The Rules of Attraction (2002)

The main characters are not always as interesting or well presented as they should be, so its very hard to care about them that much. You kind of know their particular plight, without them having to spell it out, but some insight into each person might not have hurt too much. Each character narrates a large part of their own story. However, the director does a lot with the material to keep it lively. You get split screens, backwards running film, slow motion, etc. and it fits the subject perfectly. Cameos are interesting, to say the least - its not every movie where you get to see Fred Savage strung out, or see an insane emergency room doctor. Eric Stoltz, Faye Dunaway and Swoozie Kurtz are also aboard but don't stay around for too long. The character Kip Pardue plays, Victor, gets a bit of a raw deal, as he's seen in the beginning for a minute, then again at the end, when you get a video diary, of sorts, of his escapades around Europe. In the book he's handled differently. I like Kip, who played Sunshine in "Remember the Titans" and was also in that stupid race car movie with Sly Stallone and Burt Reynolds. I had a shrink hypnotize me so I'd forget the name of that one, but Kip was in it, that much I remember. My favorite character by light years is Richard (sorry...he prefers Dick, and loves saying it), who's a friend/lover of Paul (Ian Somerhalder, who's great). Dick is in the movie for about ten minutes but makes a lasting impression, dancing on a hotel bed with Paul to the strains of George Michael's "Faith", then having a hysterically funny scene in the hotel w/Paul and their Moms. NO ONE in the movie is as much fun as Dick, and I was a bit letdown when he exited. He seemed to have a wild sense of humor about how screwed up he was. I've seen this about five times by now. I don't love it, and I have some problems with some of the overkill, but I like it a lot. 7/10.

Fmovies: I haven't read all of the users' comments, but the ones I HAVE read seem to not quite get the point of the film. IT'S AN A-D-A-P-T-A-T-I-O-N. Of a book. Not to mention the mystery behind it: Bret Easton Ellis is a brilliant writer, yet all the movie adaptations suck mighty. I personally was laughing all the way through it (except of course during the bathtub scene which I thought was gruesomely fantastic in its portrayal). So even if you didn't get it, at least it was funny. I was thrilled during the addition of Mini-Glamorama, and just to keep everyone on the right track, Sean Bateman is not the "college version" of the American Psycho narrator; if he was, his name would've been Patrick Bateman, Christian Bale's character in the movie. Sean is Patrick's little brother; there was supposed to be a scene where Van Der Beek calls Bale and Bale has a severed head in his hand on the other end, but Bale wasn't available. If you hated it, and it wasn't for you, just think: You could've seen the NC-17 version. Otherwise, don't knock the "shallowness" and "emptiness" of the characters or the actors please; that's not what it was about, and it's not what the book intended. Bret Easton Ellis is a genius.

After viewing The Rules of Attraction, one can definitely see how Roger Avary and Quentin Tarantino were friends. Upon leaving their jobs as video store clerks, the two went out and did Reservoir Dogs together, before collaborating on Pulp Fiction. Tarantino took all the credit for those two movies, basically striking Avary out of Dogs completely and only giving him story credit for Pulp. With Rules of Attraction, one sees that there was probably more influence on both films. While this adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis' novel contains many clichéd style maneuvers, they all work effectively in telling the tale. Multiple uses of rewind, spilt screen, and the re-showing of events could have been a drastic failure of cheap trickery with less able hands. Here, though, Avary shows some skill and uses everything to further advance a complicated tapestry of story lines and encounters from the stellar cast of young up-and-comers.

This is a story about a weekend of college partying at Camden. We have co-eds of all grades, races, and sexual orientation weaving in and out of each other's lives, going from party to party, having altercations, conversations, and a lot of casual sex. James Van Der Beek is actually really quite good breaking out of his good boy image from WB-fare casting. His performance really makes me wish his sanitized image didn't warrant Todd Solondz from cutting his arc from the disturbingly good Storytelling. Shannon Sossamon does admirably as the confused girl rooming with a slut, doing drugs, but wanting to stay pure for the man of her dreams. It is this conflicting nature that runs rampant throughout each character's existence. The dry, cynical humor prevalent in another Ellis adaptation, American Psycho, carries through here as well. Without so much satire from that film, Rules reaches an absurdity at times that makes you think back to your college days and the craziness and emotional stupidity you remember seeing from those surrounding you.

I give Avary a lot of credit for his sense of detail too. The soundtrack enhances each scene, where it is used, effectively, most noticeably with the hilarious juxtaposition of Ian Somerhalder and Russell Sams dancing and lip-synching to a George Michael song on a hotel bed with their mothers in the dining hall swapping prescription drugs between sips of vodka. Little scenes like seeing a suicide being lifted into an ambulance, students crying all around, with a girl hitting on one of the police officers in the foreground are brilliant. Avary makes the viewer never take a break as there is no telling what he/she might miss. Also, the casting choices are superb in every instance. Clifton Collins Jr. is menacingly funny as a drug supplier, Eric Stoltz creepily spot-on in a small role, Faye Dunnaway hamming it up in the aforementioned hotel dining scene, and Fred Savage in a gem of a cameo.

Even when you think the gimmicks are through, and we have linear storyline normality, we are treated to a fast-paced recap of Kip Pardue's character's trip to Europe. The matter-of- fact nature in which the sequence is narrated during its quick cut montage is great. Supposedly this footage was edited into a bridge film called Gliterrati, to connect Rules to a future film adaptation of Ellis' Glamorama. Unfortunately it has not been released in its full form and Glamorama has been removed from Avary's slate of upcoming films. Either way, The Rules of Attraction allows for the hope that we will see more Ellis-based films. If nothing else I can

The Rules of Attraction fmovies. The Rules of Attraction is definitely an interesting movie. One of the most interesting things about it was that my whole view of the movie changed after I had seen it and I saw on IMDb it was based on a novel by Bret Easton Ellis. Everything weird about this movie suddenly made way more sense when you know it's written by the same guy who wrote Less Than Zero and American Psycho. Also helped when I actually remembered ho Roger Avary is.

But knowing the minds behind the movie doesn't help me like it any more.

I started watching this movie only because of Clifton Collins Jr and the fact that I haven't seen him enough - only in one TV Show and one movie, where he only has a small role. Since he was there for, what, three scenes, I didn't exactly get what I wanted out of this movie, and it didn't manage to surprise me positively. Ultimately there was a certain to this movie that I found interesting, something that reminds me of few of my favourite movies about people as old (or young) as these characters.

However that was fleeting since most of the movie seemed to be annoying relationship, sex and romance drama that I didn't actually give a damn about. And still when the movie's summaries talk about a love triangle, I feel like it wasn't even about that. That had so little to do with everything else that was going on. I can't say if the novel is long or not, but I feel there is too much packed into this movie.

I liked many details about this movie. The soundtrack was good, the inner monologues were interesting, the cinematography... well it honestly made me think Clifton Collins Jr was going to jump through the screen and kill me, also I never knew I'd see James Van Der Beek's O-face that close... But the entirety just felt fake artsy and like a really weird mess. When you know who's behind it, it kind of explains that. It makes more sense, but it doesn't make it better

I rented this movie not really knowing what to expect, but having heard a lot about it figured it would be worth checking out. And I was blown away. First of all, who knew Dawson (er, James Van Der Beek) could act so well? I remember hearing part of the reason he took this role was specifically to get away from the good-boy image he'd developed from Dawson's Creek, and he did so beautifully. He was barely recognizable. I was very, very impressed by his performance.

The movie itself was chilling - it reminded me quite a lot of Kids, but I found it slightly more relevant; that is to say, I have a feeling this movie reflects the real lives of more people than Kids did. I happened to go to a school a lot like Camden College; we even had an annual party almost exactly like the "dress to have sex" party shown here. So although I didn't participate much in that social scene, I was definitely exposed to it frequently and I can say that this movie is frighteningly based in reality. It struck very close to home.

So, overall, although I can't say I actually enjoyed it, I thought it was extremely well-done and incredibly true to life. I'm not sure I want to see it again, but it's definitely worth seeing at least once.

For those who like their humor served with a side of cynicism and twisted laughs to wash it down with, 'The Rules of Attraction' is for you. From the author of 'American Psycho', it's yet another film you simply need to experience rather than read about. You just can't put in writing the biting tone that's captured so well in this great satire of relationships and society. But if you want to see me try, read on.

The younger brother of Patrick Bateman (yes, the American Psycho), Sean Batemen (James Van Der Beek) attends Camden College where he deals drugs and sleeps with a new woman every night. Bateman's latest womanizing quest brings him to Lauren Hynde (Shannyn Sossamon), a virgin who's saving herself for the right person. This happens to be her boyfriend Victor, currently back-packing across Europe. So instead, Bateman hooks up with Lauren's roommate, Lara (Jessica Biel). Meanwhile, Paul Denton (Ian Somerhalder) is a provocative student who dated Lauren before coming out of the closet. Now, Paul's current object of affection is Sean, who is completely uninterested. The disruptive lives of these individuals and more will collide and cross paths in this deep, vast pool of misery.

What separates a film like this from the other teenage sex comedies is how brutally realistic and honest it is. It doesn't use sex as its only weapon, but exerts social commentary while still earning savagely funny laughs at the same time. It understands its target audience, and instead of handing them another pre-packaged and clichéd sex romp, 'Attraction' caters to its audience by darkly satirizing the unrealistic world of many similar films. And so it is, in a way, 'American Pie' for higher thinkers, those who yearn for more substance.

Props to Roger Avary for brilliantly directing and adapting the source material. He directs with a great sense of style that doesn't detract from the film, but only enhances and adds to this bold and innovative film. It dares to be so outrageous at times, it'll have you laughing out loud through the length of entire scenes. Other times, it's twisted sense of humor will leave you feeling guilty for laughing. But you have nothing to regret.

'Rules of Attraction' is character driven from the very start. It relies so heavily on its disturbed characters, that a workable cast is detrimental. The people featured here are not people to admire, and they're not here to make the right choices in life. They're bad people who make bad decisions, and through their decisions the effects they have on other characters is explored. Avary squeezes every ounce of talent from his cast, who all seem deeply dedicated to their roles. And with James Van Der Beek and Jessica Biel coming from successful television shows with squeaky clean images, it's no surprise this film caused quite a stir. Both find themselves in a new environment, and both end up excelling. Yet the performance of the film comes from Ian Somerhalder, who helps provide the film's most outrageously funny scene (you'll know when you see it).

'The Rules of Attraction' doesn't follow a set path. Its characters don't follow a certain stereotype. It's what helps make 'Attraction' such a great film, which begins with the end. It's a film of cause and effect, and from this opening scene, we work out way back to uncover how these characters ended up the way they did. It's not pretty, and it's certainly