Less Than Zero (1987)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Marek Kanievska

Writers:

Bret Easton Ellis (based on the novel by)
Harley Peyton (screenplay)

Release Date:

6 November 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

It only looks like the good life.

Plot:

A college freshman returns to L.A. for the holidays at his ex-girlfriend's request, but discovers that his former best friend has an out-of-control drug habit.

Plot Keywords:

College | Drugs | Christmas Vacation | Friend | Christmas

Cast

Andrew McCarthy	...	Clay
Jami Gertz	...	Blair
Robert Downey Jr.	...	Julian
James Spader	...	Rip
Tony Bill	...	Bradford Easton
Nicholas Pryor	...	Benjamin Wells
Donna Mitchell	...	Elaine Easton
Michael Bowen	...	Hop
Sarah Buxton	...	Markie
Lisanne Falk	...	Patti
Michael Greene	...	Robert Wells
Neith Hunter	...	Alana
Afton Smith	...	Kim
Brian Wimmer	...	Trent
Kelly Wolf	...	Lile

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Black and White | Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Iceland:14 | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Belgium:16 (video rating) | Canada:18A (Canadian Home Video rating) | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R (No. 28819) | West Germany:16 | South Korea:18

Filming Locations:

Beverly Hills High School - 241 Moreno Drive, Beverly Hills, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Keanu Reeves was originally cast as Clay Easton.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: A camera man is seen when Blaire is in the broken in loft. The camera man is in bottom left corner of the window.

Quotes:

Rip: Everyone is accountable.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Lunar Park (2011)

Soundtrack:

You And Me

A complete disaster...

"Less Than Zero" was one of my favorite novels of all time, combining a "Catcher in the Rye" for the excessive L.A. in the '80's sorta mentality. Unfortunately this film was in production during the very height of the "just say no to drugs" Nancy Reagan campaign. I remember reading in the L.A. Times how the producers were stating that they changed the character Clay to an avid anti-drug crusading hero instead of the bisexual, morally confused coked-out protagonist Ellis' novel made him out to be.

What a waste. This movie is ridiculous, containing absolutely none of the ambience of the novel. Instead we get stupid visuals (a party with 20 TVs all stacked up on one another, an idiotic fight at a party in Palm Springs with beautiful coked-out people looking on), that lend little to promote the plot. Essential characters from the novel (like Trent) that could have helped explain the relationships are missing. It's almost as if the screenwriters intentionally tried to make this movie as illogical as possible.

I met Ellis' sister once. She told me that Bret was so embarrassed by what they did to his film that he refused to go to the premiere. Can anyone blame him?