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Special Features
Director's Commentary
movieIQ
Alternate Opening Sequence
Obsession: The Making of The Roommate
The Roommate: Next Generation of Stars
Dressing Dangerously
movieIQ
Alternate Opening Sequence
Obsession: The Making of The Roommate
The Roommate: Next Generation of Stars
Dressing Dangerously
Editorial Reviews
She's cute. She's loyal. She's psychotic. And, unfortunately for college freshman Sara (Minka Kelly) she's The Roommate. When Sara arrives at school, she finds new romance with Stephen (Cam Gigandet) and forms a fast friendship with her roommate Rebecca (Leighton Meester). What begins as camaraderie soon turns creepy, and Sara comes face-to-face with the terrifying realization that her new best friend is obsessive, unbalanced...and maybe even a killer!
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
(review for movie, not DVD) Sara wants to be the small town girl that makes it in the big fashion world. she is currently going to school and hopes to make friends as well, and when Rebecca appears everything seems great. Sara has some new people in her life, things to see, fashions to produce. The only thing that seems to be standing adversely to that is the possessiveness she just starts to notice.
In the vein of many a stalking movie, The Roommate makes its debut and has some hits and some misses. The good thing about the movie is that it has some really nice moments where it seems creepy. The roomate does a nice job being creepy and seemingly feared, and the moments seem to creep up and present themselves. From the small reflection of someone wathcing across the way to the moments when fear seems to carry a sharp utensil, there are times when the movie has fun. Sadly, some things detract from that.
One thing in modern movies is the fact that the people seem a little fake. From the coffee houses to the party scene, the people seem like a Gap add. They dress a specific way and look a specifc type and the diversity that life offers seems to stay outside. You also have to buy into the notion that college rooms are big, and that is a hard one for anybody who has seen a dorm. Add to that the arrangements of some of the moments and the spacing and you might be a little wary. Still, these are problems with A LOt of new venues.
If you like this genre offshoot then you will like this. If you do not, then this might not be for you. It is not bloody, does not have nudity in any form, and does not really offer a bleak looking canvas. some of it is mind and mind alone, and the images are left to the watcher. Some like that, however, and I like it enough. I would have given it a 3.5 or so, and the 4 it rounds to seems good. I am glad I saw it, but it would not have hurt to miss it.
I suppose it depends on the person.
Thank you.
In the vein of many a stalking movie, The Roommate makes its debut and has some hits and some misses. The good thing about the movie is that it has some really nice moments where it seems creepy. The roomate does a nice job being creepy and seemingly feared, and the moments seem to creep up and present themselves. From the small reflection of someone wathcing across the way to the moments when fear seems to carry a sharp utensil, there are times when the movie has fun. Sadly, some things detract from that.
One thing in modern movies is the fact that the people seem a little fake. From the coffee houses to the party scene, the people seem like a Gap add. They dress a specific way and look a specifc type and the diversity that life offers seems to stay outside. You also have to buy into the notion that college rooms are big, and that is a hard one for anybody who has seen a dorm. Add to that the arrangements of some of the moments and the spacing and you might be a little wary. Still, these are problems with A LOt of new venues.
If you like this genre offshoot then you will like this. If you do not, then this might not be for you. It is not bloody, does not have nudity in any form, and does not really offer a bleak looking canvas. some of it is mind and mind alone, and the images are left to the watcher. Some like that, however, and I like it enough. I would have given it a 3.5 or so, and the 4 it rounds to seems good. I am glad I saw it, but it would not have hurt to miss it.
I suppose it depends on the person.
Thank you.
11 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
"The Roommate" is essentially a college-age, low-rent retread of "Single White Female" - the story of a young woman whose life is interrupted by a possessive, deranged individual. But even if "Single White Female" hadn't been made, this movie would still be about as boring and predictable as they get. It's little more than a visual checklist of thriller clichés. Not those fun, stylistic clichés, but the dull and dreary ones, all of which were unoriginal twenty years ago and have long since overstayed their welcome. If you can't figure out where the plot will go as you watch it unfold, you're either lucky, for you've missed all the thrillers I've sat through, or you're remarkably imperceptive. I'll take it as an item of faith that it's the former. I beg you, don't prove me wrong.
In the film, a girl from Iowa named Sara Matthews (Minka Kelly) enters her freshman year at the University of Los Angeles, where she hopes to study fashion design. Assigned to share her dorm room is Rebecca Woods (Leighton Meester), born and raised in the affluence of Beverly Hills. At first, they get along swimmingly. But over time, Rebecca's behavior becomes increasingly odd, as if she wanted Sara all to herself. Mostly, it displays itself not through her interactions with Sara, but through her interactions with other people in Sara's life. These include her new boyfriend, Stephen (Cam Gigandet), her friend, Tracy (Alyson Michalka), her fashion mentor, Irene (Danneel Harris), and Professor Roberts (Billy Zane), who teaches design. At Thanksgiving, Rebecca takes Sara to meet her wealthy parents; the mom (Frances Fisher) will eventually ask Sara in private the obvious question, "Is she taking her medication?"
Most of the characters are so transparent that they might as well walk around with labels hanging around their necks. I'll refrain from the two leads, since I've pretty much described them already. But you'd enjoy reading the one for Professor Roberts; his expressions and sly glances at Sara would equate to, "I'm the lecherous creep who can't control himself around women." Tracy's would read, "I'm the unreliable party girl," while Irene's would read, "I'm the clueless lesbian." As for Stephen, the frat house drummer boy, his would read, "I'm the only decent guy on campus who will love Sara for who she really is." There isn't much more I can say about the character, but regarding Gigandet, he should thank his lucky stars that, at age twenty-eight, he looks young enough to pass for a college student.
As Rebecca systematically takes care of anyone who gets between her and Sara, two plot points are introduced, neither of which is developed beyond its purpose as a thriller contrivance. The first is Sara's ex-boyfriend (Matt Lanter), who repeated calls and is eventually teased by Rebecca when she suddenly has access to Sara's cell phone. The second is the sudden appearance of a kitten, who Sara dubs Cuddles. Only one thing can happen when a cute, innocent animal has a guest spot in a movie like this. If you don't know what that thing is, please, don't make me tell you. As a cat owner, it's not something I enjoy dwelling on or even mentioning.
I'm tempted to issue a spoiler warning so that I can discuss in detail the ways in which the ending fails to deliver. It's traditional in thrillers for the final confrontation to be implausible, but it isn't often they're so devoid of style; the face-off between Sara and Rebecca is short and shows a painful lack of motivation. Is it because writer Sonny Mallhi exhausted all possible clichés by the fortieth page of the screenplay and simply stopped trying? What I find really disappointing is that, in spite of the unoriginal plot, he demonstrates on more than one occasion that he has an ear for dialogue, and you don't find that too often in movies like this. If he could apply this talent to more fulfilling story, he may have a future in showbiz.
I find these kinds of movies incredibly frustrating, mostly because they suggest a severe lack of confidence in the audience, as if the filmmakers - or perhaps the studio, or both - don't trust that people are by in large intelligent. To release "The Roommate" and actually expect moviegoers to be thrilled by it is insulting. Thrills are by definition surprising. Surprises are by definition unforeseen. They're also by definition impossible in a story that thrives on tiresome formulas and cardboard characters. But by taking the time to point this out, I realize I've been just as condescending as the people who made this movie. You don't need me to spell this out for you. You're reading this right now, and I know you're smart. Don't let movies like this deaden your imagination.
In the film, a girl from Iowa named Sara Matthews (Minka Kelly) enters her freshman year at the University of Los Angeles, where she hopes to study fashion design. Assigned to share her dorm room is Rebecca Woods (Leighton Meester), born and raised in the affluence of Beverly Hills. At first, they get along swimmingly. But over time, Rebecca's behavior becomes increasingly odd, as if she wanted Sara all to herself. Mostly, it displays itself not through her interactions with Sara, but through her interactions with other people in Sara's life. These include her new boyfriend, Stephen (Cam Gigandet), her friend, Tracy (Alyson Michalka), her fashion mentor, Irene (Danneel Harris), and Professor Roberts (Billy Zane), who teaches design. At Thanksgiving, Rebecca takes Sara to meet her wealthy parents; the mom (Frances Fisher) will eventually ask Sara in private the obvious question, "Is she taking her medication?"
Most of the characters are so transparent that they might as well walk around with labels hanging around their necks. I'll refrain from the two leads, since I've pretty much described them already. But you'd enjoy reading the one for Professor Roberts; his expressions and sly glances at Sara would equate to, "I'm the lecherous creep who can't control himself around women." Tracy's would read, "I'm the unreliable party girl," while Irene's would read, "I'm the clueless lesbian." As for Stephen, the frat house drummer boy, his would read, "I'm the only decent guy on campus who will love Sara for who she really is." There isn't much more I can say about the character, but regarding Gigandet, he should thank his lucky stars that, at age twenty-eight, he looks young enough to pass for a college student.
As Rebecca systematically takes care of anyone who gets between her and Sara, two plot points are introduced, neither of which is developed beyond its purpose as a thriller contrivance. The first is Sara's ex-boyfriend (Matt Lanter), who repeated calls and is eventually teased by Rebecca when she suddenly has access to Sara's cell phone. The second is the sudden appearance of a kitten, who Sara dubs Cuddles. Only one thing can happen when a cute, innocent animal has a guest spot in a movie like this. If you don't know what that thing is, please, don't make me tell you. As a cat owner, it's not something I enjoy dwelling on or even mentioning.
I'm tempted to issue a spoiler warning so that I can discuss in detail the ways in which the ending fails to deliver. It's traditional in thrillers for the final confrontation to be implausible, but it isn't often they're so devoid of style; the face-off between Sara and Rebecca is short and shows a painful lack of motivation. Is it because writer Sonny Mallhi exhausted all possible clichés by the fortieth page of the screenplay and simply stopped trying? What I find really disappointing is that, in spite of the unoriginal plot, he demonstrates on more than one occasion that he has an ear for dialogue, and you don't find that too often in movies like this. If he could apply this talent to more fulfilling story, he may have a future in showbiz.
I find these kinds of movies incredibly frustrating, mostly because they suggest a severe lack of confidence in the audience, as if the filmmakers - or perhaps the studio, or both - don't trust that people are by in large intelligent. To release "The Roommate" and actually expect moviegoers to be thrilled by it is insulting. Thrills are by definition surprising. Surprises are by definition unforeseen. They're also by definition impossible in a story that thrives on tiresome formulas and cardboard characters. But by taking the time to point this out, I realize I've been just as condescending as the people who made this movie. You don't need me to spell this out for you. You're reading this right now, and I know you're smart. Don't let movies like this deaden your imagination.
10 of 13 people found the following review helpful
By Arish
Format:DVD
Cause this film has received some stellar reviews that are completely unrealistic. The movie and performances were sub-par at best without no question. I gave this movie one star and thats out of generosity. You might as well watch the original film "Single white Female". It was more raw and realistic and had alot more sexuality too it. This movie was like a G version of that movie and a Imposter. And as Bad as Single White Female 2 was it was a Emmy winner compared to this. At least it wasn't posing to be another movie like this one is. I'm not sure why this was released in a movie theater? This is very much straight to video quality at best. No big names? No familiar faces? No original plot and No great acting? Billy Zane hasn't been a relevant actor sense The TITANIC. So the director obviously knew someone or pulled some strings for this one. Move on people theirs nothing here to see new or innovative.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
didn't see the preveiws anywhere
saw this on amazon.com dvds and thought it looked good so brought it and it rocked like to see more movies with the leading ladies
Published 29 days ago by michael p reitzel
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good Movie
My Daughter Goes To Collage And Said That Would Be Scary If she Had a Room Mate Like That i said That Dont Happen To Alot Of People
Published 3 months ago by jefftyler
2.0 out of 5 stars
Nothing exciting, nothing new.
I imagine anyone over the age of 18 who likes to watch movies has seen "The Roommate" already. Not this film necessarily, but something very similar to it ("Chloe," "The Crush,"... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Ben
5.0 out of 5 stars
THE ROOMMATE
great movie this movie
keeps you wondering what she'll
do next excellent.
great acting can 't stop watching
or you'll miss it
ROOMATE
keeps you wondering what she'll
do next excellent.
great acting can 't stop watching
or you'll miss it
ROOMATE
Published 4 months ago by kimely2000
1.0 out of 5 stars
Plain awful
This is single white female without the punch. Where do i begin. Its just plain bad. Single white female is 100 percent better and I rather watch that instead. Don't buy this. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Michele Greene
2.0 out of 5 stars
Damaged DVD Case
It's what I asked for and ordered and still need to watch the DVD to make sure that works, but there was a puncture hole in the DVD case ... Box didn't seem to be damaged though.
Published 5 months ago by Melissa Cox
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Roommate
This is another gripping movie that had me on the edge of my seat the whole time! It was excellent!
Published 5 months ago by julie recipko
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great movie
I love the movie and I was happy at how fast it arrived in the mail!! Speedy service and I appreciated it a lot
Published 5 months ago by Paiggeerr
1.0 out of 5 stars
Scariest film ever made?
....Or another pointless quasi-remake of an earlier good film? the latter. This film just stinks like poo and pee. don't watch this don't even look at the artwork. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Aaron
1.0 out of 5 stars
Predictable and boring .
The title tells the story , its that predictable. Simply all about a psychotic room mate. Its incredibly slow with the one piece of little action near the end if you can stay awake... Read more
Published 5 months ago by A. Murphy
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