The Rules of Attraction
While many stories are intertwined in this college story of sex, drugs, sex, alcohol, and sex, it mainly centers on the actions of James Van Der Beek as Sean, Shannyn Sossamon as Lauren, and Ian Somerhalder as Paul. Sean is the drug dealer from Nebraska who owes quite a lot of money. Lauren is the pure girl who wants Sean but is saving herself for her old boyfriend, Victor, who’s away in Europe. Paul, as the bi, used to go out with Lauren but has now set his sights on Sean. Through the course of the movie, we see their interactions from the first meeting on, while the distractions of a promiscuous roommate, the endless parties and coke, and suicides get in the way.

But the way all of them messed themselves up, it’s amazing the body count was so low. Cigarettes everywhere, lines of cocaine everywhere, a reference to mono as disregarded as the common cold. While I liked the presentation by director Roger Avary, including his backward scenes in the beginning, their stories seem to end up as one big jumbled mess. Even though it probably wanted to be a parody of college life, it took itself way, way too seriously. Avary seems to dwell on a few things way too long, kinda boring me. A few light moments did pop up like the Tom Cruise-Risky Business-inspired scene and the fast-forward trip through Europe.

But seriously, what kind of college exists where everyone seems to have some kind of mental problem attached? Wait. Did you hear that word? College? Basically no one went to class. And during the one time they did, Sean and Lauren were enrolled in a class on Saturday morning and both of them went! What the heck does that mean? Eventually, I didn’t care what happened to all of them. It seems like in this vision of college, they’re all better off dead instead of wasting away. 1.5 stars