In case you missed it …’Rules of Attraction’

This is, in my opinion, one of the most underrated movies of all time. It only grossed $6.53 million at the box office, and almost immediately went to the bargain bin at your local stores. Now, don’t get me wrong, this is far from a family affair, and the novel its based on by Bret Easton Ellis has the same feel to it. This is something you might just want to watch alone to avoid any uncomfortable places this movie delves into. Rules of Attraction changed the way I watch movies, and got me into a whole other genre of movies without which this blog would not have been made.

Roger Avary directed and wrote this movie..now you might not know a lot about him, but this guy has done a bunch of stuff with Quentin Tarantino movies/scripts. There are a bunch of Tarantino-ish (yeah, i made that up and you heard it here first) stuff in The Rules of Attraction and you immediately see that. His other writing credits include ‘Pulp Ficition'(story), ‘Beowulf’, and ‘Silent Hill’.

It all starts off at the end much like any Tarantino Flick, and you work your way back from there (usually in a literal rewind motion). You meet Sean Bateman (James Van Der Beek), Lauren Hynde (Shannon Sossamon) and Paul Denton (Ian Somerhalder) the three main characters. From watching this opening scene, you come to the realization that this movie isn’t going to be for the faint of heart. Sean is in love with Lauren, Lauren is in love with Victor (Kip Pardue) who doesn’t even remember her, and Paul is in love with Sean. The movie is essentially theses three characters battling for each other’s attention. There is a lot of gratuitous language, some explicit scenes, violence and drug use. The original cut of the movie was NC-17, but was later trimmed down to snag an “R” rating.

The movie also boasts Jessica Beil, Kate Bosworth, Jay Baruchel, Thomas Ian Nicholas, and Kip Pardue.

Accompanying this movie is one of my favorite soundtracks, it fits the movie and the moods so perfectly. Its a mixture of songs from the guys who helped score the movie, and some instant classics from the likes of The Rapture, Erasure, Blondie, Milla Jovovich, and The Cure.