The Popkorn Junkie :: Rules of Attraction

      Like brother, like brother...boy oh boy, the Batemans sure are one f-ed up bunch. Yes, if you are unaware, "Rules of Attraction" is based on a novel by Brett Easton Ellis, who also wrote the novel that "American Psycho" is based on. 'Psycho has Patrick, and 'Rules has Sean, Bateman. Okay, time for the review.

      Where should I start? I guess I'll start with the bad reviews this movie has been getting. Most of those reviews say the characters seem shallow, selfish, and greedy, and that the film lacks a plot. Hello. Did you not understand the 80's, or were you born in the 90's? The 80's was about all that, the characters in "American Psycho" were about all that, being shallow, selfish, and greedy. Sure, 'Psycho had more of a critic-friendly plot, but 'Rules has a plot too.

      It's just not like any other plot, in fact, if you have ADHD or just weren't paying attention, then you probably would say it doesn't have one. But it does. It portrays Ivy League college life brilliantly. Okay, I never went to one of those schools, so I don't really know, but the reason I am saying this is because the characters were believable. If the characters are all believable then the plot and setting is too. I guess if you want, you could just call it the "anti-plot", but it still works, no matter what you call it.

      Let's "rock and roll", as Sean Bateman put it, to the acting. James Van Der Beek is brilliant as the pseudo-rich kid at college. Is Ian Somerhalder gay in real life? He sure portrayed his character well. There's Jessica Biel, Kate Bosworth from "Blue Crush", and the lovely Shannyn Sossamon. There's three cameo's:
a wonder boy, Bonnie Parker, and a guy named Lance. Can you guess them? Kip Pardue ("Remember the Titans"), has a wonderful 5-10 minutes of fast paced Europe touring, which is gonna be a docudrama because Roger Avary got over 70 hours of footage for a spot in the film that is only at most 10 minutes. Let's just say I am on pins & needles. Overall, the acting was pretty good. Russel Sams has a hilarious scene with Swusi Kurtz, but Clifton Collins Jr seems to be a little over the top as Rupert Guest, the drug dealer. I don't know. I don't know any drug dealers.

      Did you remember the connection between this movie and "American Psycho" or are you one of those ADHD critics who weren't paying attention? Okay, that was wrong, and I apologize. Anyway, there are two references to "American Psycho", I won't mention them, you should go see the movie. I just wish there were more, maybe throw in another cameo. Christian Bale! That would have been sweet.

      Do I recommend this film? Not if you have ADHD. Okay, I will stop that. You shouldn't see this film if you are offended by lots and lots of sex, both hetero and homo. That probably turned off a lot of you right there, but if it didn't I applaud you. Movies can be graphically violent and be rated R, whereas a movie about sex gets a NC-17 rating at first. Murder is worse than sex, hell sex isn't bad at all.

      I have been following the making of this film at Roger Avary's online journal since Early-May, and I want the DVD. What was cut out? Ooooh let's just say I am on pins & needles.

-- James ( 4 out of 4 pops )

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Billy Ray ( 4 out of 4 pops )

Writer/Director Roger Avary is a graduate of the Quentin Tarantino school of filmmaking. Well, actually, Avary taught the school alongside Tarantino, serving as co-writer for "Pulp Fiction" and consultant to both "Reservoir Dogs" and "Jackie Brown". Alas, there is really no evidence of Tarantino in "The Rules of Attraction". Sure, there's plenty of crude and downright criminal dialogue, and tons and tons of sexual content and graphic atmosphere, but none of them smell of the same Tarantino-esque filthiness. That is a good thing. Nothing against Quentin, but I am tired of seeing rip-off after rip-off of the same thing we saw done much better by Q.T.. Avary is original and "The Rules of Attraction" is fantastic. The film is told as a narrative from three viewpoints. The film is unusual in that the ending of the film is presented to us at the very beginning and the rest is shown as a rewind--Avary actually delivers most of the film in backwards motion, a wonderful camera trick that is just gorgeous to watch. The first viewpoint is that of Sean Bateman (James Van Der Beek), a horny drug pusher who is receiving love notes from an unknown source. He thinks that source is Lauren (Shannyn Sossamon) and falls for her big time. He really only cares about two things--drugs and sex--and never really feels any guilt about that. The second viewpoint is Lauren (Sossamon), a studious virgin who is obsessed with Victor (Kip Pardue), but has some feelings for Sean, though she is dissuaded by his juvenile behavior. She wants to lose her virginity to Victor, but must keep constant tabs on her roommate (Jessica Biel), a walking sexual playground who sleeps with virtually everyone in the movie. The third viewpoint is Paul (Ian Somerhalder), a flagrant homosexual who secretly fantasizes about he and Sean, and is not afraid to go for the gold. He use to date Lauren, when he was heterosexual. Other characters include a professor not afraid to score with students (Eric Stoltz), a goth drug addict who plays the clarinet and shoots up between his toes (Fred Savage), a hyper drug kingpin who wants money from Sean (Clifton Collins, Jr.), and two alcoholic mothers trying to cope with their sons (Faye Dunaway and Swoosie Kurtz).

This was a beautiful to watch. Avary dazzles us with tons of eyes candy and uses some nice camera trickery to keep our attention during scenes when we know we should be bored, but just can't be. This film also contains the most painful looking suicide ever captured on screen, followed by a rather funny take on suicide--a bizarre contrast that I am certain will offend some people. And there is a lot to offend here. There is more sexual language and sexual product in this film than I have seen in several years. I can't see how this film skipped the NC-17 rating, but I am certainly glad that it did. James Van Der Beek really shines in this film, showing that his "Varsity Blues" days are far behind him. I also thoroughly enjoyed Ian Somerhalder, whom is also in the unforgettable "Life As A House". Shannyn Sossamon has never been on my A-list, and neither has Jessica Biel, but getting Fred Savage to stick a cigarette in his naval was enough to make me overlook that completely. I have a feeling this film is going to catch serious flack for being so violent and vulgar, but it is, in my opinion, the most accurate and truthful depiction of young adulthood immersed in college life that I have ever seen. This is a modern day, revamped "National Lampoon's Animal House", with much more bite and vigor. There is no happy ending to this film, as everything ends the same way it began, and we know how it is going to end, but we don't care. "The Rules of Attraction" is the most visually stunning film of the year, and one of the year's hands down best pictures. Do not see this if you are easily offended, but everyone else will go hog wild I think. Welcome back, Fred Savage--I've missed you, my friend.

Mike ( 0 out of 4 pops )

So Roger Avary came out of self-imposed seclusion after all these years in order to make this piece of waste called "Rules of Attraction"? This movie easily nails down the spot as the worst movie of 2002. According to this film, we find out that college students are all hormonally deranged, drug addictive, evil and downright stupid. This is such an unrealistic and exaggerated depiction of college life that one cannot take any of the film, or it's messages, seriously. And trying to make an "art" film out of this mess, Avary pulls out all the old film school tricks such as fast motion video, split-screens and backward footage. Whoopee. There is not one character who is interesting in this film and you could care less about what happens to any of them. We do find out however that James Van Der Beek has the demented Jack Nicholson look down perfectly as he does this in countless scenes. I downright hated this one.