This is a COMEDY!

Rating: 7/10 (7 May 2004)

When I first saw this in the cinema in April 2000 I hated it. But I watched it with the wrong attitude. I was judging American Psycho as a horror film. Which it certainly is NOT. It's about (as the film constantly says) a complete [loser]. He's no friends. Unable to communicate on any level with anyone of his superficial, yuppie colleagues (some of which don't even know his name), takes far, far too much pride in his appearance and has way, way to much love for his material possessions. He is Patrick Bateman. And fitting in/looking normal/being just like everyone else is the toughest thing in his life. But murder, misogyny, degradation and mutilation is what he secretly longs for. It's really only Huey Lewis and the News that prevents him from doing so.
American Psycho is full scenes that are tough to watch. You'll be watching them through the gaps between your fingers. How can you not squirm as Patrick Bateman looks in the mirror smiling, flexing his muscles, while having sex with a call girl? Or taking the whole business card thing WAY too seriously? Other times the film is just laugh out loud hilarious. Bateman tells Willem Dafoe's detective he would love to help him with his case but he has a lunch meeting with Cliff Huxtable. Come on! Cliff Huxtable??? Or how about the scene in the Men's Room when Patrick attempts to strangle the gay guy?
Don't watch this as a horror film. It's a comic, drama-tragedy. Patrick Bateman is a disaster waiting to happen. And his inability to stay connected to the world around him is a wicked delight. Though his world of slick, cocaine-snorting, superficial, Wall Street yuppies of 80s credibility is not really the thing anyone would want to be connected to. Maybe he's better off as a psycho with no pals.
The DVD has a great looking 2.35:1 anamorphic picture and a loud, well produced Dolby 5.1 soundtrack. The extras (apart from the deleted scenes), unfortunately, are pathetic.e movie with a scene of Bateman discussing his morning facial cream routine) that the point of the satire is nearly lost: Without the fickle trends of society, Bateman is an empty shell. Save his greed and bloodlust, he is a robot.
Harron tones down the violence to a lesser degree - although it is no less gruesome; the scene where Bateman, nude and bloody, chases a hooker with a chainsaw is an edge-of-the-seater - and emphasizes the story's taking place in the "Me Decade" with appropriate song and fashion that add to one's enjoyment of the film.
Despite a lame "Is Patrick really nutso?" twist that hurts the movie, the point is not lost here, and Harron has a solid sophomore hit on her hands.
Bale shines as Bateman, making us thank God the powers that be did not go with Leonardo DiCaprio as they at one point hoped to. Whether he's stiff, menacing, dryly sarcastic, tortured or over the edge psychotic, Bale is mesmerizing. If there's any justice in the world, Patrick Bateman will be a career maker.
Too bad the supporting actors don't fare as well. With the exception of Matt Ross, who steals his scenes as a homosexual co-worker of Bateman's in a memorable bathroom confrontation, all other actors are window dressing. Witherspoon's role is written so blandly anybody could have played it, while Sevigny is incredible annoying as her characer moons over Patrick. Willem Dafoe is amiable enough as a detective investigating one of Bateman's crimes, but ... this is Bale's movie.
It's a wild ride that gets a little hazy in parts, but is certainly enjoyable in most places.