The Rules of Attraction DVD: Review By mikestickel

What can I say, the movie is a book adaptation that is coined as a darkly comedic social satire. I wasn't really sure what to expect from this film because I hadn't seen it in theatres but I'm always willing to try out new movies, and I lucked out with this one.

Basically the story is what it says it is, a dark, social satire of life at a small college in the eastern US. Mainly focusing on three characters and how they go about their daily lives and how they connect but don't interact. The story and events that happen to each character are believable and realistic, this isn't one of those "everything ends up alright" hollywood movies that makes you want to cry.

Sundance Channel Anatomy of a Scene

By far the best feature on this disc. Being a "behind the scenes" nut that I am I love it when a DVD will go into great detail about how specific scenes were shot, what difficulties they had to overcome and why the filmmakers did it the way they did. That is exactly what this feature is only BETTER, especially given the fact that it was produced and created by the Sundance Channel.

Trailers

Pretty self-explanitory but not only are you treated to the theatrical trailer, there is another trailer that in unrated and presented in full screen and sound for your enjoyment.

Commentaries

Unlike most DVD's the commentaries features are located on the audio setup menu as opposed to the special features menu. What's really different for this DVD is that they have a commentary track by Carrot Top which is HILARIOUS! It's like he's watching the movie with you for the first time. There are also revolving door commentaries by 16 other people including cast, crew, department heads and even Ron Jeremy is in there too.

This film is presented in full widescreen format just like it was presented in the theatres. The film quality is superb and the menu screens are also very simple and easy to use.

The sound on this DVD is fantastic! It is only presented in 2.0 Dolby Surround sound. All the music selections and mood music are great and the fit into the film perfectly. Although this is the only sound option any well tuned stereo system will blast the audio.

I'm glad that I wasn't told anything about this DVD before I watched it other than it was a dark comedy and what I read on the box. This allowed me to fully enjoy the film as it unfolded before me. I particularly like the way the filmmakers showed each event as it happened to each character then proceeded to show what the other characters were doing at the same time. I found the cinematography very original and totally at home with the subject of the film. This DVD is very entertaining and, in my opinion very worth purchasing.