Less Than Zero
"It only looks like the good life."
A college freshman returns to Los Angeles for Christmas at his ex-girlfriend's request, but discovers that his former best friend has an out-of-control drug habit.
Top Cast
-
Andrew McCarthy
Clay
-
Jami Gertz
Blair
-
Robert Downey Jr.
Julian
-
James Spader
Rip
-
Tony Bill
Bradford Easton
-
Nicholas Pryor
Benjamin Wells
-
Donna Mitchell
Elaine Easton
-
Michael Bowen
Hop
-
Sarah Buxton
Markie
Overview
A college freshman returns to Los Angeles for Christmas at his ex-girlfriend's request, but discovers that his former best friend has an out-of-control drug habit.
Rating
6.4
/ 10
303 Reviews 2 Popular
1 Reviews
-
Wuchak6 Feb 11, 2018RELEASED IN 1987 and directed by Marek Kanievska, "Less than Zero" is a drama about a trio of rich 18 year-olds from Los Angeles. After graduation, one goes off to college (Andrew McCarthy), but returns for Christmas break wherein he finds his ex-girlfriend (Jami Gertz) and, especially, his buddy (Robert Downey Jr.) struggling with drug addiction in the Beverly Hills fast lane. James Spader plays a smug high society dealer. This is the furthest thing from typical 80’s youth flicks, like “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” “The Karate Kid,” “Valley Girl,” “Footloose” and “Can’t Buy Me Love” (where there’s, admittedly, a lot of range). “Less than Zero” has the epic, artsy style of Francis Ford Coppola films like “The Outsiders” and “Rumble Fish” (both from 1983) meshed with the chic melancholy of “Poison Ivy” (1992). My main issue is that it takes too long to get absorbed into the characters and their story. The filmmaking is gorgeous, however, which is ironic because this is a really downbeat movie. Gertz is fine, but she never did anything for me, while McCarthy is serviceable as the main protagonist, yet rather bland in a goody-goody way. Both Downey Jr. and Spader, however, de-shine in their roles (in a good way). If you favor arty, glum movies you might like this better than me, but it’s nowhere near as effective as “Poison Ivy,” a similar artsy, gloomy flick. The movie runs 1 hour 38 minutes and was shot in the Los Angeles area, including Malibu. WRITERS: Bret Easton Ellis (novel) and Harley Peyton (screenplay) GRADE: C+
Trailers & Clips
Recommendations
After he and his first wife separate, journalist David Sheff struggles to help their teenage son, who goes from experimenting with drugs to becoming devastatingly addicted to methamphetamine.
Beautiful Boy
7.5 2018
A young heroin addict roams the streets of New York to panhandle and get her next fix, while her unstable boyfriend drifts in and out of her life at random.
Heaven Knows What
6.5 2015
Heroin addict Mark Renton stumbles through bad ideas and sobriety attempts with his unreliable friends --Sick Boy, Begbie, Spud and Tommy. He also has an underage girlfriend, Diane, along for the ride. After cleaning up and moving from Edinburgh to London, Mark finds he can't escape the life he left behind as Begbie and Sick Boy come knocking.
Trainspotting
8.0 1996
A young drug-addled writer approaching the bottom of his descent submits to two months of agonizing detox at a treatment center in Minnesota.
A Million Little Pieces
6.2 2019
The drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island residents are shattered when their addictions run deep.
Requiem for a Dream
8.0 2000
A boy named George Jung grows up in a struggling family in the 1950's. His mother nags at her husband as he is trying to make a living for the family. It is finally revealed that George's father cannot make a living and the family goes bankrupt. George does not want the same thing to happen to him, and his friend Tuna, in the 1960's, suggests that he deal marijuana. He is a big hit in California in the 1960's, yet he goes to jail, where he finds out about the wonders of cocaine. As a result, when released, he gets rich by bringing cocaine to America. However, he soon pays the price.
Blow
7.4 2001
When a seemingly straight-forward drug deal goes awry, XXXX has to break his die-hard rules and turn up the heat, not only to outwit the old regime and come out on top, but to save his own skin...
Layer Cake
6.9 2004
A high school basketball player’s life turns upside down after free-falling into the harrowing world of drug addiction.
The Basketball Diaries
7.4 1995
A U.S Customs official uncovers a massive money laundering scheme involving Pablo Escobar.
The Infiltrator
6.7 2016
A quiet, stoic man, lives a monk-like existence in self-imposed exile. When his estranged son is killed in a drug deal gone bad, he is left to look after a granddaughter he never knew existed, and he is forced back into a life he tried to put behind him.
The Baker
6.3 2023