American Psycho is a classic. That film single-handedly put Christian Bale on the map as an actor. However, American Psycho wasn’t just about violence and gore; the themes of greed, misogyny, and hyper-masculinity are at the forefront of the iconic film’s message and dark humor. There’s plenty of dimension and depth that went into the film that executives missed in the sequel.
Not surprisingly, producers wanted to capitalize on the hype of American Psycho and tried to turn it into a franchise. American Psycho II: All American Girl has no ties to the original film. It was an adaptation of a script called The Girl Who Wouldn’t Die. Executives haphazardly wanted it to tie into American Psycho, thus the lazy scene, in the beginning, involving Rachel Newman (Mila Kunis) and “Patrick Bateman”. There is no substance to the story and it effectively put an end to a franchise that should’ve been kept at one story from the beginning.
American Psycho II: All American Girl Screams Cash Cow
If any film screamed cash cow, it was American Psycho II: All American Girl. It wasn’t just the fact that it was a different film that was randomly slapped with the American Psycho tag. That isn’t the first time a franchise has pulled that move, with the Die Hard series being notorious for this. However, this film is just bad regardless. It’s not Mila Kunis’s fault. Unfortunately, she’s saddled with a horrendous and convoluted script that has plot holes galore throughout its runtime.
This could’ve been a darkly comedic take on feminism and a misandrist. Granted, American Psycho shouldn’t have had a sequel in the first place because the first film never warranted one. Like The Hangover, the concept is best suited as a one-and-done film, so trying to birth an entire series out of the original film was a mistake from the beginning.
The lame opening of Rachel murdering Patrick Bateman‘s character was bad. Why did her babysitter bring her on a date in the first place? That’s just some of the plot holes throughout the series. It completely ignores the social commentary made in the first film and is more interested in boring kills that are mostly off-screen because of budget reasons.
It’s A Slasher That Barely Has Any Kills
The most memorable kill in American Psycho II is Rachel using a condom to strangle Brian. Her one-liner is badly hilarious and the method of this kill is even worse. The sequel focuses on Rachel trying to land the teacher’s assistant position for her criminology professor Robert Starkman (William Shatner). It never follows up on the shocking murder of Patrick Bateman in the opening scene.
There’s an explanation of how Rachel got away with killing Patrick Bateman, but like most of the story, it doesn’t make sense. There’s no synergy between the story and the murders that Rachel commits around the campus. The film is trying to tell a flimsy story that crafts Rachel as a clever manipulator, but everyone is scripted to be extremely stupid but her.
Professor Robert is having a blatant affair with one of the students and it’s never put into question. It doesn’t make sense why Rachel needs to be the teacher’s assistant so badly that she’s murdering her classmates to get it. There’s a perfect dark comedy lurking within this film. Sadly the budget axes any opportunity for creative kills. Tonally, the confused and misguided script lets down the feature resulting in a boring and mind-numbing affair.
The Film Serves No Purpose Whatsoever
Obviously, the purpose was to cash in on a well-known franchise. However, it doesn’t add to the lore of the series, nor is there anything meaningful to say within the film. You never buy that Rachel is a clever psychopath who can outsmart the cops and FBI. Even worse, the supporting cast is severely underdeveloped; they don’t provide much context beyond being Rachel’s victim because she wants some worthless position.
As previously mentioned, there was potential to write something good that piggybacks off the themes of the original film, but from a female perspective. All that is tossed out the window for a film lacking style and substance.
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