Buy the Poster Directed by: Mary Harron Written by: Mary Harron Guinevere Turner Bret Easton Ellis Starring: Christian Bale Willem Dafoe Jared Leto Reese Witherspoon Samantha Mathis Chloe Sevigny

Favorite Lines from the Audience:

"There's blood already." (10 seconds later) "Okay, maybe not."

"Sorry about that guys."

Favorite Lines from the Movie:

"...but I have a better haircut"

"If I see a pretty girl, I can’t decide whether I want to go over and talk to her and be nice to her, or if I want to see her head on a stick."

"I’ve got a lunch with Cliff Huxtable at the Four Seasons."

Reviews

Dogburt

American Psycho is an interesting movie in that it is trying to accomplish two things simultaneously, as far as I can see. One, it is attempting to do a character study of the ‘80’s "Me" focus, and is concurrently trying to create a visual image that will make the viewer cringe at what happens when grasp on humanity slips off of the train track. While the attempt is well-intentioned, unfortunately I can’t say that it was extremely successful with either.

What is the character study? It is the study of the successful Wall St. M&A tycoon who has all the luxuries he could ask for, but it is still not enough, as our anti-hero Bateman claims the only emotions he has are greed and disgust. To be honest, I like the character of Bateman. As he says, he’s not really there. Nobody can remember his name, and he gives himself a voice-over as if he needs to explain why he is not what he seems. He describes his actions as if he were trying to sell something. The eloquent soliloquies he provides about his favorite musicians are comical, and he portrays well the cynical smart-ass with loads of faux sincerity. I like that kind of guy, as he can move throughout the movie and do what he likes, and maybe, just maybe, he’ll get caught in the end. Unfortunately, the movie that the actor has to move through doesn’t give him the tools or outlet he needs to truly project the image depth that would make this movie so much more appealing. In the case of a movie like this, the audience needs reason to either hate the guy or cheer for the guy, kinda like Hannibal Lecter. Unfortunately, Bateman does neither, because while projecting the right image for the viewer to like him on some level, even the lines said don’t have the edge needed to simultaneously want to take him out to lunch at Dorsea and punch him in the throat.

Secondly, the shock value of this movie is just off. We’ve all seen Saving Private Ryan; we know what it looks like to see someone hacked to death. I’m going to sound really sick here, but the movie provides no depth to the killing; maybe that’s the point, that that’s why psycho’s do what they do. I wasn’t looking for motivation necessarily, but I was definitely looking for something. That underhanded cynicism was simply not there.

Ultimately, this movie reminds me a great deal of Fight Club, which in my mind depicted the human condition wonderfully. Everything was right on about that movie, and the depth and insight about the human spirit hit right on something that AP missed. The endings are similar as well, in the sense that it leaves open just enough window of ambiguity to make you think about the preceding plot. Unfortunately, AP doesn’t give us the right kind of plot to think about, while FC does on multiple levels.

Final take? If you want real shock value and character study, skip this one and rent Fight Club on DVD.

Batman

This is a fascinating movie but I had to debate with myself for days before I could decide if I liked it or not. The jury is still out on that. I can tell you that the movie is extremely well made. From what I know of the book it was based on I can guess that this was probably the only reasonable way to make the movie. It's a good movie for stirring up debate but I can't say that I loved it. I can't say I hated it either.

What is American Psycho? It is a character study. What isn't American Psycho? It isn't a horror movie. If you saw the ads you might be lead into thinking it was horror but its not. It's simply not scary.

The movie is about 80s Wall Street mergers and acquisitions player Patick Bateman. Bateman has no personality. He takes all of his cues on how to act, talk, and dress from outside. He slavishly follows the trends on style and music. He is obsessed with appearance. But that's all there is to him. He is a shell of a man. The odd thing is that he knows it too. He admits the only emotions he knows are anger and jealousy.

Because of that he acts out in violent ways. Rival businessmen, hookers and homeless people are all cut down by Bateman as the only way he knows to express himself. Even in the process of killing he can launch into a speech on the musical growth of pop stars like Huey Lewis, Whitney Houston and Phil Collins. These moment leave the audience little choice but to laugh at Bateman.

As the movie goes on it starts to get more and more surreal. It reaches a point where you have to ask if Bateman is really killing anyone or just fantasizing about killing people. This theme continues to the point that when we walked out of the theater the general feeling was one of utter confusion.

Now some people like confusion and like debating movies because the ending is so ambiguous. I don't think there is anything wrong with a movie like that but I think there should be some substance to it to make the debate worthwhile. The point of this movie is painfully obvious. Men are shallow creatures that act on the simplest of urges. We get scenes showing Bateman's astounding vanity. We see businessmen comparing business cards in thinly veiled show of penis envy. It has been frequently noted in the press that director Mary Harron is a feminist. This comes across loud and clear in the movie. I don't have a problem with that. There is a considerable amount of truth to these scenes. My complaint lies in the broad strokes the scenes are painted in. The movie's point is hammered home with a considerable lack of subtlety.

I have to agree with Dogburt, Fight Club is a considerably better movie dealing with materialism and the acting out of male urges. Still this movie is beautifully shot and Christian Bale's performance as Batmen is excellent. For that reason alone its could be worth watching.