Not the worst movie ever, but in that category.....

Rating: 2/10 (13 February 2008)

American Psycho was not the worst piece of crap I have watched over the years, but it falls dangerously close to being in that category.
It is another well worn formula from writer Bret Easton Ellis, how rich Americans lose their soul in the pursuit of pleasure and material excess. It worked with Less Than Zero, but it doesn't work here.
Part of the reason is that Christian Bale is totally unconvincing as our 80's American Psycho. Whether he was miscast in the role or given bad direction, I don't know. He did not play a creep as true as, say a Robert DeNiro or Al Pacino. He more or less comes across as a Hollywood actor trying to play a crazy guy, and not pulling it off.
Moreover, the film seemed disjointed, like they had different strategies for what they were trying to accomplish. I could almost tell that certain shots were taken on the same day, and other shots taken on other days had a completely different feel.
It was also unclear to me if the murders were real or just imagined by our Patrick Bateman. Perhaps, I wasn't watching the movie that closely. And perhaps, that wasn't really my fault. It was hard to endure.