Rules of Attraction - Don’t believe the (anti) hype

When I first watched ‘Rules of Attraction’ I was completely blown away.  So much so that I started reading up on the film and its reviews in general after I’d seen it.  It was only then that I realised how – pretty much – universally hated it was!

If you haven’t heard of it, you probably have heard of ‘American Psycho.’ It’s an infamous novel (and also later film) written by Brett Easten Ellis about a serial killer in eighties New York by the name of Patrick Bateman. ‘Rules of Attraction’ is also penned by the same dark and brooding author, but this time focuses in on the titular American Psycho’s younger brother, Sean Bateman and his experiences at college.

If you’re expecting something quite so bloodthirsty as American Psycho then you’re certainly going to be disappointed, but, then again, if you’re hoping for something quite light and fluffy, then you’re also looking in the wrong place.  Perhaps one of the reasons ‘RoA’ was not well received was because the film was released among a spate of cheeky/raunchy teen comedies such as ‘American Pie’ where a group a loveable teens gets up to hilarious (adult) antics.

That could be – sort of – used to describe RoA, but this time the word ‘lovable’ would not be found here.  There are three main characters (Sean being only one) and, just because they’re not dissecting prostitutes like Sean’s older brother, doesn’t make them nice.  Therefore, if you’re hoping to relate to any of the central protagonists then you probably won’t.  The three of them – despite being pretty unlikable – are all locked in various love triangles and can’t seem to shake them.  We’re treated to the different ways they deal with this, none of which I would actually recommend in real life when dealing with the object of your attraction!

Yes, it is pretty dark and you need to know what you’re in for before you watch it.  It doesn’t really pull too many punches and, although you may laugh sometimes, it won’t be the same ‘happy laughter’ that probably came out of your belly when you were watching Jason Biggs with a pie.  Here it’s black comedy all the way, but if that’s what you’re in the mood for then don’t believe the nay-sayers and give this one a go.

Special nod to the excellent soundtrack!

9/10 almost as perfect as The Godfather