The Rules of Attraction (2002)
Average Rating: 5.3/10
Reviews Counted: 137
Fresh: 59 | Rotten: 78
A tiresome movie about unsympathetic college kids engaging in self-destructive behaviors.
Average Rating: 4.8/10
Critic Reviews: 30
Fresh: 9 | Rotten: 21
A tiresome movie about unsympathetic college kids engaging in self-destructive behaviors.
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Average Rating: 3.2/5
User Ratings: 49,856
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Movie Info
Bret Easton Ellis' controversial novel about the sexual, emotional, and chemical interactions of a group of wealthy and amoral college students is brought to the screen in this adaptation from writer and director Roger Avery. Sean Bateman (James Van Der Beek) is a student at Camden College, a well-respected private school on the East Coast. Sean is attracted to Lauren Hynde (Shannyn Sossamon), a high minded and seemingly unapproachable coed, while Lauren is infatuated with Victor (Kip Pardue), a
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Cast
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James Van Der Beek
Sean Bateman -
Ian Somerhalder
Paul Denton -
Shannyn Sossamon
Lauren Hynde -
Jessica Biel
Lara -
Kip Pardue
Victor -
Thomas Ian Nicholas
Mitchell -
Kate Bosworth
Kelly -
Fred Savage
Marc -
Eric Stoltz
Mr. Lance Lawson -
Clifton Collins Jr.
Rupert -
Faye Dunaway
Mrs. Owen -
Swoosie Kurtz
Mrs. Jared -
-
Paul Williams
Duty Doctor -
Amber Smith
Undressed to Get Screwe... -
-
Drew Wood
Jim From Dartmouth -
-
Lucille M. Oliver
Young Nurse -
Joel Michaely
Raymond -
Eric Szmanda
NYU Film Student -
Kavan Reece
Handsome Dunce -
Skyler Stone
Quinlivan -
Noelle Evans
Crack Whore -
Anderson Goncalves
Bertrand -
Russell Sams
Richard -
Chase Hampton
Townie -
Curtis Anderson
Guy Rolling Keg -
Quincey Evans
Dicky -
Theresa Wayman
Food Service Girl -
Colin Bain
Donald -
Malcolm Galt
Hacky Sack Guy -
Cheyenne Wilbur
Maitre D' -
Ron Jeremy Hyatt
At the Player Piano -
Hayley Keenan
Claudia -
Holly Hollywood
Undressed to Get Screwe... -
Alaina
Undressed to Get Screwe... -
Trisha Upton
Undressed to Get Screwe... -
Michael Ralph
Guest
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The Rules of Attraction Trailer & Photos
All Critics (143) | Top Critics (30) | Fresh (61) | Rotten (78) | DVD (23)
Actually I quite enjoyed the movie--but how do I get rid of this awful discharge?
Top CriticThe 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.
Ellis' satire, filtered through Avary's harsh lens, is hard to stomach, harder to ignore.
The nonstop artifice ultimately proves tiresome, with the surface histrionics failing to compensate for the paper-thin characterizations and facile situations.
The bulk of Rules comes off like a cool-hand poser's at the wheel.
A party-hearty teen flick that scalds like acid.
Not for kids, and not for many adults, either.
Will either fascinate or infuriate you, sometimes within the same moment--and it's difficult imagining the film working any better if it did not.
When a movie is described by some critics as morally repellent and by others as innovative and brilliant, it means at the very least that it's controversial and touching a nerve in the collective consciousness.
Un film corrosif mettant sans dessus dessous tous les points qu'il aborde.
Itâ(TM)s comedy with consequence, shenanigans rooted in an ugly reality.
Maybe it's writer/director Roger Avary's approach. He has taken the source material too seriously, and presented it almost at face value.
Atuações surpreendemente eficazes, uma trilha sonora espetacular, um roteiro inteligente e ácido e a direção intensa de Avary criam um filme absolutamente imperdível.
Avary's style is sure to turn off many viewers, while others will find his inventive filmmaking exhilarating.
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.
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.
You can happily give this a miss.
A breathtaking story told in breathtaking style.
Audience Reviews for The Rules of Attraction
"There Are No Rules"
The Rules of Attraction was a very disappointing movie for me. Not because it was really bad or poorly made, but because it never was able to get its point across in a way that was satisfying. Along the way, the film has some interesting commentary and dark humor, but the message is lost. I haven't read the book, but I'm guessing that the movie left out something that was vitally important in getting the message across clearly.
This follows a love triangle at Camden University, where rich, young men and women go to party, do drugs, and have sex. I think classes go on there too, but it doesn't seem like many of the characters really give a shit. The love triangle is between Sean, Paul, and Lauren. Sean is a part-time drug dealer who falls in love with Lauren. Paul is a bisexual, who used to date Lauren and now has a thing for Sean. Lauren is a virgin, who is waiting for her boyfriend to come back from Europe, but also wants to lose her virginity.
As far as college movies go, this one is completely different. It's dark, it's odd, and it all seems very hateful. There's no sympathy for the characters which isn't something that has ever made me hate a movie, and it doesn't make me hate this one. What made this a disappointment for me was that it had such promise the whole time, and then we get to the end and I'm just left confused at what the actual point is.
This is an entertaining movie that has some good things too say and some not so good things to say. In the end though I was left wanting more from it and it looks like that is the general response from most viewers. I'm not going to say to pass on it because it really isn't a bad movie, but I reserve myself from recommending it also.
Super Reviewer
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- Lauren Hynde: The tutorial on the post modern condition? It's been cancelled.
- Sean Bateman: Typical.
- Lauren Hynde: I haven't seen you in it before.
- Sean Bateman: That's what's so typical. This was the first time I bothered to show up.
- Lauren Hynde: You've got bad timing.
- Sean Bateman: Saturdays suck. I don't have to put up with this bullshit. I'm dropping this class.
- Lauren Hynde: Me too.
- Sean Bateman: Really?
- Lauren Hynde: Yeah. I think I'm gonna change my major.
- Sean Bateman: To what?
- Lauren Hynde: I don't know yet. What's yours?
- Sean Bateman: I don't even know.
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- Mitchell: Are you fucking crazy?
- Sean Bateman: Define crazy. [shrieks like a lunatic]
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- Paul Denton: Sometimes I'm amazed at the shit the spills out of my mouth.
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- Sean Bateman: No one ever ever knows anyone. You're not ever gonna know me.
- Paul Denton: What the hell does that mean?
- Sean Bateman: It means, Paul, you're not ever gonna know me. Deal with it. Figure it out.
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- Sean Bateman: I just want to know you.
- Lauren Hynde: Nobody knows anyone. You will never ever know me.
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- Sean Bateman: I really did try to kill myself... right before I faked it.
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Foreign Titles
- Les Lois de l'attraction (FR)
- Las reglas del juego (ES)
brook - class of '87