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Rules of Attraction | Year: 2002 Directed: - Roger Avary Actors/Actresses: - James Van Der Beek - Shannyn Sossamon as Lauren Hynde - Ian Somerhalder as Paul Denton - Kip Pardue Surprisingly, I loved it "The Rules of Attraction" is about rich kids, drugs, partying and a glimpse into college life. Since I've unfortunately known people just like this, it definitely scored with me. From beginning to end, this movie is fascinating and I couldn't pull myself away from it. Each scene is great and its a rare film that doesn't bore you. Its a very black comedy yet in many ways it hits on quite a few real issues. Sean is the main character, a drug dealing sociopathic character who falls for a virgin named Lauren who has a boyfriend named Victor. All the while Paul is in love with Sean. It sounds like a simple plot, but in the hands of Roger Avary its compelling. The backwards scenes, the suicide scene, the parties and the character interaction is disturbing yet intriguing. Of course, the book is better but that is generally the case. Still, I liked this better than "American Psycho" for some reason. It just seemed sadly real to me. My favorite scenes are obnoxious Richard at the restaurant, Sean's excuse to Lauren for sleeping with her friend, the guy going on a debauched trip across Europe and his weird face to face moment with Lauren and the hospital scene. This is a movie that isn't for everyone. Its a black comedy, but its peopled with strange characters and scenes that will stay with you long after. I loved it! Tedious Based on Bret Easton Ellis's novel of the same name, Roger Avary's first film in five years is a rather tedious tour through the social malaise of some rich, young and miserably hip kids at a swanky New England liberal arts college where the good-looking come to breed. The story, what little there is of it, involves an abortive love triangle between Sean Bateman (James Van Der Beek), brother of the infamous Patrick from "American Psycho", Lauren Hynde (Shannyn Sossamon) and her bisexual ex, Paul Denton (Ian Somerhalder). Paul loves Sean, Sean loves Lauren, and Lauren doesn't want either of them. She's saving herself for Victor (Kip Pardue): oversexed, "only a little gay", and currently summering in Europe. If I could convince myself that in its catatonic banality "The Rules of Attraction" meant to iterate both the boredom and degenerate emptiness of the lives it recounts, then I'd be able to say it succeeds. As I can't, I'm stuck with saying it's bad. Not even well-intentioned-but-ultimately-unsuccessful bad, just plain bad. And irritating. There's a thin line between confrontational and banal, and Avary spends way too much time on the wrong side of it. He seems to think that showing otherwise self-consciously cool characters throwing up, picking their noses, wiping their asses, and masturbating to internet porn somehow makes them gritty and real. Here's a better idea: how about writing a decent scene? His direction is either self-consciously gimmicky (split screen and reverse running used to little effect) or relentlessly dull. Not even his take on the guns-and-knives drama of a drug deal gone sour, or a teen suicide, can raise your pulse. There is one moment of inspiration: a fast-paced retelling of Victor's trip to Europe, shot in the style of a camcorder travelogue. The performances, in general, are weak. James Van Der Beek tries to scowl away the ghost of Dawson Leery, but can't. Ian Somerhalder seems to have accepted his past and plays just the kind of character his Versace-model looks equip him for - pity it's not a more interesting one. Fellow "Young Americans" survivor Kate Bosworth is entirely forgettable. Only Shannyn Sossamon manages to convince you that beneath the well-heeled teen angst and doe-eyed disaffection there's a living, breathing human and not just a teen TV star looking to make the leap into film. But it isn't quite enough. By the end, I was wishing Sean's maniacal and more interesting brother Patrick would arrive from New York with his axe and Armani raincoat. "The Rules of Attraction" is not half as cutting as it thinks it is, and nowhere near as clever. By failing to give us anything more than satirical superficiality, it alienates its audience. As Sean says to Paul in what I assume to be the film's climactic moment of epiphany: "You'll never know me." The tragic impenetrability of the social persona seems to be Avary's point. But with characters this hateful, you can count it as a blessing. Great Satire I saw The Rules of Attraction at the theater a few weeks ago and found it out quite good. Though the film has been getting mixed reviews (so did American Psycho) but it will always be remembered and well-liked just as much as Psycho. I never actually read the novel by Bret Easton Ellis (a great author) but I should since I've been hearing the book is more detailed (aren't most?). It's a satire about a sexual triangle involving a hedonistic drug dealer Sean Bateman (Van der Beek, surprisingly good performance) who is the younger brother of American Psycho's Patrick Bateman, who has a crush on a bored girl named Lauren, who has her eyes on a guy who's on a trip in Europe so she's waiting for him. Lauren's ex-boyfriend Paul is a bisexual who's lusting after Sean. The film can be disturbing for people w/ it's suicide theme and seeing all these college students pissing their lives away by constantly snorting coke and having emotionless sex w/ one another. Also another reason why someone would hate this movie is because all the characters are hedonistic and shallow so if you hate movies w/ nasty characters.. pass on it. But it's very typical Ellis characters. And no, Rules of Attraction definitely not a teen movie. It's not appropriate for most teens due to it's drug-fuelled, sexual, suicidal and violent subject matter. Buy Rules Of Attraction at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on Rules Of Attraction Search with the Priority Search Engine on Rules Of Attraction This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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