Bold, sexy, daring, clever, funny, ruthless, and sad, Roger Avary's startling satire is the movie "American Pie" wishes it was.
Here is a picture of contemporary 'yoof' that is fearless and true. Like "Fight Club", it will split audiences down generational lines, leaving viewers feeling either thrilled or assaulted.
Camden College, New England. Sean Bateman (James Van Der Beek - superb) is "an emotional vampire" who arrives at 'The End of the World Party' battered and drunk, looking for his latest victim. Paul Denton (Ian Somerhalder) is a bisexual pretty boy, violently rebuffed by a would-be conquest. Lauren Hynde (Shannyn Sossamon) is the campus ingenue, losing her virginity in a most unpleasant way.
After each introduction, the film literally spools backwards (a gimmick that's, thankfully, quickly dropped), and we then flash back to the events that led to this apocalyptic evening.
Adapted from the novel by "American Psycho" author Bret Easton Ellis, "The Rules of Attraction" is predictably harsh. Van Der Beek tears down his goodie-goodie Dawson's Creek image, with scenes of masturbation, violence, and empty sex.
But there's more to Avary's achievement than shallow shock factor.
For although Avary mocks his callow (anti)heroes, he cares for them too. Bateman, younger brother of "American Psycho" Patrick, can cope with young lust, but not love. Denton believes life is as superficial as his own beauty. Hynde has her idealism shredded.
An unsparing suicide scene captures this complex blend of mockery and affection, as a lovelorn girl cuts her wrists to "[I Can't Live, If Living Is] Without You". It's honest and moving, while at the same time cruel and darkly humorous.
In a movie this ambitious, there are inevitably problems - an uneven pace, distracting drug-dealer subplot, Eric Stoltz - but these are minor irritations. What counts are the bellylaughs and smirks throughout, underpinned by a generation's desperate search for meaning. This is fiercely original and seriously funny.
The Rules of Attraction (2003)
