AMERICAN PSYCHO II: ALL AMERICAN GIRL (2002)

 

(a.k.a. AMERICAN PSYCHO 2: ALL AMERICAN GIRL; director: Morgan J. Freeman. Screenwriters: Alex Sanger and Karen Craig.)

Storyline

A college freshman kills to become a teacher’s assistant to an influential FBI profiler and professor.

Review

One of Patrick Bateman’s surviving victims and his murderer (Rachel Newman)─then a pre-teen girl─is now a smart, hyper-focused freshman college student (played by Mila Kunis), vying for the teaching assistant position for a famous FBI profiler-turned-Behavioral Sciences professor (Robert Starkman). Competition is stiff, from spoiled-rich frat boy (Brian) to the intense and studious Keith (Charles Officer). Things go awry for the delusional Rachel when Starkman (William Shatner), known for his dalliances with female TAs, takes a sudden leave of absence─thus negating his teaching-assistant position.

There is no suspense and little─if any─blood in ALL AMERICAN, a direct-to-video, lightweight and ill-received sort-of sequel to the excellent, Patrick Bateman-centric AMERICAN PSYCHO (2000). When filming on ALL AMERICAN began, it had no connection to the original 2000 movie. Shortly into the shoot, the ALL AMERICAN filmmakers realized they had an easy, if accidental, thematic connection to AMERICAN and retooled ALL AMERICAN to become a filmic off-shoot of AMERICAN (Brett Easton Ellis, who wrote the 1991 novel on which AMERICAN is based, denounced the accidental sequel, calling it “non-canon.”)

The fact that ALL AMERICAN lacks tension and gore is not necessarily a condemnation, as it was made as a dark comedy with a high body count. Aside from one scene involving a cat and a microwave (it ends well for the feline, fear not animal lovers), there’s little to disturb viewers─the kill scenes, like the rest of the film, made me think of the better 1988 flick SLEEPAWAY CAMP II: UNHAPPY CAMPERS (albeit with less blood and a few off-camera deaths), with their over-the-top acting, tight editing, abbreviated running time (an hour and half or less) and situation-appropriate quips. That said, ALL AMERICAN has its own vibe, with its late Nineties/early Aughts girl-centric pop soundtrack (recalling its masculine-counterpart soundtrack in AMERICAN) and a few scattered, beyond-the-opening-scenes links to AMERICAN (e.g., Professor Starkman mentions Ed Gein and THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE, 1974, things Patrick Bateman mentioned in the first film).

Okay, (possibly) interesting, but is it a good movie?

The bad (which may be good for some): the delivery timing of the some of the actors feels “off”─I’m not sure if these artificial affectations are to put viewers on edge, but it just feels weird, as if the film is perhaps too tightly edited in some scenes. As a comedy with real laughs, ALL AMERICAN doesn’t work; conversely, if you’re a viewer who appreciates “golden turkeys” (so-bad-they’re-almost-good flicks), this might be your jam. The film’s big flaw is its too-quick, anticlimactic finish which, while it keeps with the rest of ALL AMERICAN’s tightly edited pacing, is thrill-less, uninspired, and predictable.

The good: there’s a lot of big talent in front of and behind the camera in ALL AMERICAN. Also, the film sports effective, character-based twists, and wastes no time─again, this is a double-edged element─in its pacing, character setup and denouement. The kills and their setups are creative as well (if sometimes unlikely, e.g. garroting someone with a condom?).

ALL AMERICAN’s cast is worth watching. Mila Kunis is good as the chirpily annoying, no-nonsense Rachel Newman. William Shatner, his overacting toned down a notch, is fun as the amiable, clueless, and philandering Robert Starkman. Geraint Wyn Davies, billed as Geraint Wyn-Davies, is solid as Dr. Eric Daniels, the psychiatrist who gleans Rachel’s psychopathy early on and tries to warn Starkman. Robin Dunne (SyFy Channel's SANCTUARY, 2007-11) is convincing as Brian, a spoiled-rich student.

Three of ALL AMERICAN’s co-stars later appeared in Zack Snyder’s 2004 remake DAWN OF THE DEAD. In ALL AMERICAN, Lindy Booth played Cassandra, Rachel’s roommate and Starkman’s mistress. Boyd Banks played Jim. Kim Poirier played Barbara, Starkman’s TA.

ALL AMERICAN is a quirky, dark, situationally comedic and smart-minded flick that doesn’t always work but has enough entertainment value to be interesting and worthwhile─as long as you don’t view it as an official AMERICAN sequel or a laugh-out-loud comedy, and don’t mind its rushed ending.