Product Details

• Actors: James Van Der Beek, Ian Somerhalder, Shannyn Sossamon, Jessica Biel, Kip Pardue
• Directors: Roger Avary
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English, German
• Subtitles: Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Lions Gate
• DVD Release Date: February 18, 2003
• Run Time: 110 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (192 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00007L4KI
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #8,659 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #47 in	Movies & TV > Art House & International > By Genre > Comedy
  #53 in	Movies & TV > Art House & International > European Cinema > Germany

• For more information about "The Rules of Attraction" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

A not-quite dazzling array of cinematic tricks (split screens, freeze-frames, running the film backwards, rapid editing, etc.) are used to depict college students floundering in the pursuit of love and meaning. Drugs, blow jobs, pornography, booze, rape, masturbation, '80s pop tunes, beatings, suicide, attempted suicide, faked suicide, loss of bladder control, and trite pseudo-philosophy are on display as pretty young actors with squeaky-clean images (like James Van Der Beek and Jessica Biel) attempt to dirty themselves up. The Rules of Attraction comes to life for about five minutes when an actor named Russell Sams appears for an outrageous restaurant scene, then slumps back into terminal disaffection when he departs. Also featuring Shannyn Sossamon, Faye Dunaway, Swoozie Kurtz, Ian Somerhalder, Kate Bosworth, Eric Stolz, Fred Savage, and many strikingly good-looking young people. The filmmakers are attempting to depict the vacuousness of today's youth but only succeed in portraying the void in their own hearts. --Bret Fetzer

Product Description

It's the mid-1980s at Camden College. Sean Bateman (James Van Der Beek) is the younger brother of psychotic Wall Street broker Patrick Bateman. Sean's a drug dealer owes a lot of money to "fellow" dealer Rupert Guest (Clifton Collins Jr.) and sleeps with nearly half of the female population on campus. Lauren Hynde (Shannyn Sossamon) is technically a virgin. She's saving herself for her very shallow boyfriend Victor Johnson (Kip Pardue) who's left the states to backpack across Europe. Her slutty roommate Lara (Jessica Biel) has the hots for Victor as well. Paul Denton (Ian Somerhalder) is bisexual. He used to love Mitchell Allen (Thomas Ian Nicholas) before Mitchell dumped him for Candice (Clare Kramer). Sean loves Lauren. Paul loves Sean and used to date Lauren. Lauren loves both Sean and Victor. Sex Drugs Rock and Roll...what more could you want in a movie?System Requirements:Starring: James Van Der Beek Jessica Biel Kate Bosworth Shannyn Sossamon Ian Somerhalder and Kip Pardue. Directed By: Roger Avary. Running Time: 110 Minutes. Color.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: MYSTERY/SUSPENSE Rating: R UPC: 031398822721 Manufacturer No: 71472

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Close but no cigar, January 26, 2003

By	"joeyabs" - See all my reviews

A well-thought out adaptation, well directed but for those who don't want to get tricked into buying a lesser DVD, an unrated version with a Bret Easton Ellis commentary, deleted scenes and extra teasers will be released a few months later. Check the director Roger Avary's webiste avary.com for details on that. This DVD could be much better and will be.

59 of 71 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

"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!

17 of 20 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 (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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.