Roger Avery approaches the material with a funny, light, high energy touch, not
asking us to take Brett Easton Ellis's nihilism too seriously.
Consequently, a film where every character is deeply flawed and
narcissistic is never boring, and often full of a visceral energy. It
even has moments where it becomes moving. And many of the
showy style tricks work perfectly with the excesses of the story.
Yes, on a few occasional the style is distracting, and a few elements are too familiar
and on the nose (Faye Dunaway and Swoozie Kurtz as boozy moms who
choose not to see how screwed up their kids are, the extra shallow
treatment of the gay character. etc).
I can understand how this might put some viewers off.
But I felt like this didn't get a fair shake from critics. I enjoyed
watching it, was never bored, and was even made to think. How many
Hollywood films can you say that about?
Fun soundtrack and a good Tomandandy score too.
You may love it, you may hate it, but it's inventive and brave
enough to decide for yourself.