The Rules of Attraction

October 11, 2002 0 By Fans
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Eric Stoltz, Roger Avary and James Van Der Beek in The Rules of AttractionStill of Shannyn Sossamon in The Rules of AttractionRussell Sams at event of The Rules of AttractionStill of Kip Pardue in The Rules of AttractionStill of Clifton Collins Jr. and James Van Der Beek in The Rules of AttractionStill of Ian Somerhalder in The Rules of Attraction

Plot

The incredibly spoiled and overprivileged students of Camden College are a backdrop for an unusual love triangle between a drug dealer, a virgin and a bisexual classmate.

Release Year: 2002

Rating: 6.7/10 (31,398 voted)

Critic's Score: 50/100

Director:
Roger Avary

Stars: James Van Der Beek, Ian Somerhalder, Shannyn Sossamon

Storyline
Camden College. Sean Bateman is the younger brother of depraved Wall Street broker Patrick Bateman. He's also a drug dealer who owes a lot of money to "fellow" dealer Rupert Guest, as well as a well-known womanizer, for he sleeps with nearly half of the female population on campus. Lauren Hynde is, technically, a virgin. She's saving herself for her shallow boyfriend, Victor Johnson, who's left the States to backpack across Europe. Her slutty roommate, Lara, has the hots for Victor as well. Paul Denton, who used to date Lauren, is openly bisexual and attracted to Mitchell Allen, who's dating Candice to prove to Paul that he's not gay. Sean loves Lauren. Paul loves Sean. And Lauren may love Sean.

Writers: Bret Easton Ellis, Roger Avary

Cast:

James Van Der Beek

Sean Bateman


Shannyn Sossamon

Lauren Hynde


Jessica Biel

Lara


Kip Pardue

Victor


Kate Bosworth

Kelly


Ian Somerhalder

Paul Denton


Joel Michaely

Raymond


Jay Baruchel

Harry


Thomas Ian Nicholas

Mitchell


Clifton Collins Jr.

Rupert


Clare Kramer

Candice


Faye Dunaway

Mrs. Denton


Swoosie Kurtz

Mrs. Jared


Russell Sams

Richard


Colin Bain

Donald

Taglines:
Past Perfect. Present Tense. Future Uncertain.



Details

Official Website:
Lions Gate Entertainment |
Official Site [France] |

Release Date: 11 October 2002

Filming Locations: Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands



Box Office Details

Budget: $4,000,000

(estimated)

Opening Weekend: $2,532,410
(USA)
(13 October 2002)
(1437 Screens)

Gross: $11,805,917
(Worldwide)
(21 November 2002)



Technical Specs

Runtime:



Did You Know?

Trivia:

"The End of the World" party scene was filmed on 11 September 2001.

Goofs:

Errors in geography:
Although the location for the film is a fictional northeast college called Camden, there are two palm trees that can be seen in the parking lot of the hospital scene.

Quotes:

[first lines]

Lauren:
It's a story that might bore you, but you don't have to listen, because I always knew it was going to be like that.



User Review

Don't believe the critics… or the God-awful trailer. This is a great film!

Rating: 10/10

I think many of the problems this film had at the box-office (and with
critics) were due to the marketing hack-job Lions Gate pulled prior to its
release. Watching the trailer and TV ads, one would go into "The Rules of
Attraction" expecting another one in a long line of a stupid teen sex
comedies. I had the benefit of knowing a good deal about this film well
before it came out, and knowing what writer/director Roger Avary was going
for with his film. This film is not intended to be another "American Pie,"
but rather, it is a satire of films like "American Pie," and the totally
unrealistic worlds of those films. And Avary pulls this off perfectly, and
as far as I'm concerned, "The Rules of Attraction" is a work of sheer
genius.

A lot of people have complained about the characters. Are they likeable? For
the most part, no, they're very bad people. But that doesn't mean they're
not interesting to watch. Since the characters are so realistic, we can gain
a lot from watching their actions and the subsequent effects of those
actions. Avary's adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis' book does a great job of
showing that these are bad things the characters are doing. You do not at
any time get the idea that Avary or Ellis endorse this behavior, but are
showing it as a caution, hoping that people will think twice before acting
like these characters. All this probably makes it sound like the film is
depressing as hell. And in some ways, I suppose it is. But it's also very
entertaining and darkly hilarious. I say "darkly," because you sometimes
feel guilty for laughing at such obviously atrocious actions, but you can't
help it.

This is a film that relies heavily on acting. With bad acting, the points
Avary is trying to make would have been totally lost. Luckily, the cast more
the pulls it off. James Van Der Beek manages to make you forget that Dawson
guy he's so well known for. He really seems to understand the character of
Sean Bateman, and is not afraid to go all the way with his portrayal of this
morally bankrupt man. He and Shannyn Sossamon are the highlights of the
film. Sossamon's Lauren is the closest thing to a sympathetic character in
the film. She does some undeniably stupid things, but she is not a totally
bad person, and there are times in the film when you're heart just breaks
for her. Sossamon does a great job of capturing the many mixed emotions her
character feels. Ian Somerhalder is also very good as the other lead
character, the bisexual Paul Denton. Jessica Biel seems pretty vapid, but
then again so is her character, so it works fine. Kip Pardue and Thomas Ian
Nicholas are also good in their smaller roles. Russell Sams steals the
couple scenes he's in as an old friend of Paul's. His scenes are easily the
funniest in the movie.

Now I must talk about the directing. Roger Avary has made "The Rules of
Attraction" a very highly stylized film. But it is not, as is so often the
case, style over substance. All of stylistic tricks, while technically
impressive, also add a lot to the overall theme of the film. That, and the
fact that he got great performances out of a cast made up largely of WB
alumni make "The Rules of Attraction" one of the best directed films of
2002. It's a shame Avary won't get any recognition for his work since the
film was unfairly trashed by critics and was a box office disaster. I'm
looking forward to seeing more of his work. Hopefully more people will be
exposed to his obvious talent the next time around.

This is a very dark and realistic film, something not too common with the
vast majority of Hollywood films and, as such, it will not be for everyone.
The film blows away the myths about sex and college life that have been
perpetuated by countless films before it. People have been offended by this
movie. Good. You should be offended that there are actually people this
shallow and devoid of feeling in the world (and there are… people like
this do exist). I know I am. But that doesn't mean it's a bad film. Rather,
"The Rules of Attraction" is a great film, made be a group of very talented
individuals, that at once entertains you and makes you squirm in your seat.
If the film wasn't as graphic as it is, it wouldn't work nearly as well.
It's the realistic, unsanitized nature of the film that gets the point
across. It's not for everyone, but if you can handle it, "The Rules of
Attraction" is a highly rewarding experience. See it when it comes out on
video, since it was long gone from theaters within a few weeks of its
release.

Rating: 10/10