I hadn't seen this movie for fifteen years, and as it turns out, it still holds up. Sure, it's a highly dated eighties flick, but in a charming kind of way. James Spader and especially Robert Downey, Jr give the best performances of their early years, and the rest of the cast is so-and-so, pretty much going through the motions, but I didn't catch anyone doing a bad job.
Many people have talked about this, and it's a simple fact: this is clearly a lousy Easton Ellis adaption, with the preachy second half and all the pathos throughout, but you can enjoy the film and the novel as two separate entities. The first time I saw it, I was barely sixteen years old and had never even heard about the book, and yet I hold this movie in even higher regard now, after reading most of Easton Ellis' work. It's simply a different medium and Hollywood tends to ham things up - what can you do.
My personal favorite BEE movie remains The Rules Of Attraction, but that one completely ignored the quite essential 1980s setting. That's where Less Than Zero pretty much nails it: the locations, the clothes, and let's not forget the awesome soundtrack!
Many people have talked about this, and it's a simple fact: this is clearly a lousy Easton Ellis adaption, with the preachy second half and all the pathos throughout, but you can enjoy the film and the novel as two separate entities. The first time I saw it, I was barely sixteen years old and had never even heard about the book, and yet I hold this movie in even higher regard now, after reading most of Easton Ellis' work. It's simply a different medium and Hollywood tends to ham things up - what can you do.
My personal favorite BEE movie remains The Rules Of Attraction, but that one completely ignored the quite essential 1980s setting. That's where Less Than Zero pretty much nails it: the locations, the clothes, and let's not forget the awesome soundtrack!