"Less Than Zero" is a look at the dark side of the 80's. It is a side I never personally experienced, but I knew it that it existed. Maybe that is why I only watched this movie once in the 80's.
I recently discovered "Less Than Zero" again and watched it for the first time since it was in the theaters. In reflection, this movie is outstanding. The cast is 80's stellar with Andrew McCarthy, Jami Gertz, Robert Downey Jr. (life imitating art), James Spader (king of 80's bad guys), Michael Bowen (look at how Tommy turned out), & Lisanne Falk (Heathers). Not to mention the infamous Brad Pitt standing in a doorway scene.
The parties and club scenes captures the 80's brilliantly. I enjoyed the music and the party atmosphere throughout the movie. Less Than Zero's dark and realistic story, unfortunately makes the movie something you can only handle in the right mood.
Overall, if you can get past the somber story it is a must see 80's flick.
Posted by aTomiK (Member # 6575) on :
Great movie with a fantastic cast. Near perfection!
Posted by LoverswithCassie (Member # 7794) on :
Have either of you read the Bret Easton Ellis novel? I haven't, by the way nor I have watched this.
Posted by 80'sRocked (Member # 6979) on :
Great movie, but depressing as hell to watch....at least for me.
Posted by Earl Keese (Member # 7986) on :
I think I liked the soundtrack more than i actually did the movie. Children talking like they were deep, complex and conflicted adults even when I was a child bored me then and age certainly hasn't helped the cause. Now they just look like the spoiled brats they were (referencing characters here not the actors) and I wasn't very moved by their journey. Pretty much a "miss" for me. Jamie Gertz looked cute as heck though! Posted by Pittsburghgirl (Member # 7514) on :
Love the movie, hate the book. The book is a bit different than the movie, which Bret Easton Ellis was not happy about. The Andrew McCarthy character was bi-sexual in the book and did alot of drugs like the rest of the characters. They kinda cleaned up the movie a little bit compared to the book. Also, I thought the book was too slow moving.
Posted by logan5 (Member # 1467) on :
The book had a lot more hard-hitting stuff that would have been difficult to put on the screen in the 80's. It wasn't a masterpiece in terms of writing, either.
I like the film a bit, but as was discussed on another thread ages ago; I think it was miscast. I'm one of the pro-McCarthy people, but I think his character should've been darker, and for that you would need a different actor. I always thought Spader would've been right for the role. Remember; Clay was supposed to have been one of them before he left.
As a piece of retro-cool, the film seems to have gained ground. Taken without that "Wow... this feels so 80's!" mentality (which is how it was viewed at the time), and you can see why it failed. It feels like there's a piece missing from the film. Downey steals the show, but 'Clay' needed to have real gravitas, and he just didn't.
[ 01. December 2009, 02:38: Message edited by: logan5 ]
Posted by Pyromantic (Member # 7658) on :
Definetly one of the better 80's movies IMO. Especially if you're like me and you can't stand all those cheesy stupid John Hughes comedies.
Posted by xchazx (Member # 7158) on :
i love this movie more now than when i first saw it back when it was in the movies. and it definitely doesn't seem as 80's now as it did when it was first released, if that makes sense. but it absolutely has the 80's feel to it.
i remember the night i went to see it. one of the girls i went with left the theater full on crying. i was trying to console her and i said to her "it's just a movie, things like this don't really happen". then i was told that juliens story was a similar story that happened to her best friend growing up in high school. i never felt more like a safe suburban nerd in my life at that moment.
i think it would have been very cool to have andrew mccarthy's character a little darker though i agree i don't know if he would have been able to pull it off.
Posted by Valley (Member # 1322) on :
While we are discussing "Tuff Turf" .. let's compare it to "Less Than Zero" another yet darker pairing of James Spader and Robert Downey Jr.
Both excellent movies with seedy elements, but a view from different social levels. Robert Downey Jr. shines in both films and gives us a glimpse at his future brilliance as an actor. Also, a glimpse at the demons he would later face in life..
The party scene in "Less Than Zero" had a vibrance that was totally 80's..
[ 10. May 2010, 07:32: Message edited by: Valley ]
Posted by Bamersy (Member # 8808) on :
Never saw the movie, did read the book. Love the Bangles "Hazy Shade of Winter"-it's my favorite from them.
Posted by Valley (Member # 1322) on :
How many of you are really Andrew McCarthy fans?
I enjoy some of his movies.. Class, Pretty In Pink, Weekend At Bernie's.. but I wonder sometimes if I'd like the movies better with someone else in his role..
Sorry Blane
Posted by Veronica Sawyer (Member # 2221) on :
I read this book a few years ago and watched the movie after I was done reading. The book is much different from the movie, especially the ending. The Clay character in the book was not likable at all, and his relationship with Blair and Julien was totally different. There was no love going on between the characters in the book, they were all indifferent to each other and completely self-absorbed. I think I liked the movie better than the book, for the most part. The book was just a little too disturbing for me. I liked the music, acting, and the look of the movie a lot.
As for Andrew McCarthy, I've always liked him, but I have to say that I can't stand him in Pretty in Pink. He does much better with comedic roles like Weekend in Bernie's.
Posted by logan5 (Member # 1467) on :
quote:How many of you are really Andrew McCarthy fans?
I enjoy some of his movies.. Class, Pretty In Pink, Weekend At Bernie's.. but I wonder sometimes if I'd like the movies better with someone else in his role..
*Meekly raises hand*
I like McCarthy, but he has to be playing the right kind of characters. I think he was right for 'Class', right for 'Pretty in Pink' (believably weak) and he was fun in 'Weekend at Bernie's'. He was wrong for Less Than Zero, though. Just like Michael J. Fox was wrong for 'Bright Lights Big City' and 'Light of Day'.
As for proper casting... I'll go with what I said (above):
"I like the film a bit, but as was discussed on another thread ages ago; I think it was miscast. I'm one of the pro-McCarthy people, but I think his character should've been darker, and for that you would need a different actor. I always thought Spader would've been right for the role. Remember; Clay was supposed to have been one of them before he left."
Posted by xchazx (Member # 7158) on :
quote:Originally posted by Valley: How many of you are really Andrew McCarthy fans?
I enjoy some of his movies.. Class, Pretty In Pink, Weekend At Bernie's.. but I wonder sometimes if I'd like the movies better with someone else in his role..
Sorry Blane
i also liked "heaven help us" & "st elmos fire". i would say i am a fan.
Posted by Ronnie (Member # 465) on :
valley, i don't know what it is, but i cannot watch this movie. i can take almost any horror movie, blood, guts..gore, but i cannot stomach THIS movie. it's weird. sometimes i catch it on cable and i never even stop to watch a piece of it. something about it disturbs me and leaves me feeling awful.
as for mccarthy. i don't care for him too much. and he was so unwatchable in pretty in pink (at least, for me?). and i didn't think he fit the character in less than zero, either. however, i think he's great in mannequin haha.
Posted by There'll be no morning for us (Member # 5804) on :
Oh I have to buy this after Ronnie's glowing comment haha
I've liked McCarthy in everything I've seen him in.
Posted by logan5 (Member # 1467) on :
quote:I've liked McCarthy in everything I've seen him in.
To be fair, all the films listed except Less Than Zero were right for McCarthy. I don't think he's a great 'actor', but he was right in everything up to that point. Like Chaz I also thought he was great in 'Heaven Help Us'.
Posted by Valley (Member # 1322) on :
As I've mentioned numerous times, I'm not much of a reader with regard to novels. However, the new Bret Easton Elllis novel "Imperial Bedrooms" has me intrigued. Set to release on June 15th, 2010.. "Imperial Bedrooms" is the sequel to "Less Than Zero", the Ellis 1985 bestselling literary debut, which was shortly followed by the film adaptation in 1987. "Imperial Bedrooms" revisits Less Than Zero's self-destructive and disillusioned youths as they approach middle-age in the present day.
Similar to "Less Than Zero" which took its name from Elvis Costello's 1977 song of the same name, Imperial Bedrooms is named after Costello's 1982 album.
Ellis teases that this first line of the new novel is: "They made a movie about us..."
So all I really know about it is that 25 years later, Clay is a screenwriter in New York, who returns to Los Angeles to cast his new film adaptation.
I have mixed thoughts about this novel.. but still very curious.
Posted by Secret Admirer (Member # 3574) on :
Awesome info - thanks, Valley. I'll usually give sequels a chance, it's remakes that I roll my eyes over. Time to dust off the library card.
Now will someone please get a good Goonies middle-age follow up together? I'm waiting, you know.
Posted by Valley (Member # 1322) on :
Secret.. I'm shocked that "The Goonies" sequel never made it to production. It was rumored for so long ..
Posted by Chris the CandyFanMan (Member # 3197) on :
As too was a Roger Rabbit followup, although the 3 short cartoons that followed in the subsequent years (Tummy Trouble, Rollercoaster Rabbit, Trail Mix-Up) were quite good on their own.
Posted by Veronica Sawyer (Member # 2221) on :
Just watched this movie tonight (probably the 3rd time I've seen it), and I still think it's great. I like how it portrays that creepy underbelly of LA with all of those cool shots of the beaches, deserts, and streets of LA with Thomas Newman's score. I can't really think of any other movie from the 80's that captured that particular mood for me.
Looking forward to reading the new book "Imperial Bedrooms." Sounds like a movie version of that is already in the works with Andrew McCarthy set to reprise his role of Clay.
Posted by Veronica Sawyer (Member # 2221) on :
I just read the novel "Imperial Bedrooms," the sequel to "Less than Zero." The book acknowledges the movie version of Less than Zero by saying that although it was a horrible adaptation of the book, it was still a decent "80's noir" movie, and that Jami Gertz, Andrew McCarthy, and Robert Downey Jr were perfectly cast.
Valley, I don't know if you got around to reading this yet, but if you haven't, you definitely should. The book pretty much states that not much has changed in Hollywood since the 80's, except the billboards are now digital and everyone has cell phones...The characters from Less than Zero have not changed at all, except for the fact that most of them have dabbled in plastic surgery. Ellis' view of Hollywood is definitely a bleak one...
It's only a matter of time before a movie based on this book is released, hopefully with the same actors from Less than Zero.
Posted by cindymancini (Member # 679) on :
Ooh, I always liked this movie...it's a combo of the cast, the look (Valley, you're so right, the party/pool scene is dreamlike to look at with all those colors), the Bangles "Hazy Shade of Winter" & the time period.
Love the scene with Gertz modeling the soap...
Spader is despicable in his role (do you expect any less of a performance from the man?)...
The sex scenes between McCarthy & Gertz are smokin' HOT!!! Wow!!
And Robert Downy Jr. plays his role so convincingly, it's FRIGHTENING!!!
Posted by Valley (Member # 1322) on :
Veronica.. I actually had the book in my paws at a Barnes & Noble recently, but I put it back because I just wasn't willing to invest the time to read it. I'm stoked that you thought it was good.
Cindy.. The incredible party in "Less Than Zero" is 80's awesome, but the drug addiction they later reveal was just so different than the 80's that I remember. It amazes me that drugs have destroyed so many lives over the years, but certain individuals still can't resist the temptation of them.
Posted by Bodhi Zephyr (Member # 9067) on :
Anyone know if this is gonna be released on blu ray?
Cheers Valley for the Imperial Bedroom tip off, looking forward to it!
Posted by Burnett (Member # 9924) on :
The depiction of the life of rich upper class kids in L.A. during the eighties is well done, and the movie looks cool. But besides that I found it a very shallow and moralistic movie, in which McCarthy acts badly.
Also, this film has absolutely nothing to do with the excellent book.
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