#americanpsycho #christianbale #videoessay
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American Psycho isn't the simple, dark, clinical slasher film many assumed it was when it released back in 2000. It's fundamentally a social satire, and a comedy. A very dark comedy. But a comedy nonetheless. And no one understood this better than American Psycho writer/director Mary Harron and breakout lead Christian Bale. Today, we'll delve into the funnier and most satirical moments from American Psycho, hearing not just from Harron and Bale, but also Bret Easton Ellis, who wrote the original novel.
For the complete Funny Or Die sketch with Huey Lewis: • American Psycho with H...
Written & edited by Danny Boyd
Fun Fact #2: American Psycho was shot by Andrzej Sekula, the same guy who did Pulp Fiction (and Reservoir Dogs). Which is why both movies have the same golden paint-y glow to them, if you look at them side by side.
Ever thinking of covering Trainspotting and it’s sequel in this series - love your work
@@Sam-nl8ie would love to see that too, especially the sequel for how great it actually ended up being despite all odds
Oh that is interesting! I think I just assumed subconsciously that it was a 90s look.
i cant unsee it now 🤯🤯🤯
I thought quentin tarantino made pulp fiction and reservoir dogs.
Fun Fact: in preparation for the role, Christian Bale read the script and memorized his lines.
I read that in order to play the character of Patrick Bateman, he actually pretended to be him.
True dedication
@@miriglith4293he did that on camera too, if you watch the movie you can see where it happens
Truly on of the movies of all time
Marlon Brando would like a word
You would THINK that the business card scene, if ANYTHING, would give away the satire. It turns basically the most meaningless aspect of a businessman into a life or death stress trigger.
It does. Only the absolute dumbest minority of people would have missed it. People don't take it seriously. The people you see online are pretending to take it seriously because it's funny.
Is that a gram?
Everyone knows it's a satire, but that's only because it touches on some true themes. Business card design was a big deal in the 80s and 90s, just like what shoes or watch or suit you wore were (and still are) a big deal to the people you dealt with in business. Corporate life doesn't come with a lot of creativity in how you present yourself to the world, so the little details matter.
I bet people who were invested in the movie as straight, not satire, saw that scene like "ok, you *do* need attention to detail to become sucessful"
@@jozepedro27 Nobody in the world has thought that. The people who take the movie "as straight" see the satire, and embrace it. It's funny to take it in unironically
In the context of the early 80's "I have to return some video tapes" was actually a subtle flex. At the time VCR's and Betamaxes were still fairly expensive so just dropping the hint you had one meant you were with it and hip. The line is PERFECT for the character.
It also reminds us that he has a lot of free time for an alpha yuppy.
Those things were more expensive than modern video game consoles and were designed to match your expensive furniture. All that wood grain stuff, the cheaper ones (still like 700 bucks in 1980s dollars too!) were plastic and painted but I think it’s interesting how back then LOOKING expensive if you had a VCR was just as important as the function.
@@overtherenowaitthere Yeah back then a VCR would be easily a months salary for a working class person. A gaming machine today 1-1.5 weeks.
Imagine flexing going to a Redbox these days 😂
Our old VCR from the late eighties weighed like 25 lbs. Ridiculous!
“Although I have a slightly better haircut” Everything about that line is pure chefs kiss
This movie is hilarious. "Patrick is that you?" "No louis, its not me, youre mistaken."
Lol, the movie is so funny. Anyway, gotta go... ... return some video tapes.
@@Freakazoid12345 A lot of people won't get that video rental stores back in the Eighties would charge you up the ass if you returned tapes late. Places like Blockbuster hoped you'd return them late so they could charge you the whole fucking rental fee again. So the whole "have to return some video tapes" really was a thing for us back then. Superb satire.
@@Melsharpe95 I hung out with a guy dude from a local Hollywood video (like a Blockbuster, not in Hollywood). He listened to Madonna and had a Chihuahua. He hit on me and I said I was straight and to get back at me he kept the tapes I returned so I had to pay for replacing them. This was the early 2000's and I'm sure you can guess how I felt about that and perhaps even what somebody might call somebody like him who does something like that.
@@Melsharpe95 Absolutely love the movie and whilst I'm 51 yrs old (today! :D ), I don't think I've ever personally paid for a video store membership / film hire. So the last bit of the jigsaw makes sense, now. Thanks.
@@neillynch_ecocidologist Happy birthday :)
So rare to see a book author that happy with the film version of his book.
Yeah they seem to be far and few between. Another one is Chuck Palahniuk, who was happy with the film version of Fight Club iirc.
@@amorphousblob chuck palahniuk you mean
Until he made comments that the movie would have been better if directed by a man 🙄🙄
@@amorphousblobwtf are you on about? David Fincher didn't write Fight Club, he directed it.
@@Ten_Thousand_Locusts It was a half-asleep mistake lmao, christ. Relax.
My favorite thing about this movie is literally everyone in the P&P office mistakes everyone for someone else because they're all too full of themselves to get to know anyone they work with, and everyone who is mistaken for someone else just rolls with it until the end, even Patrick's lawyer doesn't even know who he is. Maybe Patrick killed someone he THOUGHT was Paul Allen. Maybe he killed Paul and the lawyer had dinner with someone he thought was Paul Allen. Maybe none of it happened. There's so many ways to watch this movie.
Willem DeFie played the interview at least three ways and they mixed up the takes, it's brilliant.
Okay this makes so much more sense. I never understood that before
maybe bateman is in fact allen
congratulations for understanding the key point of the film.
@@ConnieLynchitzWhoElse I'm pointing out what my favorite thing about the film is. Not whether or not it's obvious to the audience. Merry Christmas.
I remember watching this, as a teen, not realizing it was a comedy until the scene with the chainsaw, where I said, "This is stupid. Someone would hear that. How does no one care?" And that was immediately followed by "Oh my God, this entire movie is satire." Blew my mind as I watched him make that freaked-out phone call.
Ive never seen the movie, but i find it absolutely hilarious that they ALL misspell "Acquisitions" on their business cards
Brilliant catch!
Watch the movie!
@@wafflepoet5437 brilliant catch??? he literally says it in the video what are you on about
Never notice that hhaha nice easter egg
"I'm into murders and executions" "You like it? Cuz a lot of guys I know don't like being in mergers and acquisitions" You should really give the movie a shot! It is too good to miss!
For years I tried to use the 'I need to return some videos' line as often as I could. Now that video shops don't really exist anymore, I think its even more important to work that line into every day situations.
I’m going to do that too!
I can only see people using it ironically to simply quote the movie and not actually genuinely to get out of social situation. I guess you could get out of social situation and quote the movie at the same time, but not use it as a genuine line.
Just add "to Redbox" lol
😂 lmao
I usually just say "I gotta go, I've got a ton of excuses to make up"
It's really funny how people like to say Patrick Bateman is a "sigma male" while the purpose of his character is to make fun of that stuff
I like to say he's a "sigma male" and honestly it's purely because it's funny. The scene where he arranges his hair with the menu is just too hilarious.
its as if the people saying that are joking and get the character perfectly
It’s the same with all the ‘sigma male’ wannabes. Take Tommy Shelby , he ends up alone and unloved by those he loves. Yet pathetic men aspire to him. Same with Patrick. It’s because they hate women and themselves. They want to be desired by other men, validated by other men, hence why they replicate these men that most women don’t like. Look at Mr Darcy a pretty much universally love male character, yet no men aspire to him (or very few).
@@alexandermccabe556sure
sigma male **is** a satire satire of alpha-beta-omega stuff from false wolf pack structure
I saw this during its initial theatrical release. Maybe it’s Australian audiences (we have a dark sense of humour) but the cinema I was in laughed out loud every time Bateman started an album review, so I think in Melbourne in the late 90s we all got the joke. Easton Ellis’s “Informers” is a far darker book, in my opinion, although the copy of Psycho I bought (the same you show during this video essay) had to be wrapped with an R rating on it in bookshops.
Leave it to Americans to think a satire about a sad, pathetic, run-of-the-mill malignant narcissist is something they should take seriously because they aspire to be like the antagonist. They think the antagonist is the protagonist. Basically America is fucked. Thanks for reading. 😂
I mean its objectively hilarious that someone would consistently review albums in a robotic tone at extremely bizarre times
This video is overstating things a bit. I saw it in the theater when it was released and the audience was laughing and clearly understood the satire,
I remember reading the book, finding it horrifying, and then like a week after finishing it, going, “Ohhhh, it’s a satire!” I was young.
I read the book when I was a teen. I had read a bunch of serial killer books and horror books etc and this was the one book I had to put down and take a break from because some of the sections were soo disturbing. Satire or not the violence was extreme and I still remember the descriptions to this day of the scotch sharpening his reflexes
What I find most hilarious is all the so called "intellectuals" on the internet who actually believe that anyone, anywhere, doesn't understand that this movie is blatant and obvious satire and are constantly patting each other on the back for "getting it". I heretofore challenge any of you "enlightened academics" to provide concrete proof of existence pertaining to these imaginary, non-existent, ignoramus straw-men that you have all unified together to pretentiously mock in your circle jerk of condensation...
@@red2977 love the part where he pulls a girl’s neck inside out
Can your point to what's satirical about the bit where he puts cheese and rats into a woman's pussy and then cuts her in half with a chainsaw
@@red2977 Thank you for your comment. Extreme violence and misogyny and greed and anger and obsessive self-involvement is simply pathological. Saying it is satire is almost meaningless.
It is ironic how the perfect satire of alpha male culture became a symbol of it for so many people. Edit: Look at the replies at your own risk. You have been warned.
💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻
Because we don't care. Those who want this to be a reflection or satire as a form of criticism or ridicule fail to understand that many of us don't agree with their conclusion. Their almost Dunning-Kruger like affect regarding their judgement is nothing more than an opinion. One we don't share. This is also the case with Starship Troopers, albeit in a different position (We absolutely agree with what Michael Ironsides tells the students in the classroom lesson). Those who hold those movies as an allegory seem to be in a false sense of moral superiority when it simply shows that they don't understand the purposes and even the nuances of humanity. Their judgement of excesses are hypocritical as the same could be said about them from much of the 3rd world. Their position in this criticism often comes from a place of envy. Their desire for those lesser than them to be bolstered and they to be lauded as saviors while criticizing their betters. It's a form of super-ego of the mundane. And that's ultimately it. Envy being the ultimate failing of humanity suffered by all and the purpose for much of everything that exists today when you ultimately break it down. Those who champion the writing of American Psycho as a criticism are themselves doing so because of their own envy or even inferiority complex. The psychological door swings both ways. It always has. This is why Gen Z and looks to be Gen Alpha have used this movie and many like it as a primer. Often through memes and the subtle nuances of phrases in their lexicon. And that's neither a good or a bad thing.
American Psycho is a Litmus test. If you actually think Batemen is "cool"* and not the sniveling loser that he is; you don't get the message.
@@janus3555 Are you for real? LMAO. Thanks for exposing yourself as a clown and a horrible person.
@@janus3555 You're really lambasting the creators of both book and film for "not getting it", huh? Boy, do I have some stuff to tell you about "The Matrix"...
My wife and I watched this in the theater when it came out. I remember laughing at the absurdity and sarcasm but I also remember the audience being so silent so our laughing really stood out. I guess the sarcasm wasn't very obvious. Still this movie has been one of my favorites all these years.
You kinda have to watch it a second time to really get into the comedy, especially if you watch it the first time thinking it's gonna be a scary thriller lol
I saw the movie with some friends and I was the only one laughing my ass off. I kind of questioned myself about that afterwards and determined I got the movie and they didn't.
@@madislandguy I remember laughing at the card scene in particular. For years after I'd make the same joke whenever someone handed me a business card.
sometimes you have to be primed by someone else that it is a comedy to even look for such cues.
The kitten scene had me gasping for air.
I still say, "I have to return some video tapes." Whenever I exit conversations with several strangers at parties. It's a hilarious way to exit because there'll almost always be one person who immediately remembers the line & starts laughing, by the time they've awkwardly explained it to the rest a couple more people might remember and laugh too, everyone else is just baffled, and you've made a fairly memorable exit. They say first impressions are most important but that exit has made impressions that lasted literally years.
I don't think this works as well as you think it does
@@youngnoodle1963right 😭
💪😅😅💪@@youngnoodle1963
Fun fact: the writers later revealed that it is not satire at all and should be taken completely at face value. They applauded the online community that grew to adopt this movie as a “sigma cinema” classic and agreed that Patrick Bateman is actually very cool and alpha and should be a personally strived for by all male youth.
Me when I spread misinformation on the Internet
That IS fun
Or maybe the adoption of Patrick Bateman as the Sigma Male is a tongue in cheek post post modern satire of the latent feminism in the satire. Sure Patrick Bateman is a funny strawman and a critique of "masculinity" but if you honestly believe that wall street stockbrokers aren't human beings with unique personalities and ideas; if you honestly believe that "all men = patriarchy", then jokes on you, we'll be memeing Sigma grindset until the sociology professors (cows) come home.
@@Wicker_ You're talking about the same kind of men that listen to and defend Andrew Tate. Yes, they do glorify Patrick Bateman. That level of introspection you're describing isn't there.
@Wicker 2 the sigma meme is a satirical critique of those who genuinely idolize Patrick Bateman and believe in the “sigma male grindset”.
I love the artistic romance between the author and the director. Ellis even going so far as to say Harron's work clarifies aspects of the book. The card scene is probably my favorite.
And nowadays we get films based on novels that are rushed out and delete important scenes entirely or misinterpret important themes of the book. Even worse, ones where production disregard the author's opinions or don't consult the author whatsoever.
@@askmeaboutsugma yeah that's nothing new ...
@@askmeaboutsugma We just got a serviceable adaptation of Dune for the first time since the books debuted half a century ago. Bad and good adaptations always existed, it's just the bad ones are always prevalent.
@@goodial Far more prevalent now than it was two decades ago. It could just be that movies based on books get made much more often than they did previously, so the data is just exacerbated.
The card scene is mine, also but it stems from the fact there were kids in my high school at the time who had already been passing out their business cards with fake occupations on it trying to impress students, more specifically the girls, I guess. Then I love the video tape return excuse to not want to spend time with the person.
I laughed out loud at several passages of the book, notably when he feeds his date a chocolate covered urinal cake. She then complained that it was "so minty" i got some weird looks in the bus.
Oddly that's the scene that stuck with me the most, it was so petty and weird.
People on busses hate to see a fella happy.
Speaking of reading on the bus, I almost fainted reading one of the more brutal parts of it while riding the bus. Had to half lie down in my seat until I was no longer white as a corpse, and was barely able to get up and walk when we arrived at my stop.
I remember the day after watching this on DVD I told my roommate, "I'm not sure if I just saw one of the worst movies ever or one of the best." I watched it again the next morning and decided it's one of the best.
I never noticed they all misspelled Acquisitions on their business cards.
one of them did. the rest copied him.
Which is ironic since the whole scene was about attention to the details of the cards
Or bateman didnt know how to spell acquisitions, and the whole thing is made up on his mind.🙄
Folarin Osibodu BSc BSc MSc PSM PSPO do u introduce urself as this in person, must take a while :D
@@bunyann90 I wonder if he pronounces it bisk bisk pissim pisspoo
the fact that he might not even have killed paul allen and might have killed the wrong guy makes the whole thing so much better. he's no different to his peers.
My interpretation of it was that he actually DID kill Paul Allen but his co-worker who said he had lunch with Allen after Bateman supposedly killed him, thought he was Paul Allen, because they all seem the same and interchangeable in the eyes of the Wall Streeters.
@@simonster-9094 it's not quite as funny as bateman killing the wrong guy but it's just as nightmarish. Such a violent action and noone even cares. He'll never get the punishment he craves.
Oh, I never thought of it like that! I just assumed it was the other guy who mistook someone else for Paul Allen. But honestly your interpretation of it makes the whole thing a lot funnier.
@@simonster-9094 My interpretation of it was also that he did kill Paul Allen, but everyone subtly tells him that they know, don't care and will cover for him indefinitely, despite Bateman's most desperate desire being caught out. The psychopathic part of Bateman wants to break out of the endless yuppie Hamster Wheel, so he indulges in shocking acts of hyperviolence in the hopes someone might actually recognize that there is indeed some semblence of a human being under all those designer clothes, expensive perfume and flawless skin care. Instead he is told, in a rather threatening tone, more overtly so in the movie, that Paul Allen is still alive. The way Allens lawyer acted the scene was more of a "I know you did, now shut up before you get into trouble", followed by the "This is not an exit" sign. This soulless consumerism is Batemans personal purgatory, and nothing he deems deems acceptable to do will offer him an escape. He could of course reject his ways of a materialistic yuppie and nouveau riche businessman who got into his position via napotism alone (his father is a close friend of the CEO of the bank he works at iirc) but that is a scary prospect, because above all, he values his status, hence why the impoverished are the primary targets of his aggression.
Am I wrong for taking the title literally and believing all the murders were just in his head? My interpretation was he's so pathetic and insane that he just makes up these scenarios to deal with his mondaine existence
The best interpretation I've ever heard of that is that it's actually a satire of the entire 80s. The world around Bateman is so fake and corrupt and meaningless, that he could have plausibly gone on a murder spree, and no one would have cared. At the end, even HE is not sure if the murders really happened, because it is just as believable that everyone around him ignored the murders and covered them up. They are all that soulless. So it's not just him that the movie is commenting on, rather it's the world he exists in.
That’s not an interpretation, that’s the literal plot of the book.
@@gabbleratchet1890 I am not sure you understand what the word "interpretation" means...
He totally killed people, maybe not the cops or the old lady, but a lot of people and the fact that he might’ve mistaken some for others and that no one notices who’s missing is the ultimate punchline to the ultimate joke about yuppie culture that is this novel and its film adaptation. Also, the author made a “sequel” that he published online that mentions the “disappearance of Paul Allen” with Patrick stating that even years later no one suspects and that he’s playing golf with the now Chief Kimball later that day.
Laws of Attraction is a storyline based on Bateman's brother, but you probably already knew that.
The fact that many of the criticisms were “the characters did these things I didn’t like” and the response is obviously “yeah, you’re supposed to not like it. You’re supposed to be unsettled or disturbed by it. The characters are supposed to be disturbed”
I dunno, I thought the discussion on women and perosnality vs looks was spot on and funny. A good commentary on how owmne are valued. Their lives as men is a good commentary on how men are valued by women.
“The characters in this work are [insert traits I don’t like/make me uncomfortable] and because of that I don’t want to consume that work”: Perfectly reasonable! critical of the media you consume! “The characters in this work are [insert traits I don’t like/make me uncomfortable] and because of that it is a bad work and the creators support those same traits”: braindead! you are a moron!
People who critisize like that are scary. But there is something even worse. People who like a movie like American Psycho because they like what the characters do.
There are so many different characters throughout all sorts of media people like through the screen, but wouldn't like in real life. Most critically acclaimed shows and movies are about criminals and degenerates. Godfather, Scarface, Shawshank, The Dark Knight, Breaking Bad, Sopranos, The Wire. Heros, anti-heroes, villains. Humans are able to separate people from characters, no matter how engaging.
It's actually too toned down, the sharp edges filed down
Fun Fact: During production, Christian Bale followed the morning routine that his character Patrick Bateman describes toward the beginning of the film.
Much healthier than his daily routines during The Machinist…
@@CinemaStix Yep. A tin of tuna, an apple and endless cups of black coffee (water also included) per day - and ONLY that per day - will do that to ya. I honestly don't know how he even found the energy to perform 😕
@@dontbefatuousjeffrey2494 the black coffee
@@eyeamstrongest lol fair enough
Saw the director in an interview and she said Bale could break out in a sweat on command during filming.
The misspelling of the word "Acquisition" on their business cards is elegant, subtle and enormously brilliant. So funny. Antonia Bird's "Ravenous" c.1999 is my second favorite film.
i remember when I first saw it, my friend showed it to me and was really anticipating my reaction. I was in stitches, and he was so confused as to why. he did not think the movie was funny. he thought patrick bateman was super charismatic. This movie has become one of my red flag tools (among other movies)
Yeah, it's sad how many people focus on the personas that _they_ want to be, rather than what the characters _do._
Indeed! For me too! The movie is insanely clever at that. But the first requirement is that you see through the shininess of the objects in the film (and in life). That one, you have to do yourself.
I’ll take “Things that didn’t happen” for 400, Alex
@@CelloMaster2000 ok
I’m literally always telling people it is deceptively one of the funniest scripts ever written. The more watches the more defined the bits become
It really is hilarious. I watched it with my wife when we were dating and she did NOT get it at all. I was laughing my ass off, which she found disturbing. 😂😂😂
What I find most hilarious is all the so called "intellectuals" on the internet who actually believe that anyone, anywhere, doesn't understand that this movie is blatant and obvious satire and are constantly patting each other on the back for "getting it". I heretofore challenge any of you "enlightened academics" to provide concrete proof of existence pertaining to these imaginary, non-existent, ignoramus straw-men that you have all unified together to pretentiously mock in your circle jerk of condensation...
@@BrandonToy glad I'm not the only one this happened to 😂
@@bengreen2200happened to me too, I had to play it down lest she'd think I was a psycho myself
feed me the cat
Its crazy how spot on this movie nails the yuppie culture and personalities. I have friends in finance and visiting them in the city was like stepping into this film, even in 2023. It makes the movie all the more hilarious, and terrifying, whenever i rewatch it
They actually worship this character. Especially the young ones just starting out…they want to be just like him. They don’t see how flawed and ridiculous he is.
@@chrisel4349 In another interview Bale speaks about how these people actually scared him and they didn't understand irony
Not really yuppie culture though. The first letter of that word stands for 'young'. In my experience the people this movie ridicules a breed of people employed in finance or property development typically aged 45 and up, with a majority being 55 and up. Source: I work in something that facilitates both industries and allows them to pretend they know f*ckall. Had my fair share of loud disagreements because my normal behaviour (including, yes, having a business card) offended their sense of super-importantess. The whole swinging chainsaws at eachother is exagerated though, they typically prefer flashy cars as weapons, that and empty threats.
@@nvelsen1975 it's both; the guys I've met have all been
@@silverblue73 Everyone understands, nobody cares.
You did a great job picking up the absurdity aspect of this character and the clips you provided were great examples. the restaurant menu one that's funny, I missed that one.
I own the book and it's some of the funniest most poignant satire. Some of the dialogue-heavy chapters are laugh out loud funny. So well written unlike anything else but I do skip the extended violent parts upon rereading since they are hard to stomach. All the "yuppies" are always confusing each other for someone else because they dress and look the same. Patrick's nemesis is Dorsia because its the only place he can't get a reservation. He's on the verge of a mental breakdown every time he thinks he might have to sit at an average table location within a restaurant. There's a chapter where Bono is on stage at a concert and telepathically communicates that he recognizes Patrick for what he is and that he's also a fellow psychopath. The nightclubs in New York have absurd names and there is always a newer more exclusive one opening up. At points Patrick's inner dialogue devolves into listing random luxury items because is obsessed with obtaining the ultimate luxury lifestyle. One of the most successful movie adaptations of a book in look and feel. Perfectly cast. Plenty of parts that I wish were included in the movie but you can't include them all.
“Hey Hamilton. Have a holly jolly Christmas” The best delivery in the movie.
I like the line that’s like “…which really gives the songs …a BIG boost!”
I say it every year.
8:23 “Marcus and I even go to the same barber … although I have a slightly better hair cut.” My favorite line in the book. And I never tire of the Huey Lewis scene.
Btw I think the fact that the real Huey Lewis did a parody of this scene with Weird Al where he talks about the movie is probably the greatest achievement in the history of meta humor, just WOW!
I remember thinking this was a core horror/thriller in American film before watching it, but after I watched it I was like..."Is this a joke? Literally?" I saw so clearly what the author, and therefore director, was trying to accomplish.
Thought I'd hate this video, but damn sat through it all, you're killing it majorkill!
I love the part when he tells his secretary, Chloe Sevigny's character, 'I think if you stay, you might get hurt.' And she interprets that one way, but the audience knows he means it in a completely different way than the one she thinks.
That's called dramatic irony.
@@Jargonlosterright, since it’s ironic because Chloe is acting like someone she’s really not but yet doesn’t tell us she isn’t really that person and it’s dramatic because it’s in a theatrical production intended to be viewed by an audience - that Chloe and Christian can’t even see!
"...No. I guess not, I don't want to get bruised."
@@LordAus123 You are referring to irony. Dramatic irony is when the audience knows something the character doesn’t. In this example we know that Bateman would hurt her literally (with an axe) but she interprets it as getting emotionally hurt.
The fact there are modern boys that look up to him prove the exact point of the movie
Oh buddy, yes.
The point of the movie is that teenagers are stupid and don't understand satire? Someone didn't understand the film...
@@ToxicBastarduh ya
@@ToxicBastardYeah, nailed it buddy. Good job.
They're the same bunch of superficial people who don't understand that Warhammer 40k at its core is a satire on fascism. It flies right over their head. Instead they worship all the idiocy that these works make fun of.
This is a really good video, I keep coming back to it!
I think I commented the same thing on one of your videos quite a while back, but man, I love your editing and narration style! So good
I loved how all the restaurants had these ridiculous permanent menus with basically three items on them to eat.
And one is peanut butter soup with smoked duck and mashed squash. 😂
Wanky restaurants be like that.
I'm me I like mcdonadld and you can get all items z on yhe menu because its a fast food place and they are like simple burgers and etc cetera
Yeah at least in the book it was a real restaurant in Soho. Balthazar. I remember in the ‘90’s the cheapest thing they had on the menu (of maybe 8 items) was a “salad” that came on a saucer for $14 that was three leaves of spinach and 2 halves of a hard boiled egg. The kind of place you intentionally don’t eat at out of principle. For him to order a lobster as an appetizer followed by a lobster for the main course and not even touch them just because his brother was paying was such a hilarious dick move.
All menus are permanent. You order new ones when you change them.
I was attending a private liberal arts college in 1991, and one of the English classes was reading the book. The rich girls in the class just thought it was gratuitous violence. The rich boys took away that you could get away with anything if you were rich and good looking. I was a poor scholarship student. My takeaway was that Bateman had everything a young man could want, and it could never be enough, because his greed was all-consuming. The best line in the book/movie is "That's a very fine Chardonnay you're not drinking." He recognized that the wine was good, but he didn't want the wine, he wanted the other people to acknowledge his good taste. The fact they disgusted him and he planned on killing them didn't change his overwhelming need of their admiration.
Oh so you were basically Richard from TSH 😅😊
The question you all have but cannot imagine an answer to is WHO is this? A real person? A criminal aberration? An evil corporation? What is it? These are Devil worshippers. Our permanent ruling class. These are the people that run everything.
@@aceman67HDA haha right, they both pulled out themes from the book, one more deep than the other based on who you ask
@@aceman67HDA The rich girls...also right.
Whiny woman victim mentality
I rarely watch a video through to finish. Very good!
It's nice when a film remains faithful to the novel, especially a well written one.
I worked at a country club for many years in the 90's and observed that a lot of the men there exhibited a cartoonish obsession with status and pathological phoniness. When I saw this movie it really reminded of those people. The businesses card scene was exactly how imagined those people would think.
I had the hardest time in the theater because it reminded me so much of the culture I'd run 3000 miles from. It felt like an invasion.
I don't think that's some typical "rich" culture there though. I think that's just some narcissism and toxic masculinity. I used to go to a carate class for a year and the way men behaved was pretty similar. The only difference they were measuring not the business cards, but the number of pull ups or push ups they were able to do. And also their skills at throwing others at the floor. That's just masculine insecurity and machismo. And they were not rich, just normal middle class. And it was not 1980-2000, it was 2022. And we are not americans, we are from Eastern Europe. That's just some universal behaviour.
That's how satire works :) reminds you of stuff even if it is completely exaggerated.
@@el060248 No, I actually witnessed it, even their obsession with status was phony, (which is what made it cartoonish). It was a bizarre subculture, the business card scene portrays it. I liked some of those men, most of them treated me well and weren't bad people. Most of the men at the country club were not hyper phony and I liked most of them, too. Says a lot about you that you had a strong enough emotional reaction to a KZhead comment about pathological phoniness that you found it necessary to leave an insulting reply to it.
And they don't all look and dress like Bateman. There is a kind clique-based hierarchy that manifests itself in various ways depending on the region. Silicon Valley white collar professionals have an entirely different style than the country tycoons and the city-expat nerds in IT I interact with. There is a tendency towards electric cars, bland/ muted colored clothing, half-framed glasses, Patagonia, and a consumptive- terminally online appearance. The tycoons are weightlifters with pretty wives, large American trucks, love of the outdoors and martial disciplines, etc. The two groups need each other but interact very little, and their views on the power of money and the lack of genuine, conscious love of humanity and the mundane are identical.
00:47 holy shit, Bale was so in character that he's speaking in an American accent
Bale, and many other British actors, keep their fake accents out of character during production as to not "lose" it.
"I dont drop character till the dvd commentary"
It's much easier to maintain an accent than switch back and fourth. I lived in Germany as a kid and I'll talk differently when speaking to other people after a while because my accent isn't 100% natural and I don't want to be called a nazi or get weird looks from people.
He was also speaking in the same cadence as Batemen he's a method actor
@@dirkdiggler. 😂
Thank you so much for dissecting exactly what this movie conveys.
I totally agree with the end. I didn't get it when I first watched it in high school but went back to watch it after finishing college and that time and experience in watching movies really helped me "get it". Really interesting work by Ellis and Harron.
I love how in all the behind the scenes clips Christian Bale still uses his American accent because of his method acting
Better than Paul Allen's method acting!
I noticed this too!
That's why I rolled my eyes at reports of his "on set meltdown" while they were filming that Terminator movie. The audio showed that he was in character the entire time.
He doesn't do that as part of method acting, he just has trouble maintaining accents if he lets himself switch back to his normal accent all the time
@@kl7360 nah the meltdown was real, imagine you are working, the scene is coming good and you have to do the take again because some idiot was fixing the lights during the shot, it wasn't really a meltdown he just chewed the guy. it's not like bale is an angel either, i think he got arrested for hiting his mom and his sister or something like that, it was right after the dark knight and before terminator
I always thought Christian Bale was acting like Jim Carrey playing the part of a serial killer….this movie has always been hilarious and it somehow makes it funnier when people meme Patrick’s lifestyle like it’s “top-G alpha” when they probably haven’t seen the movie lmao
Yes he was consciously aping Jim Carrey. And nailed it.
That's why I love The Cable Guy. I was always shocked that people hated on what I thought was brilliant as Jim Carrey was the ultimate villain and parasite. Terrifying and hilarious simultaneously.
He has said that a Tom Cruise appearance on Letterman was one of his inspirations.
@@LamonsterZone that’s kinda scary honestly
@@LamonsterZone It was linked somewhere in another video. The context to that Cruise interview is basically that it is blatantly obvious that Cruise has less than zero motivation to be there and acts with a kind of hollow, superficial politeness, as you do when you really don't like being in a specific social situation, but don't want to offend the host.
The business card part has always been top favorite for me. I’ve never read the book, but I think I will start tomorrow (must get from library)!
A brutal satirical work along the line of A Modest Proposal
I know the business card scene is the most iconic from the film, and has been memed to death, but it really does deliver every time.
Fun Fact: When the novel was written, there were no "memes" and people rarely used the word "iconic."
@@fododudethat's actually just false
@@jurassicclassic6543 Not many people talked about memes in 1991 (pre-internet), especially as it is defined now. And I certainly was around before "iconic" was used as widely as it is now. It was a distinct and very noticeable emergence of a seldom-used word. I'll go ahead and maintain my position.
Be a responsible business person in Japan and say that, I dare you.
@fododude Iconic was definitely used more widely back then, shortened to "icon" which has been used to describe people for hundreds upon hundreds of years. You're just being semantically ignorant aswell, as "memes' didn't exist because there was no virality, but mocking political cartoons and drawings existed for centuries, which can now be described as memes. No one uses forsooth anymore, but everyone uses "in fact" which is the exact same thing
My favourite fact about this film: none of the murders were real - they were all the work of acclaimed fiction writer Bret Easton Ellis.
How did you know ? 😮
Genius comment
Movie magic is amazing
You had me in the first half, not gonna lie
Clever
I remember watching this in college (where I was essentially still a kid) and being freaked out a little by it, but now when I watch it I realize how much a weirdo Bateman is. What's interesting is how none of the guys really pick up on it, but all the women kinda know that he's a bit off his rocker.
When I read the book, I had a slightly different take on it to most people. I assumed that all the violence was just in Patrick's head. So many things happen in such a casual way that someone would have noticed. Witnesses to the violence, do nothing. One of the people he supposedly killed shows up at the end of the book. He leaves bodies out for the garbage men to take away. To me it's a classic example of the unreliable narrator, but unlike Fight Club it doesn't give it away as a twist at the end in a big revelation.
I like that they leave it pretty ambiguous. It's possible that all the violence was in Patrick's head, but it's also completely plausible that people who live well in a such a callous, self-obsessed world would hear something like that and think "not my problem." For me the fact that he can do these things and no one bats an eye heightens the sense of alienation. It's like he's standing there screaming "WITNESS ME" and no one even looks up.
there is an interview where Bale talks about meeting and speaking with actual men like this after the film, and how astonishing it was to him that they didn't see it as satire and unironically love Bateman and aspire to be him.
Ironically, that’s the only terrifying thing about this movie.
Because, like Bateman, they lacked abstract cognition and self awareness.
I mean, it is obviously unrealistically exaggerated... I use only 4 different face lotions
Fucking terrifying 😭
Just as long as they don't kill people with axes while playing Huey Lewis & The News.
While this video points out that many people who missed the satire often end up disliking a satirical work, it's important to also keep in mind that disliking a satirical work doesn't necessarily mean that you missed the satire. Lots of people who hated the book ended up loving this film b/c the latter is very much less violent & sadistic than its source material.
Was it really all that much more violent? I haven't read it personally, so I can't attest to that, but the author in the video said if you added up all of the text describing violence in the book you'd have about four pages.
@@epsteindidntkillhimself69 Regardless of the author's accuracy w/ that statement (which I doubt), the level of violence isn't dependent on the number of pages. The book was banned by many places in the world b/c of its sadistic torture sequences, while the movie was not. You can find many comparisons online.
@@jp3813 Huckleberry Finn was the first book banned in the US. Is that an indictment of Huckleberry Finn, or an indictment of the people who banned it? The fact that some people were so offended they had to ban a book tells me a good bit about the people, but very little about the book. Have you read American Psycho, or are you just going off the fact that it was banned in some places?
@@epsteindidntkillhimself69 I said "world" & "many", not "US" & "some". I tried reading it long ago but couldn't stomach finishing it. The movie, on the other hand, skips most of the brutality. But if you're gonna doubt what I say anyway, might as well just look up some violent passages from the book yourself. Research beats asking random commenters.
@epsteindidntkillhimself69 not sure the qualifiers to be officially banned, but offer that Harriet Beecher Stowe's " Uncle Tom's Cabin" may qualify, not as the first, but it did precede Huckleberry Finn. But yes to your premise : "Well, what do you mean by that?" ~ "That's boring...much more intriguing is how you are taking it- , that's what's arousing, no?"
Great deep dive!
8:07 "They all misspelled 'Acquisitions' on their business cards" I never caught that. I've watched this film so many times and that's a detail I missed every time. Nice catch!
I love that Bale stays in character vocally even when doing the behind the scene interview
good eye he kept the accent. however have you noticed him returning to his native british accent in one of the last scenes where he is panicking at the telephone booth and confessing to his assistant?
A lot of actors stay "in accent" during the whole filming of a project so they don't flip back and forth.
How could you watch this movie and NOT get that it was a satire? First time I saw it I was laughing my ass off. "FEED ME A CAT" - How is that not hilarious?
The whole video gives zero evidence or provides zero discussion on how people didnt understand the satire at the time.
I never caught that they misspelled acquisitions! Such a great detail
I think I remember reading somewhere that Mary said that people were horrified that her and Christian would be pissing themselves laughing when they watched the "do you like Huey lewis" scene during the premiere while everyone was shocked at the violent murder going on 🤣
How could you not find that scene funny! 😂😂
When he said he had to return some videotapes the 3rd time I finally realized I was just watching this weird dude who has probably never had a proper confrontation with anyone and then I just kept laughing all the way to the end.
Same. This movie is funny as hell, especially when Bateman has to interact with people.
I worked in the print industry at that time and the business card scene was so on point!
I LOVE that you incorporated the Funny Or Die parody into this
Mary Harron was unsung genius director who co-wrote the screenplay with Guinevere Turner. They both are pretty much ignored and not acknowledged,,, which is a shame.
Probably because of these toxic masculine males again 😡
Length is not a flaw in and of itself (there's a that's what she said joke in there somewhere), and it's not severely flawed like you're making it out to be. Also a lot of its decisions were bound to be controversial, rather than outright bad. If they work for you, you don't see any issues and find it to be a masterpiece. If they don't work for you, you see it as quite flawed
tbh, the movie is absolute trash when compared with the book and she missed out on some key aspects. She basically makes him an insane killer from the beginning instead of building it to it. The first half of the book has almost zero mention of violence at all.
@@gzuskreist1021 Yeah but almost all book to movie adaptations will be like this. They probably wanted to start off the movie as a thriller because that’s how it was advertised in the first place. Thrillers pull more audiences than satire comedies in general.
A pair of women who wrote and directed a dark comedy about a delusional chauvinist from a book spited by feminists in 1987 is ironic full circle.
The nervous breakdown on the business cards always kills me 😂
The first time I saw this film I thought it was one of the funniest things I'd ever seen, I got the joke straight away and think it's a great commentary on all the things it says it is. The business card scene had me in tears partly because I love fonts and I did actually see the difference while also noting they were basically the same. Loved it.
I love how Christine Bale stays in character on set even when being interviewed about the movie.
Impressive very nice, let’s see Paul Allen’s deep dive into American Psycho.
For someone who worked in Banking in the 90's, American Psycho is absolutely spot on with it's characterisation of our protagonist. There was a Patrick Bateman in every dealing desk and the blood stains to prove it. For the record, my business cards were not the best by far. The Power of Love. Sleep well.
The business card scene is my favorite.
I'm going to use, "I have to return some video tapes" to get out of any situation I don't want to be in from now on.
" I want to fit in" : that s the key phrase of the movie
Too bad the people who take the movie as something to look up to fully overlook any sort of subtext like that.
@@staebs No they don't. Your inability to get the joke doesn't mean we're not joking. Go outside and stop being a busybody on the internet.
@@actualturtle2421 dude, I don't think he disagrees..
They're exactly right. People idolize Bateman as the ultimate "sigma male" meanwhile his biggest goal is not to stand out and be a trailblazer but to fit in and be invisible. He wants to be liked by everyone. He wants to be the same just a LITTLE bit better.
Amazing how many people have the key phrase "I want to wear the mask" still rattling in their brains, and here they sit, having the main takeaway of the film be what "happened" in the film and what it "tells" us. When it DIDN'T happen; it's fiction. Told by some guy. Bateman is admired like Santa Claus is admired, because articles of faith REMAIN WITHIN the FAITH, they don't appear in your real life prowling on the rooftops. Not in reality, not until the line for you specifically starts to blur. Then YOU start conjuring up these imps and devils on the wall about how behavior, or made-up stories, MEANS something when it doesn't in fact CAUSE anything. Like a single protest MEANS something but the violence or peace of the protest itself, is irrelevant to your agenda. Because the violence is in reality, and your "meaning" is in the fantasy, that YOU take seriously.
I remember watching this at 13 and kinda not getting it, then I watched it years later and realized it’s one of the funniest movies I’ve ever see. And a biting satire that’s maybe more relevant today
I think it's alright to see this at 13 and go "Well, that's fucked up" then review it later on and go "Ooooh I get it, it's irony!" What worries me is the not unsubstantial number of people who are told outright it's satire, that the author wrote it as satire and the filmmakers adapted it as satire - then insist it isn't and that they relate to it on an unironic level.
@@LabradorIndependent It's a meme, numbnuts. You not getting the joke doesn't mean we're not joking.
@@LabradorIndependent the intellectual capabilities of a 13yo and the average Patrick Bateman stan are freakishly similar, believe it or not
@@WICK_3D you give them too much praise doubling their average mental age
90 percent of 13 year olds never got that far
👍 Hey, man. I LOVE Huey Lewis and the News! Great Stuff!
Would love to see you talk about the relationship to "the rules of attraction" or that film in general... and I hope one day the 3rd film that they shot will be publicly released...
Fun fact: Christian Bale said his performance was inspired by a Tom Cruise appearance on David Letterman
I was hoping to throw that in, but couldn’t find a good quality version of the specific interview. Maybe for a part two one day. Because the film’s got a fascinating history generally in how it all cane together.
@@CinemaStix Agreed! That's a video I'd be very excited to watch
@@tom.mp4 kzhead.info/sun/eMewmJufbHmkg2g/bejne.html&ab_channel=Eddie4518is it this one?
Patrick Bateman meets Tom Cruise in the book.
@@dsmyify holy shytstix. Is this real?
Fun fact: Christian Bale suppressed his natural accent for the entire production of the film, even when he wasn't acting in a scene. That's why he's got an american accent in those interview clips.
Fun fact: Charlize Theron never loses her fake American accent either, but that's because she's the living personification of Christian Bale's character in this movie, and has no actual personality of her own.
Thats pretty common to do. David suchet keeps his belgian accent for weeks while filming poirot, it just makes it a lot easier. With accents yiu have to physically change your miuth movements and aclimitise to it
@@Ukraineaissance2014sure but that doesnt require you to be in it off set.
@@santiv4 In this case, it does. That's what the guy above you is saying. It's easier once you've got it down to just keep using it all the time, rather than switching back and forth.
I didn’t realize that Bale didn’t move to America until he was 17, well past the age when kids can naturally pick up a different accent. I thought he had lived in the US much younger.
Just realising Bale maintained the American accent during those interviews on set.
The business card scene is still the best! 😆🤣
I remember thinking that the book couldn't be translated to the screen while keeping the same spirit and walking that fine line. Then I saw the movie and I was like "I'll be damned. They did it!"
what's good is that the misunderstanding of american psycho from others makes it even funnier - knowing that people actually worship the man youre laughing in the face of edit : okay it's come to my attention that multiple people think i'm referring to the memes and jokes about adoring bateman - no. those are fucking funny, okay, I love bateman as a character: it's a great fucking film. i love the shit with jerma too! he's JUST LIKE ME. i'm talking about actual people who genuinely think all of the violence, bigotry, status chasing etc. is admirable and something to copy. misunderstanding that the film is meant to be a criticism and instead taking it as an example of who they want to be. the same as people who want to copy characters like The Joker, wanting to cause "chaos" with violence or whatever bullshit delusions they've convinced themselves of. it's a serious thing, of course, people getting indoctrincated - but that doesn't mean its not funny. -- and now this comment is dogshit because ive had to do the "edit" bullshit. if youre as pissed off as i am about that, read through some of the more recent replies to this, with some really good back and fourth jokes based on the film's dialogue. good job guys
They don't even know you're laughing 😂 Because you've defeated all the masculinity you had. Congrats.
The thing is, your laughter is faded and almost always ignored. The same is said about those like you. Those who want this to be a reflection or satire as a form of criticism or ridicule fail to understand that many of us don't agree with their conclusion. Their almost Dunning-Kruger like affect regarding their judgement is nothing more than an opinion. One we don't share. This is also the case with Starship Troopers, albeit in a different position (We absolutely agree with what Michael Ironsides tells the students in the classroom lesson). Those who hold those movies as an allegory seem to be in a false sense of moral superiority when it simply shows that they don't understand the purposes and even the nuances of humanity. Their judgement of excesses are hypocritical as the same could be said about them from much of the 3rd world. Their position in this criticism often comes from a place of envy. Their desire for those lesser than them to be bolstered and they to be lauded as saviors while criticizing their betters. It's a form of super-ego of the mundane. And that's ultimately it. Envy being the ultimate failing of humanity suffered by all and the purpose for much of everything that exists today when you ultimately break it down. Those who champion the writing of American Psycho as a criticism are themselves doing so because of their own envy or even inferiority complex. The psychological door swings both ways. It always has.
@@hulking_presence that's such a novel point of view, honestly never considered it. Thanks
@@janus3555 this is a copy paste of what you previously wrote, are you alright or smth?
@@Leon_George I bet his comment is itself satirical.
I still use "Don't just stare at it, eat it.." regularly.
Huey Lewis could easily slip into the character actor void left by the death of Rip Torn
Fun Fact: there is a typo in the original run of the book. One Bateman is accidentality spelt Batman.
Lmao
how prophetic
“accidentality spelt”
@@carlray9819... yeah I know. Don't be harsh.
@@dsmyify balls for not editing LOL
The fact that the film is more relevant than ever after 20 + years shows how well done it was.
how is it more relevant?
@forcabarca3012 I'll take a crack at this question of relevancy. It's partly that what shocked us 20 years ago is now almost a daily thing. I can't even keep track of school shootings, which mom buried her kids in the backyard or who sawed some guy's head off and kept it in his freezer any more. There's also the phenomenon that people are more likely to video record something without helping or even calling 911. That's all I've got.
@@dicksonfranssenyour comment shows you’re one of the people who don’t quite understand the novel or film. What makes it more relevant now isn’t how it’s no longer a shock to see gruesome violence on TV because that was quite common back in the 90s and 2000s. What makes it more relevant is the film has had time to digest and for people to better understand the deeper meaning behind what you see on screen which gives the viewer a better connection to its overall commentary and forces them to look beyond what’s literally happening on screen. Take The Thing from 1982, a film that was panned by critics for being too simplistic yet needlessly horrific and graphic. As the years passed, it became a cult classic and a film everyone understood to be a commentary on how people reacted to an unknown yet deadly enemy. Just like American Psycho, The Thing was just as contextually relevant during its time as it would be in its re-appearance in pop culture but now with the added benefit of years of research into the film and a better understanding of the topic.
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I like that a few of the actors came back to the satire horror genre with american horror story.
It took a second view of the movie to understand that EVERYTHING that happened in the movie only happened in his head, and that he was imagining it all, because he's mentally ill.
I remember a friend telling me how she hates that I liked the movie. Made her re-watch it with me after getting high and she finally realized how silly everything is. She even mentioned hating on the movie so much that she didn't notice the part where the ATM asked to be fed the stray cat lol.
I didn't notice that either lol
women
@@vnzstz209 Wo men
@@vnzstz209 When a man is stupid, he is just stupid. When a woman is stupid, all women are stupid.
@@vnzstz209incel moment
It’s funny how Mary says she avoided showing the moment of violence, this likely backfired by leaving those moments up to the audiences’ imaginations which can be way more powerful than whatever image you put on screen.
As Alfred Hitchcock did so brilliantly. That shower scene, for instance.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre effect, lol. That meat hook scene will forever haunt me even though it literally shows no gore.
excellent point, the hooker scene with the tools comes to mind 😬
Not showing is not the same thing as not implying. Nowhere does she say that she did not want to imply.
@@murk1e I mean if you really want to nitpick then sure. I was just pointing out how her approach didn’t do her any favors in regards to how viewers associate her films with violence despite her disinterest in body horror.
There's no way you can watch that business card scene without taking it as comedy.
definitely in my top 5 movies of all time. I don't know why but 2000 was a year PACKED with insanely good movies.
“Bateman is an alien, he copies the people around him but doesn’t have any emotions…. “ That explains everything! Thank you sir.
I just want to take a moment to recommend the book to people who don't normally read. I'm not bookish at all, I'm a bit simple, and normally don't get a lot of enjoyment from literature. Themes and subtext in classic books totally fly over my head a lot of the time, and despite how universally praised a book is, I usually get too bored to continue. AP was the first book that flipped that switch in my brain that caused an "Aha" moment as to why people enjoy picking books apart for meaning. I felt as though I finally "got" literature, in that I understood everything the author was saying, and that the subtext and themes were as crucial to my enjoyment of the book as the story itself. It's a masterclass in hitting the sweet spot where the message is delivered neither heavy handedly, nor so riddled with double entendre that the (excellent) story suffers. Also, I'm terrified of blood and nearly passed out twice reading it, yet it's still my favourite book. About what I got from the book: it's that if you put a murderous lunatic in a room with a cabal of bankers, you'd never be able to point them out - they're that alien. These people run our economy. I'd like to exit the planet now, please. I thoroughly recommend reading this, especially if like me you don't "like" books. 10/10
It's not a realistic book. It's a reflection of the author's own mental illness, and is just silly. It only got popular because oversocialized people get off on breaking supposed taboos when in reality if they're all heaping praise upon it, it can't actually be breaking taboos by such powerful cultural institutions.
The book is a lot more descriptive than the movie is though. Rat, for example.
@noahmclaughlin2251 True, and it can be difficult to stomach at times, given how vivid Ellis is with those scenes. As I said, there were parts of the book that were a major struggle to get through for me. It's utterly brutal, much moreso than the film, but it's still a great read all the same. I'd say to anyone who got put off by the book by those scenes to give it another go - try to take a more detached attitude to the violence. Don't focus so much on the acts, but consider the type of person Patrick actually is. The violence is absurd, and this is actually an important point, in my opinion. I don't want to spoil anything, but remembering that he's an extremely unreliable narrator helps a lot.
You got a point The book is really readable, its a page turner for folks who normally don't read. Just strange😊
I never thought anything could make me interested in reading it, but i think you just did.
An actually good covering of American Psycho, letting those involved speak for themselves, with complementary interjections
One of my favorite scenes from the book which didn't make it to the movie, was when Bateman spent 3 hours on a 3-way call trying to book a table.