a Bret Easton Ellis marathon

During the recent Songkran holiday, D and I opted to stay in and celebrate the Thai New Year cooped up in the house, ordering fast food delivery and watching movies we've long downloaded but never had the time to watch. Among the movies we watched during the 3-day stay-cation were Less Than Zero and Rules of Attraction, which if you didn't know by now, were movie adaptations of Bret Easton Ellis novels.


Rules of Attraction
Directed by Roger Avary

I remember hearing a rumor in highschool that James Van Der Beek was gay. The reason? Because of a kissing scene he did for the movie, Rules of Attraction. I can now say for certain that the said rumor is completely false. But at that time, it was hard to even bring up the topic. Because back in the day, most girls wanted to marry Dawson Leery and secretly wanted to be/to kill Joey Potter.

I found Rules of Attraction... interesting. To be honest, I didn't know what to make of it at first. I found myself confused and almost in disbelief that this depicted what most American students would consider a typical college experience. It also didn't help that the story began in mid-sentence, which caught me completely off guard.

But after discussing the movie with D (because we're geeks and that's what geeks do), it shed some light on the point that Bret Easton Ellis (and to some extent Roger Avary) was trying to prove -- and that is, there's no point.

 There's an interesting review on iMDb by this guy that goes by the name DeviousMrBlonde, and I feel that he said it all. In his review, he said: "This certainly will not be everybody's 'cup of coffee' so to speak. Too many people like their movies to wrap everything up at the end and have everything explained to them and for Lassie to save the day. If you are one of these people then don't bother. On the other hand if you like a movie to challenge you then I am sure you will find ROA superb."

He then adds, "Take some morally corrupt but beautiful people and show how much of a waste they are. Nobody ever listens to one another and everybody is out for number one...These people and their actions are the perfect allegory for our ME culture."

He also mentioned that the reason some people don't get this film (or book) is because of an apparent culture gap. That's how I felt. I couldn't relate to it because I didn't have that kind of college experience and so I found it hard to wrap my head around the somewhat appalling and offensive attitude and actions of these college kids. Nonetheless, it was interesting in a way that it challenges you to become open-minded and encourages you to open your eyes to other people's realities, and ultimately encourages you to not be confined to society's moral standards. 


Less Than Zero
Directed by Marek Kanievska

 I remember watching this movie on HBO when I was kid and thinking what "give good head" meant. I thought, "Does that mean he has a good head on his shoulders? or maybe he gives good advice?" I never got over that scene in my head. Years later, I found out that "to give good head" has nothing to do with your ability to give good advice or being smart.

But at an early age, I knew I liked it. Robert Downey Jr.'s character, Julian, fascinated me. I guess you can say that's when my fascination with broken people started. Like Blair, I wanted to help Julian and look after him as he goes through withdrawal. I wanted to be Clay, Andrew McCarthy's character, and be the best friend you can rely on. Like them, I too wanted to party like there's no tomorrow and live a life of excess. I wanted to be one of them.

 It's refreshing to watch the movie now that I have a better understanding of what "give good head" or "want a bump" means. I still like it. In fact, more so now than before (and I want to read the book!). If you haven't watched it yet, maybe you should.

D and I have yet to watch American Psycho. That's definitely next on our list.

[Photos from iMDb]