The Rules of Attraction (2002)

The incredibly spoiled and overprivileged students of Camden College are a backdrop for an unusual love triangle between a drug dealer, a virgin and a bisexual classmate.

Director:

Roger Avary

Writers:

Bret Easton Ellis (novel), Roger Avary (screenplay)

Stars:

James Van Der Beek, Ian Somerhalder, Shannyn Sossamon

2 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James Van Der Beek	...	Sean Bateman
Shannyn Sossamon	...	Lauren Hynde
Jessica Biel	...	Lara
Kip Pardue	...	Victor
Kate Bosworth	...	Kelly
Ian Somerhalder	...	Paul Denton
Joel Michaely	...	Raymond
Jay Baruchel	...	Harry
Thomas Ian Nicholas	...	Mitchell
Clifton Collins Jr.	...	Rupert
Clare Kramer	...	Candice
Faye Dunaway	...	Mrs. Denton
Swoosie Kurtz	...	Mrs. Jared
Russell Sams	...	Richard
Colin Bain	...	Donald

Storyline

Camden College. Sean Bateman is the younger brother of depraved Wall Street broker Patrick Bateman. He's also a drug dealer who owes a lot of money to "fellow" dealer Rupert Guest, as well as a well-known womanizer, for he sleeps with nearly half of the female population on campus. Lauren Hynde is, technically, a virgin. She's saving herself for her shallow boyfriend, Victor Johnson, who's left the States to backpack across Europe. Her slutty roommate, Lara, has the hots for Victor as well. Paul Denton, who used to date Lauren, is openly bisexual and attracted to Mitchell Allen, who's dating Candice to prove to Paul that he's not gay. Sean loves Lauren. Paul loves Sean. And Lauren may love Sean.

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Plot Keywords:

talking about sex | dancing in underwear | sex scene | sexual pleasure | lesbian | 

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Taglines:

We all run on instinct.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexual content, drug use, language and violent images

Details

Official Sites:

Former Official site for the film - site no longer active. [France] Official Director's site for the film. [United States]

Country:

Germany USA

Language:

English German

Release Date:

11 October 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Pravila privlačnosti

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,532,410, 13 October 2002, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$6,532,619, 21 November 2002

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$11,805,917, 21 November 2002

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kingsgate Films,Roger Avary Filmproduktion GmbH

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sean Bateman and Paul Denton actually appeared in the original novel version of American Psycho, but not in the film adaption.

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Goofs

When Sean Bateman opens the first love letter from his secret admirer, he looks down at his lap in response to the silver star confetti before it actually empties from the envelope.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Lauren: and it's a story that might bore you, but you don't have to listen, because I always knew it was going to be like that.

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Crazy Credits

The credits run backwards, starting with the disclaimer ("Any similarity to persons living or dead...") and rolling upwards to end with the cast.

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Connections

Featured in Anatomy of a Scene: The Rules of Attraction

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Soundtracks

Gumballs/Gay Song Definitely
Performed by tomandandy
Lyrics and Vocals by Scott Williams
Produced by tomandandy
Courtesy of Atomcandy Records
© 2001 Atomcandy Records

User Reviews

Awful!

Total waste of time.

Just a bunch of teenagers combined with sex, drugs and rock'N'roll.

Some fancy moves with the camera, but was only fun for 1 minute!

Good acting, but still this film is not worth seeing, considering me being a Ellis-fan.

2/10