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Less Than Zero (1987)
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Overview
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. full summary | add synopsisNewsDesk:
(4 articles)
Cinematical Seven: The Best of Robert Downey Jr. (From Cinematical. 24 August 2008, 6:03 PM, PDT)
Downey Jr: 'Film made my addiction worse' (From digitalspy. 29 April 2008, 6:07 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
A complete disaster... moreCast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Andrew McCarthy | ... | Clay Easton | |
| Jami Gertz | ... | Blair | |
| Robert Downey Jr. | ... | Julian Wells | |
| James Spader | ... | Rip | |
| Tony Bill | ... | Bradford Easton | |
| Nicholas Pryor | ... | Benjamin Wells | |
| Donna Mitchell | ... | Elaine Easton | |
| Michael Bowen | ... | Bill | |
| Sarah Buxton | ... | Markie | |
| Lisanne Falk | ... | Patti | |
| Michael Greene | ... | Robert Wells | |
| Neith Hunter | ... | Alana | |
| Afton Smith | ... | Kim | |
| Brian Wimmer | ... | Trent | |
| Kelly Wolf | ... | Lile |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parentsRuntime:
98 minCountry:
USASound Mix:
DolbyCertification:
Belgium:16 (video rating) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Iceland:14 | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:18A | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:16 | South Korea:18Filming Locations:
Beverly Hills High School - 241 Moreno Drive, Beverly Hills, California, USA moreMOVIEmeter: 
Fun Stuff
Goofs:
Revealing mistakes: As Clay and Blair are walking through the tunnel arguing, just before they stop walking, Clay's eyes clearly shift ahead of them several times to check his mark (the point where he stops and stands in place). moreSoundtrack:
HOW TO LOVE AGAIN moreFAQ
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"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?