-screen adaptation than American Psycho
, its reverence for its source proves to be its biggest problem. Where Mary Harron
re-invented American Psycho as an elegant comic horror film, Roger Avary, who wrote and directed The Rules of Attraction, dives headlong into the depravity roiling in the student body of the fictional Camden College. Where Ms. Harron shrewdly created a surreal, high-styled ambiance for Mr. Ellis's monstrous humanoids to rattle around in, Mr. Avary wants to convince us that his movie's dissipated symbols of late capitalist excess really exist. The harder the movie tries to shock, the shriller it rings." Richard Corliss
characterized the film as a "frenetically chic look at a daisy chain of collegiate craving...Sex, drugs and rack 'n' ruin; pretty people doing nasty things to one another...honestly, what more could you want in a movie?"
has said, “My favorite movie out of the four was The Rules of Attraction. I thought it was the only one that captured the sensibility of the novel in a cinematic way. I know I’m sounding like a film critic on that, but I’m talking about that in an emotional — as the writer of the novel. I watched that movie and thought they got it in a way that Mary Harron
[director of American Psycho] didn't and Less Than Zero
didn't.”
.
as part of the "Great Adaptations" series.
was released on February 18, 2003 by Lions Gate Entertainment
. The DVD includes trailer
s and an audio commentary
by Carrot Top
, despite having nothing to do with the making of the film, does it because "they couldn't find anyone else to do it." He often comments on the attractiveness of each actress, begs Eric Stoltz
for work every time he's on screen, and even occasionally sings along with the songs in the film, all the while making a number of self-deprecating
jokes. The DVD also features other commentaries, technical and such.
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
dark comedy film directed by Roger Avary
Roger Avary
Roger Avary is a Canadian film and television producer, screenwriter, olive farmer and director in the American mass media industry. He was behind the screenplays of the films Silent Hill and Beowulf...
, based on the novel of the same name
The Rules of Attraction
The Rules of Attraction is a dark comedy and satirical novel by Bret Easton Ellis published in 1987. The novel focuses on a handful of rowdy and often sexually promiscuous, spoiled Bohemian college students at a liberal arts college in 1980s New Hampshire, primarily focusing on three of them who...
by Bret Easton Ellis
Bret Easton Ellis
Bret Easton Ellis is an American novelist and short story writer. His works have been translated into 27 different languages. He was regarded as one of the so-called literary Brat Pack, which also included Tama Janowitz and Jay McInerney...
. It stars James van der Beek
James Van Der Beek
James William Van Der Beek, Jr. is an American television, film, and stage actor, known for his portrayal of Dawson Leery in The WB series Dawson's Creek...
, Shannyn Sossamon
Shannyn Sossamon
Shannon Marie Kahololani Sossamon is an American actress. She starred in the film A Knight's Tale, which gained her wider fame and praise. She has since established herself in Hollywood after starring in several films such as 40 Days and 40 Nights, Wristcutters: A Love Story, and One Missed Call...
, Ian Somerhalder
Ian Somerhalder
Ian Joseph Somerhalder is an American model, actor and producer, best known for playing Boone Carlyle in the TV drama Lost and Damon Salvatore in the TV drama The Vampire Diaries.-Early life:...
, Jessica Biel
Jessica Biel
Jessica Claire Biel is an American actress, model, and occasional singer. Biel is known for her television role as Mary Camden in the long-running family-drama series 7th Heaven...
, and Kip Pardue
Kip Pardue
Kevin Ian "Kip" Pardue is an American actor and model, best known for his roles in the films Remember the Titans, Driven, The Rules of Attraction, and Thirteen....
.
Plot
The film takes place at the fictional Camden College, a liberal arts school in northeastern New HampshireNew Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
. The opening sequence introduces the three main characters - Lauren Hynde (Shannyn Sossamon
Shannyn Sossamon
Shannon Marie Kahololani Sossamon is an American actress. She starred in the film A Knight's Tale, which gained her wider fame and praise. She has since established herself in Hollywood after starring in several films such as 40 Days and 40 Nights, Wristcutters: A Love Story, and One Missed Call...
), Paul Denton (Ian Somerhalder
Ian Somerhalder
Ian Joseph Somerhalder is an American model, actor and producer, best known for playing Boone Carlyle in the TV drama Lost and Damon Salvatore in the TV drama The Vampire Diaries.-Early life:...
), and Sean Bateman (James Van Der Beek
James Van Der Beek
James William Van Der Beek, Jr. is an American television, film, and stage actor, known for his portrayal of Dawson Leery in The WB series Dawson's Creek...
), in turn. They are three college students at an "End of the World" party, and although they don't interact at the party, they share a certain apathetic perspective. Lauren, previously a virgin, is raped by a townie
Town and gown
Town and gown are two distinct communities of a university town; "town" being the non-academic population and "gown" metonymically being the university community, especially in ancient seats of learning such as Oxford, Cambridge, Durham and St Andrews, although the term is also used to describe...
while being filmed by a film student; the humiliation culminates when the rapist vomits on her back.
Paul is bashed
Gay bashing
Gay bashing and gay bullying is verbal or physical abuse against a person who is perceived to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender . Such abuse is used also to bully heterosexual persons and persons of non-specific or unknown sexual orientation.A "bashing" may be a specific incident, and one...
by a deeply closeted
Closeted
Closeted and in the closet are metaphors used to describe lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning and intersex people who have not disclosed their sexual orientation or gender identity and aspects thereof, including sexual identity and sexual behavior.-Background:In late 20th...
jock (Thomas Ian Nicholas
Thomas Ian Nicholas
Thomas Ian Nicholas is an American film actor, singer, musician, producer, director, and writer. Nicholas is best known for playing Henry Rowengartner in Rookie of the Year and Kevin Myers in the American Pie film series....
) whom he attempted to seduce, and Sean fails to recall the last time he had sex sober. After the introduction of each character, time moves backwards until we meet the next character. The story develops into a love triangle
Love triangle
A love triangle is usually a romantic relationship involving three people. While it can refer to two people independently romantically linked with a third, it usually implies that each of the three people has some kind of relationship to the other two...
, where the main characters fall for one another but their love is never returned, leading to disastrous consequences.
The story then jumps back in time, and for the remainder of the film, we follow the lives of the characters and learn how they came to know each other. Throughout the film, the characters, Sean in particular, exude somewhat of an indifference toward the people and events around them. For example, despite being set at a college, not one of the characters is ever shown attending a class.
At the end of the film, Sean rejects Paul, Lauren refuses to see Sean, Victor doesn't remember anyone, a girl who has been sending Sean love notes commits suicide, and the credits move in reverse, starting with the finish and ending with the cast list.
Cast of characters
- James van der BeekJames Van Der BeekJames William Van Der Beek, Jr. is an American television, film, and stage actor, known for his portrayal of Dawson Leery in The WB series Dawson's Creek...
as Sean Bateman, a drug dealer. - Shannyn SossamonShannyn SossamonShannon Marie Kahololani Sossamon is an American actress. She starred in the film A Knight's Tale, which gained her wider fame and praise. She has since established herself in Hollywood after starring in several films such as 40 Days and 40 Nights, Wristcutters: A Love Story, and One Missed Call...
as Lauren Hynde, a virgin who is saving herself for Victor, her ex-boyfriend, who is travelling through Europe. She develops feelings for Sean, which dissipate when she discovers him in bed with her roommate. Eventually she is raped by a 'townieTown and gownTown and gown are two distinct communities of a university town; "town" being the non-academic population and "gown" metonymically being the university community, especially in ancient seats of learning such as Oxford, Cambridge, Durham and St Andrews, although the term is also used to describe...
' at a party. - Ian SomerhalderIan SomerhalderIan Joseph Somerhalder is an American model, actor and producer, best known for playing Boone Carlyle in the TV drama Lost and Damon Salvatore in the TV drama The Vampire Diaries.-Early life:...
as Paul Denton, Lauren's bisexual ex-boyfriend. He develops a sexual attraction to Sean, who eventually rejects him. - Jessica BielJessica BielJessica Claire Biel is an American actress, model, and occasional singer. Biel is known for her television role as Mary Camden in the long-running family-drama series 7th Heaven...
as Lara Holleran, Lauren's promiscuous roommate. - Kip PardueKip PardueKevin Ian "Kip" Pardue is an American actor and model, best known for his roles in the films Remember the Titans, Driven, The Rules of Attraction, and Thirteen....
as Victor Johnson, Lauren's promiscuous ex-boyfriend. - Clifton Collins, Jr.Clifton Collins, Jr.Clifton Craig Collins, Jr. is an American actor.-Life and career:Clifton Craig Collins, Jr. was born in Los Angeles, of half Mexican descent and the grandson of actor Pedro Gonzalez-Gonzalez. He has sometimes been credited as Clifton Gonzalez-Gonzalez to honor his grandfather...
as Rupert Guest, a high-strung, drug dealer who is owed a large debt by Sean. - Thomas Ian NicholasThomas Ian NicholasThomas Ian Nicholas is an American film actor, singer, musician, producer, director, and writer. Nicholas is best known for playing Henry Rowengartner in Rookie of the Year and Kevin Myers in the American Pie film series....
as Mitchell Allen, a weaselly cohort who seems to idolize brutish Victor. - Russell Sams as Richard "Dick" Jared, an old friend and former fuck buddyCasual relationshipA casual relationship, colloquially known as a fling, is a physical and emotional relationship between two people who may have a sexual relationship or a near-sexual relationship without necessarily demanding or expecting the extra commitments of a more formal romantic relationship...
of Paul's. His mother is a friend of Paul's mother. - Faye DunawayFaye DunawayFaye Dunaway is an American actress.Dunaway won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Network after receiving previous nominations for the critically acclaimed films Bonnie and Clyde and Chinatown...
as Mrs. Eve Denton, Paul's mother. - Eric StoltzEric StoltzEric Hamilton Stoltz is an American actor, director and producer. He is widely known for playing the role of Rocky Dennis in the biographical drama film Mask, which earned him the nomination for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture...
as Mr. Lance Lawson, a college teacher who tries to seduce Lauren. - Fred SavageFred SavageFredrick Aaron "Fred" Savage is an American actor, director and producer of television and film.He is best known for his role as Kevin Arnold in the American television series The Wonder Years and as the grandson in The Princess Bride...
as Marc, a heroin-addicted student who owes Sean money for drugs. - Theresa Wayman as "Food Service Girl", an unnamed character who writes Sean love notes that he mistakenly believes come from Lauren.
- Kate BosworthKate BosworthCatherine Ann "Kate" Bosworth is an American actress. Bosworth starred in the television series Young Americans, in which she played Bella Banks. She became known with a leading role in 2002's Blue Crush. The following year, Bosworth played the teenage girlfriend of porn star John Holmes in...
as Kelly, a girl from the party whom Sean takes back to his room. - Jay BaruchelJay BaruchelJonathan Adam Saunders "Jay" Baruchel is a Canadian actor. He has had a successful career in comedy films, and has appeared in supporting roles in such box office successes as Million Dollar Baby, Knocked Up and Tropic Thunder, as well as starring in films like She's Out of My League, The Trotsky,...
as Harry, a French exchange student and friend of Paul. - Joel MichaelyJoel MichaelyJoel Michaely is an American actor and film producer.He has appeared in such films as Can't Hardly Wait, But I'm a Cheerleader, Ghost World, The Rules of Attraction, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Cruel World, Factory Girl and Itty Bitty Titty Committee. On television, Michaely has appeared in Unhappily Ever...
as Raymond. - Clare KramerClare KramerClare Elizabeth Kramer is an American actress best known for her portrayal of Glory, the main villain in Season 5 of the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.-Early life:...
as Candice. - Swoosie KurtzSwoosie KurtzSwoosie Kurtz is an American actress. She began her career in theater during the 1970s and shortly thereafter began a career in television, garnering ten nominations and winning one Emmy Award. Her most famous television project was her role on the 1990s NBC drama Sisters...
as Mimi Jared, Richard's uptight mother. - Ron Jeremy HyattRon JeremyRonald Jeremy Hyatt , usually called Ron Jeremy, is an American pornographic actor. Nicknamed "The Hedgehog", he was ranked by AVN at number one in their "The 50 Top Porn Stars of All Time" list...
as the piano player.
Production
The film was shot at the University of RedlandsUniversity of Redlands
The University of Redlands is a private liberal arts and sciences university located in Redlands, California. The university's campus sits on near downtown Redlands. The university was founded in 1907 and was associated with the American Baptist Church. The land for the university was donated by...
in California.
The film was one of the first studio motion pictures to be edited using Final Cut Pro
Final Cut Pro
Final Cut Pro is a non-linear video editing software developed by Macromedia Inc. and then Apple Inc. The most recent version, Final Cut Pro X, runs on Mac personal computers powered by Mac OS X version 10.6.7 or later and using Intel processors...
. Using a beta version of FCP 3, it demonstrated to the film industry that successful 3:2 pulldown matchback
Telecine
Telecine is transferring motion picture film into video and is performed in a color suite. The term is also used to refer to the equipment used in the post-production process....
to 24fps
24p
In video technology, 24p refers to a video format that operates at 24 frames per second frame rate with progressive scanning . Originally, 24p was used in the non-linear editing of film-originated material...
could be achieved with an off-the-shelf product. Roger Avary
Roger Avary
Roger Avary is a Canadian film and television producer, screenwriter, olive farmer and director in the American mass media industry. He was behind the screenplays of the films Silent Hill and Beowulf...
, the film's director became a spokesperson for FCP, appearing in print ads worldwide.
Music
Much of the source music and score is by the duo of Andy Milburn and Tom Hadju, collectively known as tomandandyTomandandy
tomandandy are American composers and producers in transmedia. While they are best known for their work in film, they have produced music for most media contexts including record projects, videogames, art installations and fashion shows, etc....
. Additional songs that are in the film are from the era in which the book takes place, including the Cure
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
, Love and Rockets
Love and Rockets (band)
Love and Rockets were an English alternative rock band formed in 1985 by former Bauhaus members Daniel Ash , David J , and Kevin Haskins . Former Bauhaus vocalist Peter Murphy had embarked on a solo career after Bauhaus split in 1983...
, Blondie
Blondie (band)
Blondie is an American rock band, founded by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer in the early American New Wave and punk scenes of the mid-1970s...
, The Go-Go's
The Go-Go's
The Go-Go’s are an all-female American rock band formed in 1978. They made history as the first all-female band that both wrote their own songs and played their own instruments to top the Billboard album charts....
, Yazoo
Yazoo (band)
Yazoo are a British synthpop duo from Basildon, Essex. They had a number of Top 10 hits in the UK charts in the early 1980s...
, and Erasure
Erasure
Erasure are an English synthpop duo, consisting of songwriter and keyboardist Vince Clarke and singer Andy Bell. Erasure entered the music scene in 1985 with their debut single "Who Needs Love Like That"...
. The film also includes songs by The Rapture
The Rapture (band)
The Rapture is an Indie rock band based in New York City. The band mixes influences from many genres including post-punk, acid house, disco, electronica and rock, pioneering the post-punk revival genre...
, Milla Jovovich
Milla Jovovich
Milla Jovovich December 17, 1975)is an American model, actress, musician, and fashion designer. Over her career, she has appeared in a number of science fiction and action-themed films, for which music channel VH1 has referred to her as the "reigning queen of kick-butt".Milla Jovovich began...
, Der Wolf, and Serge Gainsbourg
Serge Gainsbourg
Serge Gainsbourg, born Lucien Ginsburg was a French singer-songwriter, actor and director. Gainsbourg's extremely varied musical style and individuality make him difficult to categorize...
.
Releases and versions
Multiple versions of the film exist, as cuts were made so it could receive less restrictive ratingsMotion picture rating system
A motion picture rating system is designated to classify films with regard to suitability for audiences in terms of issues such as sex, violence, substance abuse, profanity, impudence or other types of mature content...
in the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and other areas.
Lions Gate
Lions Gate Entertainment
Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation is a North American entertainment company. The company was formed in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1997, and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California...
originally received an NC-17 rating from the MPAA
Motion Picture Association of America
The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. , originally the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America , was founded in 1922 and is designed to advance the business interests of its members...
, but director Avary made cuts to the film in order to achieve an R rating, for "strong sexual content
Human sexuality
Human sexuality is the awareness of gender differences, and the capacity to have erotic experiences and responses. Human sexuality can also be described as the way someone is sexually attracted to another person whether it is to opposite sexes , to the same sex , to either sexes , or not being...
, drug use
Recreational drug use
Recreational drug use is the use of a drug, usually psychoactive, with the intention of creating or enhancing recreational experience. Such use is controversial, however, often being considered to be also drug abuse, and it is often illegal...
, language
Profanity
Profanity is a show of disrespect, or a desecration or debasement of someone or something. Profanity can take the form of words, expressions, gestures, or other social behaviors that are socially constructed or interpreted as insulting, rude, vulgar, obscene, desecrating, or other forms.The...
, and violent images".
The Australian version of the film is uncut, retaining 22 seconds that were removed in the R-rated US version.
The French 2-Disc Special Edition entitled Les Lois De L'Attraction is the longest known version available. It contains a small number of scenes not shown in the US and UK DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
s and also includes more footage of the suicide scene (including the girl actually cutting into her wrists, instead of just seeing her reaction). It also includes more content in commentary tracks than the other DVDs available.
The uncut version was shown at UK cinemas. However, the BBFC, under its power as censor under the Video Recordings Act 1984
Video Recordings Act 1984
The Video Recordings Act 1984 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that was passed in 1984. It states that commercial video recordings offered for sale or for hire within the UK must carry a classification that has been agreed upon by an authority designated by the Home Office...
, shortened the suicide scene, even at the highest (18+) rating.
Critical reception
The Rules of Attraction received decidedly mixed reviews—getting 44% "rotten" reviews from Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, and faring slightly better on Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, getting a score of 50 out of 100 from reviewers, though with an average score of 7.0/10 from users. According to The New York Times, "if The Rules of Attraction,...is a much more faithful novel-to-screen adaptation than American Psycho
American Psycho (film)
American Psycho is a 2000 cult thriller film directed by Mary Harron based on Bret Easton Ellis's novel of the same name. Though predominantly a psycho thriller, the film also blends elements of horror, satire, and black comedy...
, its reverence for its source proves to be its biggest problem. Where Mary Harron
Mary Harron
Mary Harron is a Canadian filmmaker and screenwriter best known for her films I Shot Andy Warhol, American Psycho and The Notorious Bettie Page.-Overview:...
re-invented American Psycho as an elegant comic horror film, Roger Avary, who wrote and directed The Rules of Attraction, dives headlong into the depravity roiling in the student body of the fictional Camden College. Where Ms. Harron shrewdly created a surreal, high-styled ambiance for Mr. Ellis's monstrous humanoids to rattle around in, Mr. Avary wants to convince us that his movie's dissipated symbols of late capitalist excess really exist. The harder the movie tries to shock, the shriller it rings." Richard Corliss
Richard Corliss
Richard Nelson Corliss is a writer for Time magazine who focuses on movies, with the occasional article on music or sports. Corliss is the former editor-in-chief of Film Comment...
characterized the film as a "frenetically chic look at a daisy chain of collegiate craving...Sex, drugs and rack 'n' ruin; pretty people doing nasty things to one another...honestly, what more could you want in a movie?"
Author's reception
Bret Easton EllisBret Easton Ellis
Bret Easton Ellis is an American novelist and short story writer. His works have been translated into 27 different languages. He was regarded as one of the so-called literary Brat Pack, which also included Tama Janowitz and Jay McInerney...
has said, “My favorite movie out of the four was The Rules of Attraction. I thought it was the only one that captured the sensibility of the novel in a cinematic way. I know I’m sounding like a film critic on that, but I’m talking about that in an emotional — as the writer of the novel. I watched that movie and thought they got it in a way that Mary Harron
Mary Harron
Mary Harron is a Canadian filmmaker and screenwriter best known for her films I Shot Andy Warhol, American Psycho and The Notorious Bettie Page.-Overview:...
[director of American Psycho] didn't and Less Than Zero
Less Than Zero (film)
Less Than Zero is a 1987 American drama film loosely based on Bret Easton Ellis' novel of the same name. The film stars Andrew McCarthy as Clay, a college freshman returning home for Christmas to spend time with his ex-girlfriend Blair and his friend Julian , who is also a drug addict...
didn't.”
Box office
The film grossed $11,819,244 worldwide on a budget of $4 million, thus making the film a minor box office success.Awards
At the 14th GLAAD Media Awards, the film was nominated for Best Film - Wide Release by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, losing to The HoursThe Hours (film)
The Hours is a 2002 drama film directed by Stephen Daldry, and starring Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore and Ed Harris. The screenplay by David Hare is based on the 1999 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same title by Michael Cunningham....
.
Cult following
Though the film has inspired mixed critical reaction, it has become something of a cult classic, which was covered by The A.V. Club for their "New Cult Canon" feature. In an April 2009 interview, author Ellis stated that the film adaptation of The Rules of Attraction came closest of all the movies based on his books to capturing his sensibility and recreating the world he created in his novels. In 2009, the film was shown on Film4Film4
Film4 is a free digital television channel available in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, owned and operated by Channel 4, that screens films.-Programming:...
as part of the "Great Adaptations" series.
Home video release
The DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
was released on February 18, 2003 by Lions Gate Entertainment
Lions Gate Entertainment
Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation is a North American entertainment company. The company was formed in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1997, and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California...
. The DVD includes trailer
Trailer (film)
A trailer or preview is an advertisement or a commercial for a feature film that will be exhibited in the future at a cinema. The term "trailer" comes from their having originally been shown at the end of a feature film screening. That practice did not last long, because patrons tended to leave the...
s and an audio commentary
Audio commentary
On disc-based video formats, an audio commentary is an additional audio track consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with video...
by Carrot Top
Carrot Top
Scott Thompson , better known by his stage name Carrot Top, is an American comedian known for his bright red hair, prop comedy, and self-deprecating humor.-Early years:...
, despite having nothing to do with the making of the film, does it because "they couldn't find anyone else to do it." He often comments on the attractiveness of each actress, begs Eric Stoltz
Eric Stoltz
Eric Hamilton Stoltz is an American actor, director and producer. He is widely known for playing the role of Rocky Dennis in the biographical drama film Mask, which earned him the nomination for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture...
for work every time he's on screen, and even occasionally sings along with the songs in the film, all the while making a number of self-deprecating
Self-deprecation
Self-deprecation, or Self-depreciation, is the act of belittling or undervaluing oneself. It can be used in humor and tension release.-In comedy:...
jokes. The DVD also features other commentaries, technical and such.
See also
- Less Than Zero (novel)
- Less Than Zero (film)Less Than Zero (film)Less Than Zero is a 1987 American drama film loosely based on Bret Easton Ellis' novel of the same name. The film stars Andrew McCarthy as Clay, a college freshman returning home for Christmas to spend time with his ex-girlfriend Blair and his friend Julian , who is also a drug addict...
- American Psycho (novel)American PsychoAmerican Psycho is a psychological thriller and satirical novel by Bret Easton Ellis, published in 1991. The story is told in the first person by the protagonist, serial killer and Manhattan businessman Patrick Bateman. The book's graphic violence and sexual content generated a great deal of...
- American Psycho (film)American Psycho (film)American Psycho is a 2000 cult thriller film directed by Mary Harron based on Bret Easton Ellis's novel of the same name. Though predominantly a psycho thriller, the film also blends elements of horror, satire, and black comedy...
- GlamoramaGlamoramaGlamorama is a novel by American writer Bret Easton Ellis. It was published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1998. Unlike Ellis' previous novels, Glamorama is set in and satirizes the 1990s, specifically celebrity culture and consumerism...
- Glitterati
External links
- The Rules of Attraction at Empire Magazine
- Interview with Avary at L.A. Weekly
- "The Rules of Attraction" at The Village Voice
- Bret Easton Ellis talks film adaptations at Creative Loafing Atlanta