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Enjoyable only if you haven't read the book. . . .

Here's the deal:

"Rules of Attraction" is another solid effort by Ellis as a novel. I have always been a fan of his with my favorites being of course, "American Psycho" and "Glamorama." The main reason for my fascination for the book was the fact that Patrick Bateman's little brother Sean is really the main character in this one. You can definetely see another American Psycho growing in Sean, making you wonder if Patrick had a similar college life. And while ROA was a good read, not his best but very enjoyable, the movie was gimmicky by contrast.

Yes, I do agree with the other reviewers here that "if you are able to identify with the characters, you will love this movie." Yes, I had some rough times myself and looking back, pretty much partied myself out. I CAN identify with the characters, and that is good for some laughs throughout and a couple of "Oh S***s" to squeak out of my mouth. That's really about it.

As a movie, it wasn't really faithful to the the book, which to me, is always dissapointing. Sadly, reading the book first has made me not quite like this movie.

So why the three stars? Well, I would recommend it to anyone who hasn't read the book. It is entertaining as well as disturbing especially if you have lived this film in some form or another. You can get a bit of nostalgia watching this flick. So for me, it's two stars. I feel if I hadn't read the book, it probably would have been maybe four, so three is in the middle to be fair.

IT is worth watching if for nothing else seeing Fred Savage Doing something that is not quite what we expected from a Wonder Years player.
"That's why there are no clocks in my room" LOL

Everything I expected(and hoped) and even more..

Being a fan of American Psycho and Pulp Fiction I was immediatly intrigued by this work of art. The film is very clever and is able to stand between Pulp Fiction and American Psycho. The characters are original and naughty, which makes them unlikeable, yet enjoying to watch. The slight sex and violence in the film are nothing to offencive but still effective.SPOILER The first scene and the last are the same, although in the last scene one of the three main characters makes a different choice than in the first scene, it's brilliant and witty. /SPOILERThis film is cynical and ironic. Many reviewers have claimed it to be not as funny as American Pie or not as good or as intelligent as Cruel Intentions, well that's because The Rules Of Attraction is a movie on a much higher level, just like Natural Born Killers you must be intelligent enough to enjoy it. (American Pie and Cruel Intentions are by the way bad movies.)Ironicly enough, the title of the film describes not only the content of the film but also the film and director Roger Avary, being original with the novel. There are no rules that apply to this film within all the crap that Hollywood produces every year. One for the books.

Quality Rating: C+

Film follows the lives of sex and drugged up teens at a college campus all trying to find love and the true meaning of life. This film has plenty of visual tricks up its sleeve, style to burn, edgy performances, and a weird mix of humorous & frightening moments, but it runs out of steam after the first hour and you end up caring nothing about the characters. Exhausting and demanding entertainment with no payoff.

Good, strange movie

I just saw this movie this weekend and I have had to take a week to digest it. You will leave this movie not knowing how to think, except that you hate each and every character (except the girl who sent Van Der Beek love letters). Many people have had a problem with the fact that you dont really care about what happens to the characters. What most people have failed to see, in my humble opinon, is that you are not supposed to care. That is somewhat the point of the film. This is a very nihilistic movie.Avery uses some very interesting tools in this movie, including split screen and reverse motion. The reverse motion is a very original and unique way to introduce the characters and Avery is very smart about knowing when to stop using certain camera tricks. About half way through the movie it goes into a sup plot about Sossamon's "boyfriend" (Kip Pardue) backpacking drug induced trip through Europe. It goes through about three months in Europe with out missing any event of any importance and it does it in about ten minutes. If you like strange and disturbing you will probably like this movie. While not as good, it is as weird and nihilistic as Clockwork Orange or Fight Club.
8/10

Disturbingly brilliant

A difficult movie to grade. On the one hand, it's quite disturbing, overtly confusing, and utterly pointless. On the other, it's darkly comical, occasionally brilliant, and frequently hilarious. Definitely one of a kind. Some parts of it are disgusting in their offensiveness, whilst others are incredible in their wit. Some of the comic gems are Victor's recap of his Eurotrip and the character of Dick - who has a brilliant, five minute showing, and then never shows up again. The plot winds about, making little to no sense but capturing attentions anyway. The characters are sad, pathetic, and deeply intriguing. The cinematography and editing are a bit flashy but worthy of it. The music is well-chosen but can be a bit over the top at times. All in all, a wildly original and depressingly dark film.

Very good adaption; enjoyable

So THE RULES OF ATTRACTION by Bret Easton Ellis has always been one of my favorite books and I was so excited when I discovered in Mar. 2002 that a film adaption was made. So I saw this last night and I must say I wasn't disappointed because compared to other adaptions it was well done. First off, Roger Avary's direction was fantastic and much better than his direction for KILLING ZOE. I do agree with other IMDB users who say the film was pretentious. It was. Compared to the book the relationships in the film are pathetic. Yet, the acting was fantastic. Shannyn Sossamon totally surprised me with her acting as Lauren. I must admit every time I've read the book I pictured Lauren as the blonde ditz. But Sossamon's acting changed my view and she should be proud of that. Van Der Beek wasn't bad but I'm sure they could've found someone better to play Sean. The other surprising acting came from Kip Pardue who played Victor. Wow!

Crazy but Sexy

Go see this movie....if you want to see James Van Der Beek in best role since Varsity Blues...the womanizing drug dealer turns into the love affectiate ladies man....this movie is strange, funny and will make you say huh....a really politically incorrect look at the way college life is when you have way too much time on your hands..

had its moments, but still subpar

I have very mixed feelings regarding this film. It was brilliantly directed and had some superb moments of dark comedy. On the other hand it had several things that bothered me. First of all, if this film was intended to shock people, it did a miserable job of it. It was about as shocking as some PG rated films I have seen in the past. People having sex and doing drugs, very shocking. Also, the film to me didn't seem to be in touch with any sort of reality. And this comes from someone who has lived the college life. I think the problem was that the film was based on a book written in the 80s and yet took place in the modern day. Or maybe it's because I'm from the midwest and the movie takes place in the northeast,a region I haven't frequented, I don't know.I ended up not liking this movie because the negatives outweigh the positives. And I'm sick of hearing people saying it's shocking when it isn't even close to that.

Rude, crude, and shocking. I loved it!

A wild look at different perspectives of crushes and attractions. I found it quite entertaining though may be considered rather crude to some. Based on a novel by Bret Easton Ellis who has also brought us American Psycho and Less Than Zero, the film explores college life at a liberal arts university in a rather honest way. Lets just say don't take your mother to see this flick. Van Der Beek pulled the role off quite well as the drug dealing college student who's tired of sleeping around and wants nothing more than to fall in love. The cinematography was interesting and the plot line was unique. There are quite a few humorous scenes although I wouldn't consider this movie to be a comedy in the popular sense. The film has that weird feel to it much the way Pulp Fiction did( who Roger Avary, the writer and director of this film also co-wrote). Anyways Pulp Fiction is one of my most favorite films and when I heard Avary had this film coming out I ran to see it opening night. I was not disappointed. The Rules of Attraction is worth checking out.

A film worth of being an "American Psycho" spinoff

The intital draw for me seeing this movie was "Sean Bateman" who was portrayed brilliantly by James Van Der Beek. The movie itself is just a lot of fun because it's so bizarre and almost without meaning. By showing the ending first, a viewer might become disenchanted, but by the time the film plays out, you forget what you saw in the first 15 minutes. Now, I've never seen a college campus as fun as the portrayed in this film, but the "over the topness" makes this movie worth watching. The star of the show is obviously Van Der Beek who plays the younger brother to Patrick Bateman from another Lion's Gate Film, American Psycho. His inner monolouge is brilliant, devious and overall, just hilarious. If you like American Psycho, this movie will fit right into scheme. I highly, highly recommend this movie.

To all your non-believers!

All those bad comments compelled me to take action. Truly this is one of the best college movies ever made, Stunning actors and produced by one of the greatest Directors who have ever faced the earth!James Van Der Beek delievers the greatest performence of his career (He is a god, sent to make all other actors look bad - exept for Pacino), with Shannyn Sossamon as the uncrowned princess of this universe. But all in all, the whole cast is stuning, giving it all they got, and leave you praying for more.........And with all that said, GO SEE IT, GO WEEP and GO CRAZY! A+

Just saw it and loved it ( Possible Spoiler)

Possible spoilers but not that muchI wasn't expecting much from The Rules of attraction, the only reason why I watched it because I loved the adaptation movie of American Psycho and I was told there was some reference in the film to Psycho.
Anyway it started and I had to stop the film where girl get puked on whilst having sex because I had to do something but those first five minutes stuck in my head and I couldn't wait to see the rest and when I did I switched it off and I thought to myself `What the hell was that' but I loved it because it kept me thinking throughout the whole night about what the films was really about, I came to the conclusion that it was just a dark version of what College is like in America and other countries. But bravo to James Van Der Beek for being a really obnoxious annoying character, something which I thought he could never pull off because of his sweet charm off Dawson's Creek. I was amazed about how emotional the scene where Batmen's admirer killed herself, it was touching to see a scene like that in a film like this and that's what made it good to how great and tragic at the same time life in college can be in the community of Sex and drugs. Just Loved it from start to end.

Holy Terrible Trailer, Batman

After being force-fed the trailer for this movie- i had little to no interest in paying ...to see it. i simply couldn't shake the images of teen idols giving movie-of-the-week performances in a hodge-podge of Cruel Intentions, Varsity Blues and American Pie. That darned Puddle of Mud song "She Hates Me" playing in the background while Jessica Biel jumps around like an idiot seemed to sum up what i thought the movie was going to be.

it was none of these things.

The film was arty, well-acted, and utterly disturbing. If you are into these things (movies like Fight Club, Trainspotting, etc.)- this film really is refreshing. The subject matter verges on the trite: college students gone wild, but the visuals and surprising talents of the cast save the film from depths of the late night commercial.

Get over your first impression of the movie, get ready to laugh, get ready to be grossed out, and get ready to disturbed. Then, be ready to be strangely fulfilled.

Absolutely horrible.

How can anyone like this film? It's so horrible. The only redeeming quality is James Van Der Beek. And even his performance couldn't stop this movie from being crappy. Characters had little to no character development. Many characters were introduced with no real explanation or reason as to why we had to be introduced to them. Eric Stoltz's cameo was the worst cameo I have ever seen. What was the point? I'll tell ya. There was none. This movie tried so hard not to be another teen-angst movie about kids trying to find themselves and where they fit in in their generation and crap like that. But guess what? It turned out to be exactly that. I felt robbed of 2 hours of my life and the $6.00 I had to pay to see this garbage. If your looking to waste 2 hours of your life, then go ahead and watch this horrible film. But I'd rather watch a Paulie Shore movie than to see this film again. Nuff Said.

Don't turn this one away!

The film wasn't out nearly long enough here in Wisconsin. The movie was...well it was. A stunning film, James Van Der Beek will amaze you. Especially if you hated him in other productions. If you liked American Psycho then you'll love the connection between Patrick Batemans character and Sean Batemans character (HMM I wonder why??) Don't see it however if you read the book and are hoping for something like it. The book, equally as good, isn't too true to the movie. I think Bret Easton Ellis is a great novelist and the movies that have been made off his books are riveting. In short, "Enjoy the Show"!

Dawson can actually act

The Rules of Attraction was actually a good film. Dawson was actually good as a psychotic drug dealer.The whole film was based on the love triangle between Sean Bateman ( Van der BEEK) a flamboyant bisexual ( Ian Sommerhalder) and a virgin girl ( Shannon Sossoman). The film itself gave very little insight of College life, but overall the quality was good fun. My favorite scenes were when Paul and his gay friend Dick were dancing to George Michael's ''Faith'', which was the film's highlight. Jessica Biel wasn't too believeable playing a slutty character in the film. It was just another attempt for Biel to abandon her 7TH HEAVEN tv image.The film stayed true to the book mostly, except for the fact Avary didn't show much of the homosexual relationship between Sean and PAUL. The split screen process in the film was a bit tiresome, but overall I liked it!

Unpleasent, and Pointless. Directing intersting though.

This is a movie in the tradition of American Beauty, Doomsday Generation and those other flicks that trys so hard to become art that they end up losing the main point. Its not fun to watch. Imagine watching pathetic students that have no direction, lead their lives in to utter disaster because their fantasy idea of love ones don't come true. What is the point of making such a depressing and uninspiring movie? On the plus side the directing was interesting to watch, with the backwards theme like Memento, and it had some interesting visuals/angles as well. This is why I gave the movie two stars instead of one. If you like movies like American Beauty, or Doomsday Generation this might appeal to you, but stay far away if you hated those movies like I do.

Loud, Stupid, Trashy, and Vulgar.

An odd, disturbing tale of a sexual triangle amongst campus friends, including a guy, a bisexual, and his ex-girlfriend. It's loud, noisy, very disturbing, and leaves you with a foul taste in your mouth. When you look back at such great teen flicks like "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" and compare it to this, you must gasp at how downwards our culture has come in the past twenty years. *1/2 out of *****.- John Ulmer www.wiredonmovies.com

mediocre movie thats seriously depressing occasionally funny

First, let it be known I am not one of those people who watches the "Dawson's Creek" show but I still feel this film was very misrepresented in ad campaigns. It is the farthest thing on earth from a teen comedy and actually a pretty decent film. However, some folks might take issue with the time disjointure when the Point of View shifts from character to character (this is the films attempt to adapt Easton's epsitolary novel). I get a kick out of non-linear storytelling but I think it is overused in the movie. When the film first begins and we have a doublespeed "rewind" shot similar to the one in Memento. Also the type of non-linear same instant, several POV storytelling this movie uses has been done a lot better in Run Lola Run, Go, and Lawless Heart. I thought the use of the split screen to show 2 characters walking towards each other was particularly ingenious. The script though has a problem - there are multiple plots going on and occasionally they get muddled when they appear to conflate multiple accounts in the same period of time. On the positive side - the acting in this movie's great with Van Der Beek brilliant as an "emotional vampire"There's some non-cinematic problems I had with the movie - the characters are for the most part vile and unlikable. Everything truly bad in the movie happens to the only characters most audiences would probably detests least. Granted life isn't that fair either but this movie is major-league depressing. All in all, an interesting, somewhat flawed and very depressing character study thats sometimes muddled but generally interesting.

not great

The Rules Of Attraction was never going to be an easy novel to adapt for the screen, by Roger Avary has made some highly dubious changes to Ellis's characters. Perhaps because he feels that the audience won't be able to stomach a dumb, boring, promiscuous Lauren, he has completely re-invented the character and transferred all of her bad qualities on to her blonde American Pie-style roommate. James Van der Beek as Sean Bateman spends most of the film glowering at everyone and generally being an American Psycho, while in the book he is a much more rounded - if selfish and narcissistic - character, and nothing like his infamous brother Patrick. Victor, the star of Ellis's far superior Glamorama, is represented here as a camp, over-excited idiot - miles away from the description in the books. There are some great moments - the boys dancing on the bed to George Michael's Faith, Dick's scene and Victor's whistle-stop tour of Europe, which nicely captures those passages in the book - but any director who bigs himself up within the first 5 minutes of his own film is going to have his work cut out from then on.