American Psycho

Bret Easton Ellis' heavily criticized 1991 novel, American Psycho, has been described as a "dark and nasty little book." Ellis started the novel in 1986. In 1990 Simon and Schuster gave him a $300,000 advance, then backed out of publishing it after women's organizations complained. (NOW called it "a how-to novel on the torture and dismemberment of women".)

Vintage grabbed the book and published it immediately.

Ellis received death threats over his ultraviolent book. Canadians Concerned about Violence in Entertainment (C-CAVE) protested when the film version of American Psycho went into production in Toronto. When the city issued film permits for the production, ignoring the group's pleas, C-CAVE attempted to charge Random House of Canada with obscenity under the Canadian Criminal Code. The fight was joined by Debbie Mahaffy, mother of Leslie Mahaffy, a victim of Paul Bernardo. Police found a copy of the novel in Bernardo's bedroom following his arrest for the murders of Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French in 1993.

Let me tell you about this controversial movie.

I confess that I'm not much of a Willem Dafoe fan; he gives me the creeps. He's like Christopher Walken without the charm. But after seeing him as Detective Donald Kimble in American Psycho, I don't find him nearly as revolting as Christian Bale's character, Patrick Bateman. Would Leonardo Di Caprio, who was originally slated for the part, have done a better job? No way.

You like dark satire? You gotta see this movie.

The setting is Manhattan's Wall Street, 1987. Huey Lewis and the News are on the soundtrack. Is that scary or what?

Here's the story:

Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) tells the story of this first-person narrative. He's following in his father's footsteps, making beaucoup bucks at daddy's Wall Street firm as a commodities broker. This is yuppiedom at its most extreme. Clothes, success, style — these make the man. The first hint I had that this was a comedy of any sort was when 26-year-old Bateman began going through his morning ritual in front of the bathroom mirror. Facial cleanser, astringent, an exfoliating mask (how did he get that off in one piece?!) ... the typical female morning regimen. Narcissistic? Indeed.

He is the All-American Boy Next Door living the American Dream. By day, Bateman is like all the others, preoccupied with who has the most tasteful business cards, finest suits, and how to get prime reservations at the chicest restaurants. People constantly mistake this generic character for generic co-worker, Paul Allen (Jared Leto).

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