The Rules of Attraction

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1:54

The Rules of Attraction

R,

2002,

1h 50m,

Comedy/

Drama/

Romance

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The Rules of Attraction: Trailer 1

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The Rules of Attraction: Official Clip - Euro-Trip Montage

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The Rules of Attraction: Official Clip - Not Ever Gonna Know Me

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The Rules of Attraction: Official Clip - Where's My Money?

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The Rules of Attraction: Official Clip - I Want to Know You

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The Rules of Attraction: Official Clip - Sex Fantasy

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The Rules of Attraction: Official Clip - Dick

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The Rules of Attraction: Official Clip - Suicide Attempt

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The Rules of Attraction: Official Clip - Attraction

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The Rules of Attraction: Official Clip - Am I Dead?

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The Rules of Attraction: Official Clip - People Like Us

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Watchlist

45%

139 Reviews

Tomatometer

71%

50,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

45%

Tomatometer

139 Reviews

71%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

Based on the novel by Bret Easton Ellis, "Rules" centers around Patrick Bateman's younger brother and his college friends' bizarre mating rituals that mix sex, drugs, music and mayhem in a kaleidoscopic story about three students entangled in a curiously surreal romantic triangle.

Critics Consensus

A tiresome movie about unsympathetic college kids engaging in self-destructive behaviors.

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Barbara Ellen

The Times (UK)

Jan 3, 2018

This is an exercise that is in love with its own superficiality, delighted with an emptiness that was all it ever aspired to, and yet it manages to turn into a better movie than it has any right to be.

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Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

Dec 29, 2010

2/5

Not for kids, and not for many adults, either.

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J. R. Jones

Chicago Reader

Feb 11, 2008

Actually I quite enjoyed the movie--but how do I get rid of this awful discharge?

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Feb 16, 2026

1/4

This atrocious movie hits all the keywords for conjuring up foul imagery: "misogyny"; "rape"; "vomit"; "scatology"; "nose-picking"; "Bret Easton Ellis."

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

Feb 13, 2026

5/5

…an anything-goes adaptation of a fairly unfilmable novel, Roger Avary's The Rules of Attraction is without a doubt the best thing that James Van Der Beek ever did, a courageous and shocking piece of acting that is a great way to remember him….’

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Michael Cuby

them.

Nov 2, 2022

The Rules of Attraction is a mind-blowingly fun comedy about young college students that apparently have nothing better to do...

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Abraham R

Jan 13, 2018

Great movie that pretty much sums up the aspects of college life.

Kylo W

Nov 16, 2017

The tale of adult children whose coming-of-age stories came and went, passing them by without the saving grace of a moral compass.

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Harry W

Sep 5, 2017

If only the movie was as hip and artistic as it boldly waves in your face. (Hey look at me I'm hip indie cinema)

Draco G

Apr 25, 2017

Not the best movie I've ever seen, but amusing in it's ridiculousness and twists of fate, with a Chekov-like round robin of sexual attraction that leaves everyone yearning for someone they can't have and being entirely unsatisfied. What I didn't like is the rather cavalier treatment of the serious subject of campus rape.

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Draco S

Jul 7, 2010

a fantastic interpretation of Ellis's novel, one of the rare instances where the movie exceeds the novel.

Harry L

Mar 31, 2010

Funny and Intriguing. Victor's Euro trip tour is classic!!!

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Roger Avary

Director

James Van Der Beek

Sean Bateman

Ian Somerhalder

Paul Denton

Shannyn Sossamon

Lauren Hynde

Jessica Biel

Lara

Kip Pardue

Victor

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The Rules of Attraction: Trailer 1

1:54

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Synopsis

Based on the novel by Bret Easton Ellis, "Rules" centers around Patrick Bateman's younger brother and his college friends' bizarre mating rituals that mix sex, drugs, music and mayhem in a kaleidoscopic story about three students entangled in a curiously surreal romantic triangle.

Director: Roger Avary
Producer: Greg Shapiro
Screenwriter: Bret Easton Ellis, Roger Avary
Distributor: Lionsgate Films
Production Co: Kingsgate Films
Rating: R (Language|Drug Use|Strong Sexual Content|Violent Images)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 11, 2002, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 2, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $6.5M
Runtime: 1h 50m
Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby SR, Dolby A, Dolby Stereo
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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