Less Than Zero
1987 Directed by Marek Kanievska
Synopsis
In Beverly Hills, you can have anything your heart desires. You just can't have it the way it used to be.
A college freshman returns to Los Angeles for the holidays at his ex-girlfriend's request, but discovers that his former best friend has an out-of-control drug habit.
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I've never actually read any of Bret Easton Ellis's novels (I intend to), but I sure am a fan of the films that are based on his work. AMERICAN PSYCHO, THE RULES OF ATTRACTION and LESS THAN ZERO are all weirdly compelling stories about the lives of the wealthy, white, and vacant, most of them made with the perfectly ironic backdrop of the sparkly, shallow 1980s, amid a jungle of neon-lit nightclubs and cocaine-smeared mirrors. Even though most of the characters are always junkies, preppies, hustlers, and even murderers, all three films are unexpectedly emotionally involving, none more so than this one.
Andrew McCarthy, perfectly cast as wealthy preppie Clay, returns to his hometown six months after graduating high school…
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The amazing performance from Robert Downey Jr alone makes up for a mostly mediocre Brett Easton Ellis adaptation.
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Watched this solely for Robert Downey, Jr.'s performance, which is haunting and pure brilliance. The rest of the movie is best left in the 80's.
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A badly acted semi-adaptation of the Bret Easton Ellis novel, that is obnoxiously over-dramatic in the worst possible way. This movie is horrible, with horrible performances from Jami Gertz and Andrew McCarthy. Their stilted and awkward line delivery is the worst. Robert Downey Jr. is kind of good, but any watchability he brings is hidden under an overdramatic score that constantly plays over every fucking scene no matter what's happening. It's only saving grace is James Spader, who manages to be perfectly sleazy and amazing throughout.
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The performances are good and the filmmaking is good, but it doesn't quite hold up, and it wasn't all that gripping. Plus, it's just a depressing movie. The whole way through, it's depressing.
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neutered version of the book
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One of the worst film interpretations from a great book that I've ever seen. Romanticized as oppose to the horrific depiction portrayed by Bret Easton Ellis. Moralistic, hypocritical. The worst. No.
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This review reportedly contains spoilers. I can handle the truth.
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Read the book last month so thought id check the film out. I swear Clay did coke in the book. He seems clean as in this.
The film focus' more on Julian it seems and if they make Imperial Bedrooms into a film it would be totally different. But I like the soundtrack. Blair is hot too. Downey Jr stole the show.
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Day 45 of the 365-Day Film Challenge
The title refers to the amount of effort devoted to making us care for the characters. Dated and boring.
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I’d heard for a while that LESS THAN ZERO was another classic 80’s teen movie about post-high school drug abuse based on Bret Easton Ellis’ book. After finally seeing it, I gotta say that I’ve seen much better.
It was ok. The performances were good. Robert Downey Jr. (playing a character that was probably eerily familiar to real life at the time) and James Spader were both great, as expected. Beyond that, though, there wasn’t much I could really get into.
godspeedhotfire.tumblr.com/post/11262618472/id-heard-for-a-while-that-less-than-zero-was -
It is very interesting to watch a film portrayal of wealth and opulence from a different time period, especially recent past. It really put a spotlight on the fact that all of our stuff is… stuff. We treasure it now, but pretty soon our clothes will look mockingly dated and our electronics will be laughably obsolete. We collect and collect, feeling pride with every new acquisition.
Back when I was young I never really believed the drug addict aspect of this movie, it never seemed dirty enough. I understand that these are characters that live in a different world than the gritty one found in Requiem for a Dream, but the darkness and despair of addiction pervades beyond social standing.…