American Psycho has always attracted its share of misunderstanding, both from those repulsed by its violence and those who overlook its satirical elements in favor of worshipping at the shrine of Patrick Bateman. It is with a great sigh of relief, then, that we can tell you that it’s not his lunatic swagger the…
This week’s question comes from The A.V. Club editorial staff, who are curious to hear your answers:
I was listening to The Outfield’s Bangin’ featuring the single “Since You’ve Been Gone”—while not as successful as their 1985 debut Play Deep, arguably a more mature affair—it came to my attention that there is a new skincare line that shares my name and likeness which High Snobiety says “fortunately won’t give you a…
The film American Psycho features two traditionally male-dominated professions: high finance and serial killing. Its protagonist, murderous yuppie Patrick Bateman, is an obvious misogynist. So what happens to the material when the character becomes Patricia and is played by actress Dani Faith Leonard? The answer is…
According to a new study, what a movie character does when they step in front of a mirror may be related to whether they are male or female. If that person looks forlornly into the reflected image for a few beats before breaking down in tears, the study surmises, that person is probably a woman. If the person becomes…
Mary Harron’s 2000 adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’ novel American Psycho has become an enduring cult classic, with the film looming even larger in the public’s imagination than the controversial book upon which it was based. In a piece for The Village Voice, Angelica Jade Bastién analyzes the film and discusses why…
This week’s question is from commenter Ayatollah Colm Meaney:
As part of her Vogue cover story, Margot Robbie starred in Australian Psycho, a brilliant short spoofing the opening sequence of American Psycho. Robbie runs through her chilling morning routine that’s about as psychotic as Patrick Bateman’s, complete with a face mask and everything. What’s the secret to being one of…
People sometimes ask me what my favorite A.V. Undercover is, and like any good parent, I refuse to answer. But I won’t deny that it tends to get me thinking about a few that seemed to fly under the radar, particularly Basia Bulat’s take on Ted Leo’s “Where Have All The Rude Boys Gone?” Which is a roundabout way of…
Although he’d be loath to admit it, Bret Easton Ellis was lucky that the creative team of Mary Harron and Guinevere Turner came along. Not only did they give American Psycho the feminist bona fides it needed after the novel was condemned as misogynist, they made a damn good movie out of it as well. Turner and Harron…
Welcome to Random Roles, wherein we talk to actors about the characters who defined their careers. The catch: They don’t know beforehand what roles we’ll ask them to talk about.
Welcome back to AVQ&A, where we throw out a question for discussion among the staff and readers. Consider this a prompt to compare notes on your interface with pop culture, to reveal your embarrassing tastes and experiences, and to ponder how our diverse lives all led us to convene here together. Got a question you’d…
Feed a stray cat to an ATM, because that American Psycho musical is coming to Broadway after all! We reported last year that plans to transfer the West End musical to the off-Broadway playhouse Second Stage Theatre had been brutally murdered. But as we mentioned at the time, that seems to have been part of a larger…
Wish ice cream came in more spooktacular flavors? Love classic horror movies but wish they were better represented in the local frozen foods department? A couple of horror fans decided to create some mock-ups for a few Ben & Jerry’s flavors that both make thematic sense and look good enough to eat. John Squires and …
David Fincher’s Seven is a textbook tale of obsession and precision. John Doe plays with the world like his own personal dollhouse, staging elaborate morality plays and scenes of gruesome, operatic violence. In that way, he’s quite a bit like the creator of this 1/6 diorama of the film’s famous Sloth scene (although…
After laying down some newspaper, buttoning up a clear raincoat, and putting on a song from the Huey Lewis And The News album Fore, New York’s Second Stage Theatre has brutally murdered its production of the American Psycho musical. OK, Second Stage didn’t kill it by choice, but the theater did cancel the show’s…
Welcome back to AVQ&A, where we throw out a question for discussion among the staff and readers. Consider this a prompt to compare notes on your interface with pop culture, to reveal your embarrassing tastes and experiences, and to ponder how our diverse lives all led us to convene here together. Got a question you’d…
