Product Details

• Actors: Andrew McCarthy, Jami Gertz, Robert Downey Jr., James Spader, Tony Bill
• Directors: Marek Kanievska
• Writers: Bret Easton Ellis, Harley Peyton
• Producers: Jon Avnet, Jordan Kerner, Marvin Worth
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• DVD Release Date: March 5, 2002
• Run Time: 98 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (136 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005V9IH
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #19,267 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Less Than Zero" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Dreary, pointless late-'80s novel by literary poseur Bret Easton Ellis focused on listless, shiftless, drug-sniffing, sex-swapping, dead-end California teens with too much money and time on their hands. Which just about sums up this movie, though it's not nearly as interesting as that. This is mostly due to the ridiculously cleaned-up script and lifeless direction, which whitewashes the baser depravity and replaces it with perversion-lite and fashion shows. It doesn't help that director Marek Kanievska is saddled with Brat Pack lesser (make that least) lights Andrew McCarthy and Jami Gertz. The only things that lift this film above the muck are the performances by James Spader as a particularly heinous drug dealer and Robert Downey Jr. as a rich-kid addict with no self-control. --Marshall Fine

Product Description

Returning home from college for Christmas vacation, Clay (Andrew McCarthy) is eager to resume his long-time romantic relationship with Blair (Jami Gertz) and his old friendship with the irresponsible Julian (Robert Downey, Jr.). But he finds the two have started a relationship of their own and developed a fondness for clubs, wild parties and endless amounts of cocaine. Clay's determination and love for Blair enables him to win her back, but Julian is a different story. Increasingly hopeless, addicted and deeply in debt to his dealer (James Spader), he puts Clay and Blair through the ultimate test of friendship, loyalty and love.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 52 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Maybe not a perfect adaptation of the book, but hard hitting March 30, 2003

By frisky2000 VINE™ VOICE

Format:VHS Tape

Though most reviewers commented on their disppointment that this movie missed the mark 1000% when it came to adapting the novel by Ellis to the big screen, I believe if you view this film as a message movie for the ages where drugs and excess are concerned, then you will be quite impressed. If not for Robert Downey Jr. and James Spaders' performances, however, the other actors could not have carried the message with such brutal force. Julian is a wreck of an addict, distraught over family issues, wild eyed with crazy drug induced moods, not really making it in school, and his circle of friends, male and female, are his only salvation. At the same time, they are his downfall, for Julian slides effortlessly into the glamorous world of sex, clubs and drugs with his friends right by his side. This picture came out in the eighties, when JUST SAY NO was on everyone's lips, and the dangers of "recreational" drug use were not exposed as vividly. Watching Julian's descent into hell feels like a punch in your chest, and the ending, though some may have seen it coming, shook me up considerably, having known a person with a similar fate back in my '80's high school days. Of course this film is not classic filmmaking or even original storytelling, but I think showing it to impressionable teens at an early age might not be a bad idea. And how accurately did art mirror life when, in the 1990's, Downey Jr. nearly killed himself getting high on everything under the sun. This film was not a far stretch for him.

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars a great showcase for Robert Downey Jr.'s talents October 30, 2000

By man_invisible VINE™ VOICE

Format:VHS Tape

I haven't yet read the novel, but I have heard of all the lashings both critics and Bret Easton Ellis alike have thrown at the film version of "Less Than Zero." It's nothing new when Hollywood takes liberties with a good book (Kubrick's hack-job with "The Shining" is an ideal example), and very rarely do adaptations hit the screen flawlessly.

Well, that being said, I must say that "Less Than Zero" is one of my favorite movies at the moment, not because of its commitment to the source material but as an affecting tale of addiction among the jaded and ruined of the L.A. club scene circa 1987. Clay (Andrew McCarthy) returns home for Christmas to see his friends Blair and Julian (Jami Gertz & Downey, Jr.) and finds them immersed in the ruins of drugged-out living. The movie is basically his attempts to tag after and save Julian from himself before he--duh--gets in too deep.

The recent troubles in Robert Downey Jr.'s personal life make his portrayal of the drugged-out Julian all the more resonant and convincing. "Less Than Zero" is really his movie, and he shines in spite of the grunge his character is pulled through. Andrew McCarthy is well-cast as the heroic, boyishly handsome Clay. Jami Gertz does well, but her appeal as a sex symbol must have lived and died in the 1980s: she shows capable acting ability, but it's hard to watch her monstrous facial expressions. In a supporting role, James Spader is typically excellent as a sleazy drug dealer.

Some have said the film is hollow and lacks the spirit of Ellis' novel, but I'm not in a position to say. Judging "Less Than Zero" only by the movie alone, I would have to reply with nothing but enthusiasm. It's a drama that doesn't manipulatively pull at the viewer's heartstrings with cliche, but instead is honest about its subject and as a result, more genuine.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I don't care what the others say! May 25, 1999

By A Customer

Format:VHS Tape

I've both read this book and seen this movie. They're right who say it doesn't follow the book in "plot" (but then again if you read the book you'd realize it was one of those good books like "Catcher in the Rye" without a real "plot"- which wouldn't make too good a movie now would it?). This is a moving movie and the acting is brilliant most of the time, especially from Robert Downey Jr. He plays the part of the hopeless junky so well that it's almost eerie sometimes. Jamie Gertz did a good job playing the hypocritical yet caring friend who makes it her mission in life to protect the Downey Jr. character. And Andrew McCarthy puts off just the right mixture of depth of feeling and the detachment of an outsider who's been away for too long. The casting was great and they did what they could to make this a good movie, and succeeded. It was real, scary, intelligent, and suspensful. Watch it!