The Rules of Attraction (2002)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Bob S

  
  Yup, that's pretty much how i remember college, AFU brook - class of '87

• Jim H

  
  Three college students navigate the perils of courtship all the while not realizing their own shallow natures and inability to understand that their methods are incapable of producing their goals. What I like most about Bret Easton Ellis's satires is the way he takes generic… More
  Three college students navigate the perils of courtship all the while not realizing their own shallow natures and inability to understand that their methods are incapable of producing their goals. What I like most about Bret Easton Ellis's satires is the way he takes generic conventions with which we are all familiar, like the serial killer genre in <i>American Psycho</i> and the college rumpus genre a la <i>Animal House</i> in <I>Rules of Attraction</i>, and uses these basic tropes as fodder for his critiques. Here, we all know these characters before we start the film: Sean is the attractive but troubled player, Paul is a gay man in a straight man's world, and Lauren is the quirky, attractive girl looking for the right guy to lose her virginity to. We've seen this before. But in Ellis's hands, the satiric exaggeration becomes how oppressively shallow each trope/character is. When Sean uses the word "love," we can't help but realize how of his actions belie the seriousness that word deserves. And the line "You will never know me" is so true because there is nothing to know. Ellis's point is that here, in college, where these characters are supposed to be expanding their minds and discovering themselves and their place in the world, they're ultimately merely layering on the lies. It is important to note that the only professor we see asks a student for a blow job -- not exactly the life of learning that parents think they're footing the bill for. I also liked Roger Avary's direction. There are moments when the film reverses, sharp cuts, lightning-fast dialogue, and an inventive and effective use of split screen. All of it was consistent with the fast-paced, drug-addled life these characters are living. I did think the film slowed down in the second act, and some of the party scenes became more about shock than advancing the story. Overall, <i>Rules of Attraction</i> is a valuable satire about college life. If you watch it and like it, you might also want to check out Tom Wolfe's book <i>I Am Charlotte Simmons</i>.

• Steven C

  
  "The Rules of Attraction", written for the screen and directed by "Pulp Fiction" co-writer Roger Avery and based off Bret Easton Ellis' most energetic novel, is essentially a comedy of manners. This is true satire through and through. It may be an easy target,… More
  "The Rules of Attraction", written for the screen and directed by "Pulp Fiction" co-writer Roger Avery and based off Bret Easton Ellis' most energetic novel, is essentially a comedy of manners. This is true satire through and through. It may be an easy target, debauchery among the upper class is nothing new, but with Avery filtering Ellis' words for the screen it becomes a potent combination. Plus, the picture is just plain fun. Nifty cinematography, a rocking soundtrack and naughty, spirited performances reinforce the themes. It's a rare thing to see a novel adapted to correctly to film, so if you are a fan of Ellis' book or his work as a whole, this is a must-see. I also recommend it to anyone who is in the mood for a saucy and scathing social commentary.

• Dead A

  
  Jeez, this movie will give you a serious bad impression towards high school. I didn't find the idea that much likable. It was pretty eff-ed up. The rewinding idea was okay for once but not for every time.

• Conner R

  
  One of those movies that somehow got ignored for whatever reason, but is a true masterpiece. All the characters are somewhat tragic and have this apathetic quality to them, but you can't help but love them. I think it's one of those movies that shows people for what the… More
  One of those movies that somehow got ignored for whatever reason, but is a true masterpiece. All the characters are somewhat tragic and have this apathetic quality to them, but you can't help but love them. I think it's one of those movies that shows people for what the really are sometimes, horrible, and it isn't afraid of that.

• Anthony L

  
  This film has been directed brilliantly with some great original techniques but I didn't like the characters or the story. Modern classic? I think not.

• Jeremy S

  
  What Rules of Attraction is and what Rules of Attraction wanted to be are glaringly different. Indifference is the only emotion one can take away from this cleverly made but totally lacking film.

• Mike S

  
  Original, cool and all about love, sex and life in college. I loved this movie's unique style of directing, which felt remarkably fresh and well-thought-through. The actors were great as well and all delivered a solid performance, which I suppose we chiefly have the well-written… More
  Original, cool and all about love, sex and life in college. I loved this movie's unique style of directing, which felt remarkably fresh and well-thought-through. The actors were great as well and all delivered a solid performance, which I suppose we chiefly have the well-written script to thank for. Besides all this, the movie (for reasons that will become evident once you see it) also made me wanna go and out and party all night, which sure earns it a top spot in my book :-)

• Red L

  
  Although I usually like movies where young people are finding themselves, I found this movie to be a bit much. Like the plot description says, from beginning to end it has "drugs, blow jobs, pornography, booze, rape, masturbation, beatings, suicide, attempted suicide, faked… More
  Although I usually like movies where young people are finding themselves, I found this movie to be a bit much. Like the plot description says, from beginning to end it has "drugs, blow jobs, pornography, booze, rape, masturbation, beatings, suicide, attempted suicide, faked suicide, loss of bladder control" and more and I just don't feel things are like that.

• Curtis L

  
  Pretty stupid.

• Dean M

  
  Strange of the self-indulgent Generation Xers is updated to Generation Y, but the characters are still aimless and repellent - and for that matter, so is the film. Director Roger Avery resorts to several camera tricks - slow and fast motion, timelapse, backward action - but never… More
  Strange of the self-indulgent Generation Xers is updated to Generation Y, but the characters are still aimless and repellent - and for that matter, so is the film. Director Roger Avery resorts to several camera tricks - slow and fast motion, timelapse, backward action - but never makes his story coherent or his characters interesting. (Disappointed it has no English substitles)

• Michael G

  
  Stylishly told black comedy that thinks its a teen drama. It's filled with so much fucked up and random humor which combined with Avary's style allows you to forgive its shortcomings.

• Rico Z

  
  The teen/college-age theme is taken a step further in this gem. It's much more than a superficial keg party, football team or prom-themed youth movie. It deals with the angst of youth in a more mature way than in most films that portray this segment of society.The way the film is… More
  The teen/college-age theme is taken a step further in this gem. It's much more than a superficial keg party, football team or prom-themed youth movie. It deals with the angst of youth in a more mature way than in most films that portray this segment of society.The way the film is shot suggests hints of a Tarantino influence and the split shot is cool watch. You'll know which one I'm talking about when you see.

• Nate Z

  
  [font=Arial][color=darkred]'The Rules of Attraction' is based on Bret Easton Ellis' hedonistic 80s novel about boozing coked-out, aloof teenagers and their rampant debauchery. Roger Avary was Quentin Tarantino's writing partner for years, with an Oscar sitting at… More
  [font=Arial][color=darkred]'The Rules of Attraction' is based on Bret Easton Ellis' hedonistic 80s novel about boozing coked-out, aloof teenagers and their rampant debauchery. Roger Avary was Quentin Tarantino's writing partner for years, with an Oscar sitting at home for co-writing 'Pulp Fiction'. As a director Avary lays the visual gloss on thick utilizing camera tricks like split-screens and having entire sequences run backwards.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]While Ellis' source material is empty, echoing the collegiate friendships bonded over substances or social lubricants, Avary does his best to represent the dazed world of college. Not the Tara Reid-integrated college of 'Van Wilder' mind you.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]We open with Lauren (Shannyn Sossamon) getting coldly deflowered by some drunk "townie" while the film buff she had her eyes on videotapes it. She's just broken up with the bisexual and apathetic Paul (Ian Somerhalder), and both are interested in the dealing sociopath Sean Bateman (James Van Der Beek), a self-described emotional vampire.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]Lauren keeps a picture book of venereal diseases to ward her from her wayward sexual urges. Her roommate Lara (Jessica Biel) needs no such book. Our introduction of Lara has her dancing down a hall, liquor bottle in each fist, bedding an entire sports team.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]Some attractions connect, many don't. But the fun is watching the characters interact in their own seedy, yet often hilarious ways.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]The best thing that 'The Rules of Attraction' has going for it is its about-face, against type casting. The film is populated with the WB's lineup of clear-skinned goody-two-shoes getting a chance to cut loose. Van Der Beek broods like a predatory hawk and bursts with spontaneous rage. Biel sexes it up as a cocaine-addicted harlot who asks if she's "anorexic skinny" or "bulimic skinny." Even Fred-'Wonder-Years'-Savage shows up briefly to shoot up between his toes! We're along way from the creek, Dawson Leary.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]The adults of this world are no better than the kids. Eric Stoltz has an extended cameo of a duplicitous professor offering a higher GPA if any coeds are willing to go down on their morals. Swoosie Kurtz and Faye Dunaway show us that pill-popping dither heads will breed drug-addled teenagers.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]'Attraction' may have the most disturbing suicide ever witnessed in film. After having her advances rejected a woman slips into the bathtub, razor in hand. The scene is as unsettling as it is because the camera hangs on the poor woman's face every second and we gradually see the life spill out of her.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]Some of Avary's surface artifice works perfectly, like Victor's whirlwind account of an entire semester in Europe. Some of the visual fireworks are distractions to the three-person narrative but the film is always alive with energy, even when depressing you.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]What 'The Rules of Attraction' does get right is the irrational nature of attraction. Each character is trying to fill an inaccessible void with what they think is love, but will often settle for sex, drugs, or both.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]'The Rules of Attraction' is made up of unlikable, miserable characters that effectively do nothing but find new ways to be miserable. It constantly straddles the line of exploitation and excess but maintains its footing. The movie is entirely vapid but it is indeed an indulgently fun yet depraved ride. If you're looking for degeneracy instead of life affirmation, then 'The Rules of Attraction' is your meal ticket.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred][/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]Nate's Grade: B- [/color][/font]

• Alec B

  
  Roger Avary has a great visual style that is well executed in the movie, the problem is that he thinks that just because characters have shitty things happen to them and act bi-polar it means that they are three dimensional. It's not terrible by any means, the short scenes with… More
  Roger Avary has a great visual style that is well executed in the movie, the problem is that he thinks that just because characters have shitty things happen to them and act bi-polar it means that they are three dimensional. It's not terrible by any means, the short scenes with the Dick character played by Russell Sams are near genius, but the rest of the film seems to be grasping for some sort of message about college life and how shallow people can be, but it can't decide if it's going to do that through strait up satire or realism.

• William G

  
  Sick, sad, and strangely compelling.

• Jason S

  
  Drugged up and wacked out teen drama, where the rules are there are none and the content is bitterly depressing and harshly cruel. It will leave you reeling, and will spit you out dry. An aquired taste.

• Doctor S

  
  Unwatchable for longer than 15 minutes. All smugness and self-deluded style with zero substance. Only for masochists.

• Lovable M

  
  Hoping for a fun college comedy with some reasoning behind it, but the second I saw a girl having sex with a random guy and him throwing up on her while still having sex, I knew I was in for great movie..... Semi-skillfully made, but the characters were unlikable and kind of ruined… More
  Hoping for a fun college comedy with some reasoning behind it, but the second I saw a girl having sex with a random guy and him throwing up on her while still having sex, I knew I was in for great movie..... Semi-skillfully made, but the characters were unlikable and kind of ruined it. I know it's supposed to be a satire, but it didn't work in my opinion.

• Lauren D

  
  I first saw this when I was either 12 or 13 (in 2003/2004), and I rewatched it in September 2009, but I didn't remember any of it except for the main guy being on the phone and mentioning Patrick Bateman and since I liked American Psycho I thought it was cool. Anyway, recently… More
  I first saw this when I was either 12 or 13 (in 2003/2004), and I rewatched it in September 2009, but I didn't remember any of it except for the main guy being on the phone and mentioning Patrick Bateman and since I liked American Psycho I thought it was cool. Anyway, recently I have started watching Dawson's Creek, and I remembered about this movie so thought I'd rewatch it. The first thing I'll say is how different James Van Der Beek's character is in this from Dawson's Creek and that may have contributed to the high rating. It was also quite funny. It didn't seem to be about anything, but I just really enjoyed it. The one scene I will mention is the suicide scene, which is the most amazing scene I have seen in my life. There is only one other scene in any movie that has ever affected me and that was the Winkie's scene in Mulholland Dr. which scared the flippin' hell out of me, I couldn't stop shaking for hours. Anyway, this scene was perfect. Not only did I like the song playing, it was a perfect choice, the directing was amazing and the weird muffling of the music was awesome (for some reason I always like that in movies). Although I didn't think it was sad, the scene was just so perfect and amazing that it brought me to tears, which is extremely gay and retarded but it was just... so damn amazing.

Read all 20 featured audience ratings