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:

lesbian | lesbian interest | sex | public nudity | female rear nudity | 

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film was edited using Apple's (relatively) inexpensive "Final Cut Pro" software on Macintosh computers to reduce costs.

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Goofs

The label on the whiskey bottle that Sean is swigging from throughout the party changes from a generic label in close-ups to Jack Daniels in the long shots.

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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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Alternate Versions

At least one broadcast on British TV removed the girl's suicide entirely, cutting the scene just before she begins slitting her wrist, straight to the subsequent close-up of the dripping tap. This removed the girl's reaction, and caused a very abrupt fade-out of the music. This is far more than the BBFC removed (only the close up of the wrist-slitting) from the DVD/ Home video version.

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Connections

Referenced in WatchMojo: Top 10 Misleading Movie Trailers (2014)

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Soundtracks

Faith
Performed by George Michael
Written by George Michael
Published by © Chappell & Co. (ASCAP) o/b/o Big Geoff Overseas Ltd.
Courtesy of Columbia Records and Sony Music Entertainment (UK) Ltd.
By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

User Reviews

A Great Film exploring the human persona through beautiful cinematography

Despite what any "critic" may say of this amazing film, "The Rules of Attraction" is a very intelligent and creative piece of work. First off, the cinematography is AMAZING, from the transitions to the angles to the texture and film used, this picture looks brilliant! The perfectly presented plot and story line beautifully manifests itself to the viewer through cunning writing and wonderful dialogue. The acting is superb, Van der Beek delivers and Sossman is quite simply brilliant. I highly recommend this film to everybody as I'm sure everybody will enjoy it unless they lack the common sense of a teenager, which means that everybody should get it... A+! -Taylor

Details

Official Sites:

Former Official site for the film - site no longer active.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

Country:

USA Germany

Language:

English German

Release Date:

11 October 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Rules of Attraction

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,532,410, 13 October 2002

Gross USA:

$6,532,619

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$11,832,822

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