"The Rules of Attraction" probably isn't the most believable movie in the world. Though I can't say that I know what party animal college life is like, it can't be as extreme as it's portrayed in this film. Or maybe it is, I wouldn't know. Those skanks in the "Girls Gone Wild" video are usually college girls, right? So maybe I'm wrong, maybe college parties really are like the ones in this film. I obviously don't know what the hell I'm talking about, so I'll move on, okay?
I like this movie. I certainly liked it a lot more than I expected to. It's a wacky movie, and some may find it annoying, but if nothing else, at least it's different. Different doesn't always translate to better, but sometimes it does. It can make something that would otherwise seem standard suddenly look interesting. That's especially the case with "The Rules of Attraction." The way that the characters are introduced in the beginning is a stroke of brilliance. Also, there's a great scene when a character takes a European vacation, and we see what he did via a breathless voice-over and a hyperkinetic video montage. My favorite scene, and definitely the most haunting in the film, takes place in a bathtub. Everything about that scene, the actress, the music, the way it was cut, was extraordinary. This movie is filled with great scenes like that.
The person who deserves the most credit for all this is Roger Avary, the man who adapted the novel by Bret Easton Ellis (who also wrote the novels "American Psycho" and "Less Than Zero," both of which were also made into movies), and also directed the film. With "The Rules of Attraction," Avary made a truly original film out of a fairly humdrum story. A few years back, he collaborated with Quentin Tarantino in the early writing stages of "Pulp Fiction." Avary then went on to write and direct "Killing Zoe," a movie I didn't like very much. It was a meandering mess that didn't seem to go anywhere, and I didn't like it. His work in "The Rules of Attraction" is a lot better.
Supposedly, this movie went through some hell with those assholes at the MPAA (The Motion Picture Association of America, the group that gives movies their ratings). The movie was repeatedly being sent to the MPAA, and after several attempts, it finally got the R-rating. Unfortunately, it required that Avary cut lots of controversial footage from the movie. I can't tell you whether or not the movie suffers for it, because I liked it. I WILL say that anytime a director is required to chop his movies up because of the MPAA assholes, I'm not happy. I understand the purpose of the ratings system, but unfortunately, it often causes a filmmaker to censor his or her work. When "The Rules of Attraction" is released on DVD, I hope it's released as a Director's Cut. I'd love to see this movie the way Roger Avary intended for it to be seen.
I was surprised by the acting in the movie, especially by the film's lead, James Van Der Beek. He's the guy who plays "Dawson" in that horrible TV show, "Dawson's Creek," and he's excellent in this movie. I never liked the character of "Dawson" that he plays, and I guess because of that, I've always had a problem with James Van Der Beek. Well, I gotta admit right now, the guy can act. I really liked his performance in this movie. He should ditch that "Dawson's Creek" gig and move on to making movies. By the way, you may (or may not) be interested to know that the name of Van Der Beek's character in this film is "Sean Bateman." The character is the younger brother of "Patrick Bateman," the main character of the book and movie "American Psycho." He's even mentioned in this movie, but in a sly way.
Along with Van Der Beek, this movie has Shannyn Sossamon, who was the female lead in "A Knight's Tale" and "40 Days and 40 Nights." She was decent in the movie, but her hair looked weird. It looked like she was in chemotherapy or something. Ian Somerhalder (he was in "Life as a House," but I don't remember him in it) is in it, too, and he was pretty good. Kip Pardue (Sylvester Stallone's young protégé in "Driven"... in "Remember the Titans," he was the football player whose sexual orientation was in question) is in the film, but not for very long. He's the one who has the European vacation and has the breathless voice-over. Good stuff. Jessica Biel (the hottie from the lame TV show, "7th Heaven") is also in the movie, and she's good. She's very effective eye candy, too. Kate Bosworth (the star of "Blue Crush"... she was also in "Remember the Titans" with Kip Pardue) has a small role in the film, and so does Eric Stoltz (he was the star of Avary's directorial debut, "Killing Zoe"... he also played "Lance," the drug dealer in "Pulp Fiction"). Probably the most interesting characer is played Russell Sams (he was in only one movie before this one, a movie titled "What Matters Most," which I never saw). The characrer's name is "Richard," though he insists on being called "Dick." He's in the movie for only a few minutes, but in those scenes, it's his show. He's lotsa fun to watch.
I like this movie a lot, and I look forward to seeing the Director's Cut (assuming it will be made available), but really, it's a very bland story. It's the way that it's told that makes it such a good movie. The interesting use of time-lapse, the very cool reverse playback, and the unique way of telling the story makes it a very entertaining movie. Sure, it has some slow parts, but there's so much in this movie to like, the slow parts seem to be a rest period before the cool stuff fire away at you. I look forward to seeing more from Roger Avary.
Scale of 1-10: 8