The Rules of Attraction ★★ 2002 (R) Follows a group of shallow, over-privileged, drug-addled college students apparently attending Hedonism University. Drug dealer Sean (Van Der Beek) is in lust with campus goddess Lauren (Sossamon). Lauren's bisexual ex-boyfriend Paul (Somerhalder) has a crush on the straight Sean. Lauren yearns for Victor (Pardue), a coked up vacationing druggie who once slept with Paul. As a result of this turmoil, everyone does drugs and sleeps with everyone else. Avary uses many production tricks and a fluctuating timeline in order to convey the feeling of the Bret Easton Ellis novel on which the movie is based. The technique works, especially the fast-forward view of Victor's trip, but the characters are so unlikable that none of them deserves to get what they want. 104m/C VHS, DVD. US James Van Der Beek, Ian Somerhalder, Shannyn Sossamon, Jessica Biel, Kip Pardue, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Kate (Catherine) Bosworth, Fred Savage, Eric Stoltz, Clifton (Gonzalez) Collins Jr., Faye Dunaway, Swoosie Kurtz, Russell Sams, Matthew Lang;
Director:
Roger Roberts Avary;
Writer:
Roger Roberts Avary;
Writer:
Robert Brinkmann;
Cameo:
Tomandandy.
