Do you like American Psycho?

The whole movie has a clear, crisp appearance, and a new sheen of consummate professionalism that really gives the artistry a big boost. It’s been compared to the likes of Fight Club, or Girl Interrupted , but I think American Psycho has a far more bitter, cynical sense of humor.

Mildly appropriate script references aside, I absolutely adore American Psycho. Though described as a horror movie, I see it more as a dark comedy. There are scenes depicting brutal murder, and multiple acts of sexual violence, but these never came across as “scary” to me. These scenes, in my opinion, are disturbing in concept rather than horrific in the way you would expect from a horror movie. Despite the inherent lack of horror as one would commonly define it, the implied horrors of capitalism and toxic masculinity are on full display. I’ve seen some refer to American Psycho as a “feminist film”, which I partially agree with. I can agree that Bateman’s insane mistreatment of women is so cartoonishly fucked up that it ends up doing a complete 180 and becomes something empowering. Something that women can point and laugh at and say “Look at this stupid man! Look at how horrible he is!” But I don’t think this was intended to be the main satirical focus of American Psycho.

American Psycho is fantastic as a satire. I can’t even begin to touch on how masterfully the film kicks the balls of yuppie culture and materialism (as I am not qualified or knowledgeable enough to do so), so the least I can do is shower it with praise. The world that Patrick Bateman lives in is so outlandishly hilarious that it makes you feel even worse when you remember it's not that far away from reality. The men who work on Wall Street are still just as self absorbed and mind numbingly rich, so maybe there’s a real life American Psycho happening right now! (Nightmarish indeed)

Aside from how much I love the film for what it has to say, I also (unfortunately) found myself attached to the protagonist, Bateman. No doubt, he was written to be relatable, but just the right amount of relatable. Relatable enough that pathetic losers can look at him and think “Wow, he’s just like me!” but deep down, they know he is nothing like them. Nor is he like any of us. I can accept this, but still self indulgently stare at Bateman and think evil thoughts. Perhaps it is because he’s such a horrible person that I find myself so obsessed with him. It's human nature to want to stare at a car crash while it's happening, and Bateman is like a human car crash. It’s fascinating to watch him! He’s like an alien that happens to be a stockbroker in the 1980’s, something so distinctly non-human pretending to be normal. I think if I saw him in public I would shit my pants.


extremely normal behavior

Anyways, because this is MY hellsite, here's a fun collection of Patrick Bateman facts that make me giggle and twirl my hair

Some of his favorite music:
  • The Greatest Love of All (Whitney Houston)
  • How Will I Know (Whitney Houston)
    • "Whitney Houston (Arista) is one of the warmest, most complex and altogether satisfying rhythm and blues records of the decade and Whitney herself has a voice that defies belief"
  • (Implied) Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814
  • Fore! (Huey Lewis and the News)
  • Groovy Kind of Love (Phil Collins)
  • Sussudio (Phil Collins), which Bateman describes with: "great, great song; a personal favorite"

Assorted things that are American Psycho approved
  • Donald Trump, Bateman fucking loves Donald Trump.
    • I point out a book on top of the desk, next to the San Pellegrino bottle. The Art of the Deal, by Donald Trump. "Have you read it?" I ask Kimball. "No," he sighs, but politely asks, "Is it any good?" "It's very good," I say, nodding.

    (Bret Easton Ellis said in an interview that Bateman wouldn’t revere Trump the same way in 2016 because he was a different figure then than he is now)

  • The Patty Winters Show, which he watches every morning without fail.

    • Vaguely related quote, I just think it's funny

    "The Patty Winters Show this morning was about Nazis and, inexplicably, I got a real charge out of watching it. Though I wasn't exactly charmed by their deeds, I didn't find them unsympathetic either, nor I might add did most of the members of the audience. One of the Nazis, in a rare display of humor, even juggled grapefruits and, delighted, I sat up in bed and clapped."
  • Sony technology, Bateman is soooo hip and current. Here's a list of all the overpriced shit he owns:

    • -Sony Walkman

    -Sony Watchman Pocket TV (the FD‐270) that has a 2.7‐inch black‐and‐white miniscreen and weighs only thirteen ounces

    -Sony palm‐sized Handycam

    -A multidisc CD player by Sony, the MDP‐700, which spins both audios and videos

    -Sony CCD‐V200 8mm camcorder


Batemanisms

a general list of Bateman quirks I find humorous. He is so funny, but in the pathetic way.

  • Despite being seen as a (kind of) respectable figure among his fellow yuppies, most normal people see Bateman as someone who is insanely creepy and wet.
    • I sidle up to a couple of hardbody rich girls, both of them wearing skanky Betsey Johnson‐type dresses, and I'm wired beyond belief and I start off with a line like "Cool music – haven't I seen you at Salomon Brothers?" and one of them, one of these girls, sneers and says, "Go back to Wall Street," and the one with the nose ring says, "Fucking yuppie." And they say this even though my suit looks black in the darkness of the club and my tie – paisley, Armani, silk – is loosened. "Hey." I say, grinding my teeth. "You may think I'm a really disgusting yuppie but I'm not, really," I tell them, swallowing rapidly, wired out of my head.
  • Bateman is SO SENSITIVE, he's good at hiding it but frequently he is on the verge of tears over the most arbitrary things known to man.
  • All of his "friends" see him as a sort of Boy Next Door, someone who is nice and sweet and totally not a twisted fucking evil killer
    • "Patrick is not a cynic, Timothy. He's the boy next door, aren't you honey?" "No I'm not," I whisper to myself. "I'm a fucking evil psychopath."
  • Bateman eats sand and microwaves a jellyfish, I think this passage speaks for itself.
    • "Some nights I would find my self roaming the beaches, digging up baby crabs and eating handfuls of sand...I even dragged a beached jellyfish back to the house and microwaved it early one morning, predawn, while Evelyn slept, and what I didn't eat of it I fed to the chow."
  • Bateman fucking HATES live music. He refuses to attend concerts and when he's forced to go he covers his ears the entire time.