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Rating: Null/10 (31 October 2002)

American Psycho is a disturbing movie filled with the brutal murders and executions of various people (mostly of the female persuasion). What's really scary is that through much of the movie, our funny bone is being tickled. Don't get me wrong, we're not being persuaded to think that bloody killings are good; on the contrary, we're laughing at the complete banality of the man perpetrating these actions. Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale, in a star-making turn) is a shallow Wall Street banker who lives an empty life. He lives and dies by a soda pop advertising slogan: Image Is Everything. Set in the late 1980s, he is of a time when style reigns supreme over substance, obsessed with his physical beauty, getting into the trendiest restaurants, and nitpicking with his coworkers about who has the best business cards. Said co-workers (Jared Leto, Matt Ross, Justin Theroux, and Josh Lucas), all have the same haircut and business suits, and for all intents and purposes are interchangeable. Bateman's sex life isn't exactly lacking, by any means. He's engaged to the shallow Evelyn Williams (Reese Witherspoon), but cheats on her with her best friend Courtney (Samantha Mathis). He picks up a hooker off the street (Cara Seymour) and gets her in a threesome with another one of his friends, Elizabeth (Guinevere Turner, who co wrote the script).
His secretary Jean (Chloe Sevigny) also secretly lusts after him. Little does she know that he seems to have knocked off his best friend Paul Allen (Leto), a nameless homeless man, and countless members of the fairer sex, all by increasingly imaginative killing methods (staple gun, chainsaw, ATM machine -- he tries it all). Eventually he finds he's being trailed by detective Kimball (Willem Dafoe), who's investing Allen's disappearance but also seems to know a bit more about Patrick than he should. From this moment on Bateman's inner demons are unleashed as he descends into an unending frenzy of paranoia and murder.
As if we needed proof that too much Phil Collins and Huey Lewis can lead to a homicidal rampage, here comes American Psycho to ice pick the point home. Some of the funniest scenes depict Bateman's attempts at foreplay: the dissection of songs he considers classic. Such songs include Genesis' "In Too Deep," Katrina And The Waves' "Walking On Sunshine," Whitney Houston's "The Greatest Love Of All," and Huey Lewis And The News' "Hip To Be Square." His interpretation of "The Greatest Love Of All" is especially hilarious.
As Bateman, Christian Bale is absolutely perfect. I remember him as the skinny little boy from Empire Of The Sun and Newsies, and as young Laurie in Little Women. To see him as the buffed-up soulless banker is a complete shock ... and a delightful one. The man is absolutely amazing in the role. Too bad American Psycho barely registered at the box office, because this is one performance that deserves an Oscar. Bateman is continually acting at being a human being. Bale brings the right amount of slightly over-the-top zeal required for the role, and actually succeeds in making us both laugh at and, at times, with his character. The rest of the characters are minor, and barely register, although Sevigny's lovelorn secretary hits a bit harder than most of the others.
Once again the MPAA has messed it up again. There was a huge controversy a while ago about the film being rated NC-17, which in the United States is another word for saying "X-rated." Its reasons were that there was a threesome being depicted. I was able to see the uncut version, and I must ask the question and rebel against the standards by asking: what were they thinking? So they show three people getting it on. Big deal. No actual penetration shots were shown ... just two naked women, dancing around and kissing while Bateman flexes and watches himself in the mirror. If anything, it helps reinforce the complete emptiness of Bateman's personality. The violence and gore, on the other hand, makes one almost queasy at times. Even with the amount of bloodshed, enough of it is off-camera that I wouldn't quite stoop to give it an NC-17 rating, but American Psycho is definitely an R-rated picture. Just goes to show once again what prudes the MPAA are. "Yes, let's torture women and show their severed heads as much as possible; but don't show any naked people even though we're born that way: kids might get the wrong idea!"
While most definitely not for all tastes (I don't think this is high on the Mormon Church's "required viewing" list) American Psycho still manages to be both funny and disturbing at the same time. It's not as powerful as Fight Club, but it definitely packs a wallop. If you can get past the subject matter, you'll find yourself challenged and yes, even entertained. Skip the popcorn this time around, though.