Review of Less Than Zero (1987) by Leslie — 14 May 2008
Dreary, pointless late-'80s novel by literary poseur Bret Easton Ellis focused on listless, shiftless, drug-sniffing, sex-swapping, dead-end California teens with too much money and time on their hands.
Which just about sums up this movie, though it's not nearly as interesting as that. This is mostly due to the ridiculously cleaned-up script and lifeless direction, which whitewashes the baser depravity and replaces it with perversion-lite and fashion shows.
It doesn't help that director Marek Kanievska is saddled with Brat Pack lesser (make that least) lights Andrew McCarthy and Jami Gertz. The only things that lift this film above the muck are the performances by James Spader as a particularly heinous drug dealer and Robert Downey Jr.
as a rich-kid addict with no self-control, It's hard not to be fascinated by Robert Downey Jr's performance as Julian, as it so closely mirrors his own tabloid-ridden life. The depths of addiction are detailed without squeamishness.
Director Hunter is a whiz at pacing and keeps the plot rolling while he further muddies the waters with his intriguing montages. You can't help but get sucked into the world of these characters, whose lives are orchestrated by Crispin Glover's Layne, who sounds like Perry Farrell and lives on a steady diet of speed and weed.
Daniel Roebuck is wonderfully creepy as Samson, the slow-eyed and slow-witted killer.
This review of Less Than Zero (1987) was written by Leslie on 14 May 2008.
Less Than Zero has generally received positive reviews.
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