Prepare to be slimed. Writer/director Roger Avary's THE RULES OF
ATTRACTION could have been sleazy fun; instead it is just sleazy.
Set in a college, the kids spend all of their waking hours in non-stop
drug and alcohol abuse. The film's filthy voice-over is spoken with
the clinical detachment of someone reading aloud from an anatomy text.
If you can stay awake enough to watch the movie, you'll probably
want to take a bath soon afterwards.
The film's leads are two of Hollywood's weakest young actors, James
Van Der Beek (VARSITY BLUES) and Shannyn Sossamon (40 DAYS AND 40
NIGHTS), who play would-be lovers Sean Bateman and Lauren Hynde.
Although Lauren spends most of the movie wasted on drugs, she is a
virgin who is saving herself for the right guy. In addition to the
drug theme, the movie focuses on sexual predators. "I am like a vampire,"
Sean tells us at a party. "I search this night's party for my prey. Who will it be?"
The characters are all disgustingly outrageous and singularly obnoxious.
One scene has Sean wiping himself in the bathroom again and again
until the toilet tissue comes clean. Another has him picking his
nose. And another character is shown in a graphic and realistic bathtub suicide.
Before the first act has barely begun, you'll be ready to run screaming
from the theater. "Sometimes a minute will last like an hour," Marc
(Fred Savage) tells Sean. And this movie is made up 101 long minutes,
each of which will feel like a full hour to you.
THE RULES OF ATTRACTION runs 1:41. It is rated R for "strong sexual
content, drug use, language and violent images" and would be acceptable
for college students and older.
Copyright © 2002 Steve Rhodes
out of 4
