This Is Not an Exit: The Fictional World of Brett Easton Ellis

Coinciding with the release of Mary Harron's adaptation of American Psycho, this portrait of the artist as (according to Ellis) a slightly bemused, generally misunderstood satirist of the moral vacuity and rampant consumerism of the '80s, might have been a little more convincing had it not ended with a scene in which Ellis and a pair of cronies appear to be nightcrawling in a limo, trading truly vapid one-liners--not unlike Ellis's characters, in fact. Combining autobiographical commentary from Ellis, assessments from fellow writers and critics (including Jay McInerney and Will Self, both of whom pointlessly go unnamed), and racy dramatic re-enactments of scenes from his novels (not from extant feature films, but created especially for this documentary), Gerald Fox's This Is Not an Exit is a fairly banal look at Ellis' fairly banal fictional world. While I confess to sharing the generally enthusiastic critical reception that greeted the publication of wunderkind Ellis' bracingly droll first novel Less Than Zero, published in 1985 when he was a mere 21 years old, I lost interest with his sophomore effort Rules of Attraction, and when Ellis and McInerney both decided to close the last century with books (Glamorama and Model Behavior, respectively) centered on the fashion world, I was amused but not surprised. Sure to be popular, given the buzz around American Psycho (buzz, it should be noted, that did not translate into boffo box office), and the cheesy blurb on the video jacket ("'May be the first documentary about a writer with nudity'--New York Times", a speculative claim that is almost certainly wrong, but may sell tapes), you might want to consider this relatively inexpensive (if also relatively unnecessary) program. Ellis was reportedly displeased with the final result; I suspect most viewers will be too. Optional. Aud: C, P. (R. Pitman)