I've read a lot of bizarre stuff about this movie, even from people who liked it, so I thought I would weigh in with my two cents. First of all, full disclosure, I went to a college very much like the one depicted in this movie, and every character was a grim reminder of what those years - and those people - were like. More importantly, this movie IS NOT, AND NEVER HAS BEEN, AND NEVER WILL BE, A COMEDY. It is a darkly disturbing drama that has a few funny moments. If any of the marketing seemed comedic, then blame the marketing people. I was stunned to read a review that treated the opening - in which a virgin girl is raped while passed out, and even vomited upon - as funny. It isn't and isn't meant to be. It is a slap in the face, and the look of sick horror in Shannyn Sossamon's eyes makes that frighteningly clear. The two sequences that follow - introducing us to the two other main characters - deliberately establish these "heroes" as morally bankrupt. It is visible in their eyes, and the camerawork deliberately makes them appear diabolical - a low-down evil leer is a motif in the movie throughout. The fact one of the characters starts to lose his erection during sex - when have you ever seen that in a American movie? - should be a heads up that this is not a comedy. Now there is a funny segment about in the middle in which Faye Dunaway and Swoosie Kurtz appear briefly and memorably, but the tone throughout is outrage and despair. Outrage that life like this goes on, and despair at how common it really is. Some people have described the movie as bleak, but it seems unmistakable that the main characters are desperately trying to climb out of the morass their lives have become, and that is why it grows to such a powerful ending. My advice to anyone watching THE RULES OF ATTRACTION for the first time is think of movies like HAPPINESS and YOUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS, and remember the original novel was written by the man who wrote AMERICAN PSYCHO. THE RULES OF ATTRACTION is an emotional slasher flick.
Review of The Rules of Attraction
