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MOVIES / ON DVD / THE RULES OF ATTRACTION
The Rules of Attraction

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The Rules of Attraction (2002)

42%
33%
65%
N/A
N/A
N/A
42 %
Reviews Counted: 130 Fresh: 55  Rotten:75 Average Rating: 5.2/10
 
Consensus: A tiresome movie about unsympathetic college kids engaging in self-destructive behaviors. A tiresome movie about unsympathetic college kids engaging in self-destructive behaviors. more
 
Rated: R
Runtime: 1 hr 50 mins
Theatrical Release: Oct 11, 2002 Wide
Box Office: $6,466,416
Synopsis:
This, then, is the domain of Camden College, a small, affluent liberal arts college somewhere in New England, and its human satellites. We offer, for your consideration, three members of Camden's student body: Sean Bateman (JAMES VAN DER BEEK), a striking young man with only a... [More]
This, then, is the domain of Camden College, a small, affluent liberal arts college somewhere in New England, and its human satellites.

We offer, for your consideration, three members of Camden's student body:

Sean Bateman (JAMES VAN DER BEEK), a striking young man with only a passing association with his emotions. Having cut an unhealthy swath through the female population of Camden he is over his ears in debt and just an occasional visitor to his classes…

...Paul Denton (IAN SOMERHALDER), a cynical if highly intelligent young libertine whose proclivities lean very much toward the most beautiful face in the room--whether male or female--especially those with no interest whatsoever in sexual or emotional congress with him. Once upon a time, Paul dated...

...Lauren Hynde (SHANNYN SOSSAMON), a beautiful if increasingly befuddled young woman seeking connections where few seem to exist, riding her skateboard into the ether of Camden's social universe, which always seems to be perched on the precipice of the apocalypse.

Sean, Paul and Lauren are surrounded at Camden by their very good "friends": Lauren's roommate Lara (JESSICA BIEL), whose carnal instincts far outweigh the bonds of camaraderie; the much sought-after Victor (KIP PARDUE), a chronic object of Lauren's desire whose European sojourn has kept him out of her reach; Sean's friend Mitchell (THOMAS IAN NICHOLAS), about to fall into the abyss of Bateman's world; Paul's posse (JAY BARUCHEL, JOEL MICHAELY and COLIN BAIN), always at the ready with a brittle quip; Kelly (KATE BOSWORTH), one of Sean's innumerable and quickly forgotten conquests; and Marc (FRED SAVAGE), who mistakenly believes himself to be considerably more coherent than he actually is.

There are distinguished members of the Camden faculty, such as Mr. Lance Lawson (ERIC STOLTZ), who views himself as being young and cool enough to attend campus parties, and to occasionally suggest raising an attractive student's grade point average in exchange for "extracurricular activity."

Outside of the rarified world of Camden is the "townie" Rupert (CLIFTON COLLINS, JR.), a dealer who supplies Sean and plenty of other Camden students with their recreational pharmaceuticals...for a very good price.

And then there's family: Mrs. Denton (FAYE DUNAWAY), Paul's elegant mother, the victim of too much money and too little love, as well as family friend Mrs. Jared (SWOOSIE KURTZ). Together they enjoy their cocktails and prescription drugs over lunch with their sons who are just as high as their mothers.

And so it goes, with endless rounds of drug-alcohol-and-sex-drenched campus fetes--such as The End of the World Party, The Dress to Get Screwed Party, and The Pre-Saturday Night Party --inconveniently punctuated by sparsely-attended Camden classes.

But human nature determines that in a highly imperfect world, the rules of attraction always apply...and among the co-eds at Camden College, the first rule is: There are no rules.

Lions Gate Entertainment's The Rules of Attraction is Academy Award winning director/writer ROGER AVARY's scathingly insightful film adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis' scabrously funny social satire of life and love among the young and the privileged. Avary, who won his Oscar as co-writer of Pulp Fiction, previously directed cult classic Killing Zoe, which also starred Eric Stoltz.

For The Rules of Attraction, Avary has assembled a remarkable group of actors, all of whom were drawn to become participants in Avary's ambitious, incisive and highly contemporary comedy of very bad manners.

For many of these talents, The Rules of Attraction represents a distinct and courageous change of pace from their previous work.

JAMES VAN DER BEEK has found stardom portraying title character Dawson Leery of the WB Network's smash hit series Dawson's Creek, as well as the highly successful feature Varsity Blues. IAN SOMERHALDER starred in the WB's coming-of-age drama series Young Americans, and most recently appeared alongside Kevin Kline, Hayden Christensen and Kristin Scott Thomas in Irwin Winkler's feature, Life As A House. SHANNYN SOSSAMON starred as the romantic lead opposite Heath Ledger in A Knight's Tale and with Josh Hartnett in 40 Days and 40 Nights. JESSICA BIEL stars as Mary Camden in the WB's popular series 7th Heaven and had the lead opposite Freddie Prinze, Jr. in the Warner Bros. feature Summer Catch.

Other cast members include KATE BOSWORTH who acted alongside Ian Somerhalder in Young Americans and stars this summer in the highly anticipated surf movie Blue Crush; THOMAS IAN NICHOLAS, one of the randy high school students in the phenomenally successful American Pie and American Pie 2; KIP PARDUE, who starred opposite Sylvester Stallone in Renny Harlin's Driven as well as the hit Jerry Bruckheimer production Remember the Titans; ERIC STOLTZ, one of the screen's most versatile talents, who starred in Avary's Killing Zoe and numbers among his many credits a wide range of mainstream and independent features, including Mask, Some Kind of Wonderful, Bodies, Rest & Motion and Sleep With Me, producing the latter two as well; CLIFTON COLLINS, JR., who made a dazzling impression on audiences as "Frankie Flowers" in Steven Soderbergh's Traffic and in Joel Schumacher's Tigerland; and FRED SAVAGE, who grew up before America's eyes on The Wonder Years and is now very much a young veteran of stage and screen. The cast also includes such fine young performers as JOEL MICHAELY (But I'm A Cheerleader) and newcomers COLIN BAIN (Long Shot with Britney Spears) and RUSSELL SAMS.

Also appearing in the film as Mrs. Denton, Paul's mother, is the legendary FAYE DUNAWAY, whose extraordinary career has included such classics as Bonnie and Clyde, The Thomas Crown Affair, Chinatown and Network (for which she received an Academy Award for Best Actress) to such independent efforts as Don Juan DeMarco, Albino Alligator and The Yards. Portraying Mrs. Jared, the similarly privileged mother of one of Paul's former paramours, is SWOOSIE KURTZ, the highly honored performer of stage and screen who was a series regular on the popular Sisters.

The behind-the-camera talent of The Rules of Attraction includes producer GREG SHAPIRO of the innovative production company Kingsgate (Affliction, Simpatico, Investigating Sex); executive producer JEREMIAH SAMUELS (love jones, That Championship Season, The Wash); director of photography ROBERT BRINKMANN (The Truth About Cats and Dogs, The Cable Guy); production designer SHARON SEYMOUR (Reality Bites, Don Juan DeMarco, The Truth About Cats and Dogs); and costume designer LOUISE FROGLEY (The Limey, Traffic, Spy Game). [Less]

Genre: Dramas

Starring: James Van Der Beek, Jessica Biel, Ian Somerhalder, Shannyn Sossamon, Clifton Collins

Director: Roger Avary
Screenwriter: Roger Avary
Producer: Greg Shapiro

DVD Info

Release:

Feb 18, 2003

[DVD Details]

DVD Features:

  • Region 1
  • Keep Case
  • Widescreen

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital 5.1 - English

Additional Release Material:

  • Audio Commentary - 1. Cast & Crew "Revolving Door" Commentaries
  • Trailer - 1. Teaser
  • Featurette - 1. Sundance Channel's ANATOMY OF A SCENE
  • TV Spots
  • Preview of Roger Avary's film GLITTERATI

Interactive Features:

  • Interactive Menus
  • Scene Selection

Buy It On DVD

Reviews

 
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Ratings Image

Actually I quite enjoyed the movie--but how do I get rid of this awful discharge?

Full Review | Comment
02/11/08 03:35 PM
J. R. Jones
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

The leads and their accomplices look dead glam, but it's never clear whether their vacuity is a deliberate strategy. Certainly Avary's style seems all for instant gratification.

Full Review | Comment
06/24/06 04:20 AM
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
Ratings Image

Maybe it's writer/director Roger Avary's approach. He has taken the source material too seriously, and presented it almost at face value.

Full Review | Comment
12/06/05 08:09 PM
Film Threat
Ratings Image

It’s comedy with consequence, shenanigans rooted in an ugly reality.

Full Review | Comment
12/06/05 08:09 PM
Eric Campos
Film Threat
Ratings Image

Atuações surpreendemente eficazes, uma trilha sonora espetacular, um roteiro inteligente e ácido e a direção intensa de Avary criam um filme absolutamente imperdível.

| Comment
10/16/04 06:31 PM
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena
Ratings Image

Avary's style is sure to turn off many viewers, while others will find his inventive filmmaking exhilarating.

Full Review | Comment
01/06/04 05:40 PM
Greg Maki
Star-Democrat (Easton, MD)
Ratings Image

The opening moments culminate with a drunken date rape during which the rapist vomits on the back of his victim. It doesn't really improve from there.

Full Review | Comment
09/07/03 08:11 AM
Jeremy Heilman
MovieMartyr.com
Ratings Image

It’s an outstanding film, clearly stamped with some bravura filmmaking techniques, an impeccable soundtrack and a stereotype-shattering performance from James Van Der Beek.

Full Review | Comment
06/26/03 11:38 PM
Nick Rogers
State Journal-Register (Springfield, IL)
Ratings Image

You can happily give this a miss.

Full Review | Comment
05/20/03 05:16 PM
Jonathan Ross
Daily Mirror [UK]
Ratings Image

A breathtaking story told in breathtaking style.

Full Review | Comment
04/21/03 05:20 PM
Alan Morrison
Empire Magazine
Ratings Image

A disagreeable and unrewarding exposé of what spoilt college students get up to in expensive New England colleges.

Full Review | Comment
04/20/03 08:12 AM
Philip French
Guardian [UK]
Ratings Image

There is so much going on, filmed with such style, that I found it hard to stop being fascinated.

Full Review | Comment
04/13/03 08:11 AM
Ian Waldron-Mantgani
UK Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | Comment
03/31/03 05:13 PM
FilmFour.com
Ratings Image

Stylish, impressive and darkly funny, with a surprising performance from James 'Dawson' Van Der Beek.

Full Review | Comment
03/22/03 01:00 PM
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon
Ratings Image

This is fiercely original and seriously funny.

Full Review | Comment
03/04/03 08:39 AM
Nev Pierce
BBC
Ratings Image

James van der Beek not only buries his wussy Dawson's Creek character but spits on its grave.

Full Review | Comment
02/24/03 02:00 AM
Shannon J. Harvey
Sunday Times (Australia)
Ratings Image

Where the novel ran on like a coke-binge bloody nose, the script has structure, makes sense, gives the audience room to breathe and think and maybe even feel something for these vapid characters as they run amok on a Northeastern college campus.

Full Review | Comment
01/08/03 08:36 AM
Robert Wilonsky
Dallas Observer
Ratings Image

The filmmakers do go way over the top to poke fun at human stupidity and self-involvement--it's a miracle any of these people survive! Yet since they keep us laughing at the ongoing farce, we hardly feel like we're being educated. But we are.

Full Review | Comment
11/21/02 08:29 AM
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
Ratings Image

Its salient points are simultaneously buried, drowned and smothered in the excesses of writer-director Roger Avary.

Full Review | Comment
11/20/02 10:38 AM
Matt Brunson
Creative Loafing
Ratings Image

A callow adaptation of a callow novel.

Full Review | Comment
11/19/02 08:27 AM
Adam Nayman
eye WEEKLY
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