American Psycho actually gets better with repeat viewings

So much of the humor in the film was "lol 80s yuppie culture" - so much of it was a particular aesthetic, that because the book is a book, it doesn't come through quite as well.

― sarahel, Wednesday, February 3, 2010 2:22 PM (2 hours ago)

yeah but the book was written in the (late) 80s so the moviemakers could set up the "lolz 80z" easier cuz the audience had the benefit of the procession of time. i read the book once (like 20 years ago almost) and even then i admired his immediate take on the 80s, but then again I guess Wall Street adressed a lot of the same themes during the 80s.

It was pretty clever how they did it, but Bale has a very forced, pinched way of speaking, and he doesn't sell it very well. Patton Oswalt could have pulled it off, I bet.

― Philip Nunez, Wednesday, February 3, 2010 2:30 PM (2 hours ago)

If you ever hear CB's speaking voice (or yelling voice from the Terminator Salvation on-set breakdown) you'll realize it was in character...?

no I agree it was an affectation, but he used the same voice in batman (as wayne), and it wasn't convincing as a spoiled rich guy there, either.

I found it convincing, and I've met some spoiled rich guys.

this is probably Bale's best role to date

the book and the film are both awes, but different

"I've met some spoiled rich guys."

Oh man, did they really talk like that? Were they sociopaths (aside from being spoiled and rich)?

only scene I remember finding funny was bale taking the bloody sheets to the chinese laundry

xp - yes. I don't know if they were sociopaths - they were generally pretty boring and talked about boats and vacations and ideas for products they thought that would make a lot of money that were really stupid.

I HAVE TO RETURN SOME VIDEOS

my go-to movie about zinging 80s corporate culture is robocop, fwiw

wait wait, let's hear these product ideas!

fur sink

electric dog polisher

"jump to conclusions" mat

I thought the music reviews came off better in the book

no one would claim am psycho is better than robocop but still a great, great film

they are both special in their own ways - i love them both.

I just watched this again, because of this little web article: http://www.wordandfilm.com/2011/09/censorship-causes-blindness-the-5-best-banned-books-turned-films/

Which listed it first among the best adaptations. And while I would get into a bar fight about some of their other choices, this one I agree with this one totally. What Mary Harron did with the material is, I believe, actually better than what Brett Easton Ellis did with it. Ellis half meant it, which makes for heady but truly unpleasant reading. The satire in the movie is blunt, but bever blunt like an overly-obvious statement, more like a baseball bat used as a deadly weapon. And it's never dull, because of course Patrick Bateman sharpens all his various knives to a glimmering shine.

I don't think the movie is at all ambiguous about whether he is a mass murderer or simply going mad. The movie makes it clear that he's going -- has gone -- totally mad. He shoots a police car with a pistol, and it explodes, and then he looks at the gun as if to say, "Wait... that only happens in movies. Something is very wrong. Even wronger than I thought." The cutaways during the final scenes of Chloe paging through his datebook, which becomes increasingly and then totally filled with nothing but violent and pornographic ink sketches, is expository of the fact that he's slowly been losing his mind over that period of time. (Think of Robert Crumb's older brother.)

And the last speech, which ends with, "This confession has meant nothing," is straight from the book IIRC, and carries the same weight that Ellis meant it to. After all the jokes and the Lynchian weirdness and the revelation that he is nothing but totally mad... he is still totally mad. Whether he killed a bunch of people or not. And he still has no purpose whatsoever to his life.

Great movie. Brilliant movie.

my go-to movie about zinging 80s corporate culture is robocop, fwiw

I agree, but American Psycho is not about that. It's about indulging your basest (and often most motivating) senses of status and pleasure and vanity, and getting extremely good at doing so, and then one day suddenly realizing that you have no reason to exist, and it's difficult for you to imagine anyone else having any reason to do so, either. It's about deep -- REALLY deep -- crisis of spirit and identity. Robocop asks, "Why are they there?", but American Psycho asks, "Why am I here?"

Yeah, this is a dope movie.

Perfect adaptation of the material. Tasteful without dulling the novel's edge, actually improving on it in a lot of ways.

robocop still better though

i've dug every mary harron film to date, and this might actually be my least favorite of the three, but it's still great. i agree about the book. ellis had a great idea for a book and some terrific dialogue, but the novel's like twice as long as it needs to be and the writing is just so purposefully dull and blank (which i know is ellis's 'thing' but it doesn't make rereads very rewarding). ellis on a good day is like bad joan didion.

also, robocop's gore scenes are better and funnier

remember when ellis said this film was no good because directors need to have 'the male gaze'? the guy is such a fucking twit.

oh god yeah that was ridiculous.

in that interview he had an interesting take on Harron's approach vs his own vision of the novel but then he threw in that essentialist garbage.

agreed re: that essentialist garbage, but man can we talk about CHLOE SEVIGNY'S ASS

there's a bit here just after he says "Christ, i'll call you" where his face changes briefly back to dead-eyed/Psycho
mode from smiling/ bullshit mode as he walks off that's just amazing. split-second, barely perceptible; perfect!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsjgoPM977E

and Sevigny can piss off after she said this about my beloved city
http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/tv_and_showbiz/s/1485597_us-actress-chloe-sevigny-manchester-was-one-of-the-grimmest-places-id-ever-been-in-my-entire-life

pro-tip: no one actually pays any attention to Chloe Sevigny

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnkZZFUhAOg

I'm watching American Psycho for the third time. I like the fact that the tension it builds up remains as intense as the first time I watched it. The scene where he hires the hookers and makes his sex tape is gut wrenching, you just never know if or when he's going to go completely nuts and slash them up in frenzy. Uncomfortable but irresistible viewing. I don't think it gets better with more viewings, but it is always awesome to watch. Patrick Bateman is a scary dude.

mary harron's newest film, 'moth diaries', is fucking terrible, btw.

havent read/seen neither book nor novel for a long time but am i right in remembering that the film makes it explicit where the book hadnt that bateman only has his job because of his family?

haha i just recall really having a bee in my bonnet about something and i never got round to ironing it out

i thought the book hinted at that, too, but i don't remember where. what does bateman do at his job? the book and movie were very good at eliding this. this is the first time i've ever used the word 'eliding' btw so i hope it goes ok.

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/e3662085fb/american-psycho-with-huey-lewis-and-weird-al

I was just about to post that. Curse you, Raggett!

I have to return some videotapes

Eh. Not a fan of the movie at all, which to my mind defangs and deflates the book.

Though there are parts of the book I can't read these days, I much prefer it. And while I know it's supposed to be unclear whether he's really killing all these people or wishing he were, I always took this book literally.

(A much better BEE film adaptation, though problematic in its own ways: "The Rules of Attraction.")

Just finished the book, a must read if you like the film.

Do you like Huey Lewis and The News? Their early work was a little too new wave for my tastes, but when Sports came out in '83, I think they really came into their own, commercially and artistically. The whole album has a clear, crisp sound, and a new sheen of consummate professionalism that really gives the songs a big boost. He's been compared to Elvis Costello, but I think Huey has a far more bitter, cynical sense of humor.

Do you like Phil Collins? I've been a big Genesis fan ever since the release of their 1980 album, Duke. Before that, I really didn't understand any of their work. Too artsy, too intellectual. It was on Duke where Phil Collins' presence became more apparent. I think Invisible Touch was the group's undisputed masterpiece. It's an epic meditation on intangibility. At the same time, it deepens and enriches the meaning of the preceding three albums. Christy, take off your robe. Listen to the brilliant ensemble playing of Banks, Collins and Rutherford. You can practically hear every nuance of every instrument. Sabrina, remove your dress. In terms of lyrical craftsmanship, the sheer songwriting, this album hits a new peak of professionalism. Sabrina, why don't you, uh, dance a little. Take the lyrics to Land of Confusion. In this song, Phil Collins addresses the problems of abusive political authority. In Too Deep is the most moving pop song of the 1980s, about monogamy and commitment. The song is extremely uplifting. Their lyrics are as positive and affirmative as anything I've heard in rock. Christy, get down on your knees so Sabrina can see your asshole. Phil Collins' solo career seems to be more commercial and therefore more satisfying, in a narrower way. Especially songs like In the Air Tonight and Against All Odds. Sabrina, don't just stare at it, eat it. But I also think Phil Collins works best within the confines of the group, than as a solo artist, and I stress the word artist. This is Sussudio, a great, great song, a personal favorite.

I wish Kubrick had taken this on

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2vv_wp1hk0