Product Details

• Actors: James Van Der Beek, Ian Somerhalder, Shannyn Sossamon, Jessica Biel, Kip Pardue
• Directors: Roger Avary
• Writers: Roger Avary, Bret Easton Ellis
• Producers: Greg Shapiro, James Deutch, Jeremiah Samuels, Marc Butan, Marsha Oglesby
• Format: NTSC
• Language: English, German
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Run Time: 110 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (201 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005JLKJ

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

66 of 79 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly, I loved it, February 16, 2003

By 

FloozyFlapper1926 (Somewhere in the 20's) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rules of Attraction (DVD)

"The Rules of Attraction" is about rich kids, drugs, partying and a glimpse into college life. Since I've unfortunately known people just like this, it definitely scored with me. From beginning to end, this movie is fascinating and I couldn't pull myself away from it. Each scene is great and its a rare film that doesn't bore you. Its a very black comedy yet in many ways it hits on quite a few real issues. Sean is the main character, a drug dealing sociopathic character who falls for a virgin named Lauren who has a boyfriend named Victor. All the while Paul is in love with Sean. It sounds like a simple plot, but in the hands of Roger Avary its compelling. The backwards scenes, the suicide scene, the parties and the character interaction is disturbing yet intriguing. Of course, the book is better but that is generally the case. Still, I liked this better than "American Psycho" for some reason. It just seemed sadly real to me.

My favorite scenes are obnoxious Richard at the restaurant, Sean's excuse to Lauren for sleeping with her friend, the guy going on a debauched trip across Europe and his weird face to face moment with Lauren and the hospital scene.

This is a movie that isn't for everyone. Its a black comedy, but its peopled with strange characters and scenes that will stay with you long after. I loved it!

23 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Madness of Youth, July 30, 2003

By 

Sebastien Pharand (Orléans, Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Rules of Attraction (DVD)

The Rules of Attraction might very well be the best comedy I saw in 2002. Yes, read this right. A comedy. I found myself laughing so hard at times that I had to watch the movie twice to make sure I hadn't missed anything. Only the twisted mind of Bret Easton Ellis could create the basis for this film.

On the other hand, this is also a dark, pessimistic film with very little hope in store for its characters. Here, we follow three young people who live their College years through drugs, parties and sex. They are all without an identity, all without a life so to speak. The only thing they love is feeling sorry for themselves and making everything seem worst than it is.

You can't care for these characters in a way that other movies will make you care. And yet, you can't help but feel sorry for this lot of blinded kids. They are so enthralled with their own little world that they forget about everything else that surrounds them in reality.

This is not a movie for that faint of hearts. But this little piece of cinematic genius (some of the shots are so brilliantly done they left me totally speachless) deserves to be seen by a wider audience. If only people could open up and admire something that is this dark and yet so extremely funny, they would discover a whole new cinematic world.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not a perfect adaptation, but a near perfect movie..., February 9, 2006

By 

Damian Gunn "The Dark One is I" (I am everywhere) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rules of Attraction (DVD)

There are many mixed reviews about this film...some love it, some hate it and some just tolerate it...but I am with the first group. While I am a huge fan of Bret Easton Ellis and have read and loved all of his work, Rules of Attraction is one of my favorites (Less Than Zero is still his best work)...regardless I had to see this film, and while not in anyway a perfect adaptation of his novel it is a great film that holds to most of the same morals that Ellis addressed in his novel. I have to say first that other than the fact that the charactors have the same names I don't particularly watch this film as if it were based off the novel...for many of the ket scenes in the novel, mostly Laurens pregnancy, are not in this film at all and thus watching it with the intent of watching a film version of the novel will leave you null and void. The film does revolve around Sean Bateman (Van Der Beek) who is madly in love with Lauren (Sossaman) who once dated Paul (Sommerhalder), but Paul, now openly bisexual, is in love with Sean. The novel delves more into these three as relationships are concerned, but the film delves into their personalities and there charactors apart from their significant other whomever that may be. One of the best scenes involves Paul's friend Richard in the resturant. It's outright hilarious. Its in the novel too and I'm so glad it was included in the film. This film does well to show the lack of morality in society and that out generation of teenagers is just as morally debased as any other. The novel took place in the 80's during free love and drugs and the film takes place now, during free love and drugs. I look at all of Ellis' work as great charactor studys, wonderfull looks at who we are in the mirror, not who we pretend to be in front of everyone else. Watch this film and look past the comedic timing and the pretty faces to see the monsters in us all.