The Rules of Attraction - James Van Der Beek Tribute

The Rules of Attraction was a very important movie for me back in 2002. To date, it is the only movie I have ever watched in a theater on back to back nights. This nihilistic look at young relationships at a fictional college spoke to me. (I was an eighteen-year-old college freshman at the time.) As someone who was perpetually miserable when it came to romance until I met my wife years later, I identified with Sean Bateman (James Van Der Beek) and (idiotically) fancied myself the dark, “emotional vampire” that he claimed to be. Of course, the big difference was that both the character and actor had a natural charm that I lack, and the character was far more fucked up than I ever dreamed of being. This guy was a coke dealer with a serial killer older brother; I hadn’t even developed a taste for beer at that time and was still almost exclusively drinking screwdrivers made with Kamchatka vodka and Sunny Delight (not that I want to, but to this day I can’t drink Sunny D without getting grossed out, but perhaps that’s for the best). But I realized all this years later. At the time, this film felt like it was made just for me.

If this ever gets a good 4K release, I’ll devote way too many words about every aspect of the film: the music that I still love, the camera work, the cast of TV stars trying to break bad, the unreleased Glitterati film that would have gotten Kip Pardue canceled back in 2002 instead of 2019 (which also would have been for the best), the Casper Van Dien as Patrick Bateman deleted scene, Roger Avary’s unfortunate career since this film, etc. I still love it all, even though I don’t identify with it any longer. Instead, it’s a nostalgic snapshot of the time, and a reminder of who I thought I was back then. But that’s for another time, hopefully. Instead, I wanted to focus on James Van Der Beek in light of his recent death, as this is by far my favorite performance of his career. 

I never watched a single episode of Dawson’s Creek, and I never saw his later TV work, but James Van Der Beek made a huge impact on me with just two film roles: Mox in Varsity Blues and Sean Bateman in The Rules of Attraction. I rewatched Varsity Blues right after I heard the news of his passing, but, with all due respect, I like that performance ironically (you know, the “I don’t want YOUR life!” of it all). But with Sean Bateman, Van Der Beek was perfectly cast.

You might not immediately think of James Van Der Beek when you hear “emotional vampire,” but thankfully Roger Avary did (after initially wanting James Franco for the role and then deeming him wrong for the part). Van Der Beek has plenty of fun with the role, seeming to enjoy getting to play a dick with a couple catchphrases (“Rock ‘n’ Roll” and “Typical”).

He’s a scumbag drug dealer, but since it’s Van Der Beek, he’s still likeable. There aren’t many actors who could make a suicide attempt funny (especially when said scene takes place just minutes after a serious and disturbing suicide scene), but Van Der Beek could. It’s the way he portrays frustration and anger. He spends a lot of the film pissed off, and it’s funny because of his facial performance. 

Van Der Beek, much like Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman in American Psycho, makes an amazing disgusted face. You can tell that most moments and people sicken him, and it adds to the dark comedy of the film. He has no right to be mad at anyone but himself, but it doesn’t matter because you can tell that he believes he is in the right. This is something Van Der Beek confirms in an interview from a few years ago as he claims he sees Sean more tragic than irredeemable. 

Because of this, it’s easy to still be on his side even though he punches Jessica Biel in the face and says shit like, “Since when does fucking someone else mean that I’m not faithful to you?” It takes a truly charismatic actor to portray that kind of dick and remain at least partially likeable. 

It’s sad that James Van Der Beek died so young, and it’s unfortunate that he wasn’t given more dark roles like Sean Bateman after The Rules of Attraction. But at least Roger Avary saw the potential, and we were blessed with this one. I might not identify with this character any more (thank Christ), but I can still enjoy him, and that’s thanks to Van Der Beek’s great performance.