The Rules of Attraction

2002 Directed by Roger Avary

We all run on instinct

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.

James Van Der Beek Shannyn Sossamon Ian Somerhalder Jessica Biel Kate Bosworth Jay Baruchel Thomas Ian Nicholas Russell Sams Kip Pardue Joel Michaely Clifton Collins Jr. Clare Kramer Faye Dunaway Swoosie Kurtz Colin Bain Fred Savage Paul Williams Kavan Reece Ron Jeremy Theresa Wayman Eric Stoltz

Alternative Titles

Les lois de l'attraction, Die Regeln des Spiels – Rules of Attraction, Las reglas del juego, Regras da Atração, Die Regeln des Spiels - The Rules of Attraction

drama comedy romance

111 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by robyn ★★★★★ 12

IT SUCKS COOOOOOOOOOOOOCK
This fucking film. This film is the most perfect representation of a Bret Easton Ellis book, the style is uncanny. It is disjointed, it is meandering and there are no good people, but that's fine.
This film brought Shannyn Sossamon to my attention (she's never far from it now), it had Ian Sommerholder before he was EVERYWHERE with his creepy eyes, tiny Jay Baruchel, James Van Der Beek's best acting role (it really opened my eyes and taught me to not be judgemental just because someones been in something corny).
The camerawork is excellent and experimental, the split screens the jumps in time the backwards work is all flawless and just suits the work to a tee. The dialogue is spot on, just everything man.
Plus you know, TOMANDANDY.
(p.s kip pardue)
Review by Jay ★★★★½ 6

Trailer
Back in the day, before he became obsessed with Fifty Shades of Grey and casual homophobia, Bret Easton Ellis was an interesting writer with a number of interesting things to say. The Rules of Attraction, arguably his most famous and accomplished novel outside of American Psycho, was one of my favourite books as a teenager. As a godless sodomite born into a family of amoral atheists, I needed something to act as a bible and, for a while, The Rules of Attraction filled that void. I felt like I “got” it more than anything else I’d ever read and, more importantly, I felt like it “got” me too. It was the book that I always turned to when I…
Review by Daryl ★★★★★ 7

A brilliantly made film.
This is probably America's Trainspotting.
Roger Avary shows some very exciting direction. The cast are all excellent and together they bring us a breathtaking story told in breathtaking style.
Review by Parker ★★★★★ 1

"I only had sex with her because I'm in love with you" is the most honest thing a fictional character has ever said.
Review by Hollie Horror 3

Around 4am last night Richard & I decided that watching Rules of Attraction would be interesting with the commentary of everyone's least favorite comedian Carrot Top and while what he contributed to the film wasn't interesting, it WAS most certainly, absolutely 100% revolting, but I haven't laughed that much in a long time, sure, the laughing was more to ease some of the uncomfortable & icky feelings associated with picturing Carrot Top salivating over all of the women in the movie & saying things like "Need a computer with a hole in it, glad i'm not the only one masturbating to internet porn," but whatever, I don't know, sometimes you make bad decisions that late at night and sometimes you're too tired to mind.
Review by Warren ★★★★ 9

In high school I read American Psycho, on the recommendation of a woman in Connecticut I met in an AOL chatroom when I was 13 and thought I was in love with. I was thrilled by the book for all the wrong reasons, knowing so little about affluence and the elements of the 1980's that it was satirizing, just enjoying the graphic descriptions of murder and the absurdity of chapters about Huey Lewis and such. I would later, after a couple viewings of Mary Harron's adaptation (which I liked but did not love), come to appreciate what Bret Easton Ellis was really doing with his book.
The Rules of Attraction came at just the right (and wrong) time for me.…

Recent reviews

Review by bingo_bongo_ ★★★★

THERE IS A DVD COMMENTARY TRACK WITH CARROT TOP.
Review by moviereview ★★★

6/10. The Rules of Attraction (2002) ist eine Tragikomödie von Roger Avary mit James Van Der Beek, Shannyn Sossamon, Ian Somerhalder, Jessica Biel, Jay Baruchel, Kate Bosworth und Faye Dunaway in den Hauptrollen. Am renommierten Camden College in New England treffen sich die reichen und gelangweilten Kids der Wohlstandsgesellschaft, die den Bezug zum Dasein und zu sich selbst völlig verloren haben. Darunter Drogendealer und Ladykiller Sean, der in der zerbrechlichen und jungfräulichen Lauren plötzlich unerwartet seine Traumfrau entdeckt. Die bewegt sich jedoch im falschen Freundeskreis und droht jeden Augenblick, selbst abzustürzen.
Hmm, schwierig. „The Rules of Attraction“ ist tonal derart uneben, dass es mir hier besonders schwer fällt, den Film einzuordnen. Ständig zwischen Komödie und Drama changierend, hat der Film…
Review by Matthew Collins ★★½

Wow. The scene of Victor’s trip to Europe played out exactly like my Europe trip.
Review by paulo brümmer ★★★★ 2

absolutamente todo personagem nesse filme é uma pessoa horrível
obs: not gay enough
Review by Rodrigo Ferrari ★★★★★

Ian Somerhalder. Nada mais.
Review by zoe ★★★★

Ian Somerhalder wearing a t-shirt that says “masturbating is not a crime” and fantasising about having sex with James Van Der Beek, the mood
happy Valentine’s Day
Review by Josh ★★★½ 1

this is one of the most depressing books I've ever read and this movie lacks all of the qualities that make the book so good
Review by The_Fox ★★★½

“I always knew it was gonna be like this.”
Beautifully shot, interesting characters (I do not know the novel it is based on), but with some unpleasant truths throughout. Love and youth are not always as wonderful and romantic and innocent as we tend to pretend. Like right in the beginning a losing-my-virginity experience from nightmares.
Review by Christian Finger ★★★½

Ein Film wie ein Drogentripp in die Psyche von immer noch pubertierenden Erwachsenen, originell in Szene gesetzt und durchaus unterhaltsam. Mal witzig, mal sehr tragisch, nimmt der Film einen mit auf einen amerikanischen Campus voller Klischees der 90er. Einen halben Stern extra habe ich für den Europatripp von Victor gegeben, der wie ein eigener Drogentripp wirkt...