The Roommate (2011)
Directed by Christian E. Christiansen
When Sara, a young design student from Iowa, arrives for college in Los Angeles, she is eager to fit in and get to know the big city. Her wealthy roommate, Rebecca, is more than eager to take Sara under her wing and show her the ropes. The two become close, but when Sara begins to branch out and make more friends on campus, Rebecca becomes resentful. Alarmed, Sara moves in with her new boyfriend, causing Rebecca's behavior to take a violent turn.
3 connections found
View:
3 connections, in both directions
What critics compared The Roommate to
1987's "Fatal Attraction." 1992's "Single White Female."
If you saw the trailers for The Roommate and all you could think is "Wow, that looks just like a rip-off of Single White Female, which itself was little more than one of the better rip-offs of Fatal Attraction," then you're a wise person.
Like “Fatal Attraction” and “Single White Female” before it, “The Roommate” shows that when pets start going missing in thrillers, that’s the time for people to realize that a psychopath is around.
The buzz: From the studio that brought you Beyoncé's "Fatal Attraction" rip-off "Obsessed" comes something even worse!
Meester knows this and could have just played everything for camp, but every so often she spouts these Fatal Attraction-like "I won't be ignored!"
Since this is a Miss Teen “Fatal Attraction” ‒ with baked kitten replacing rabbit stew on the menu ‒ everyone in Sara’s circle of friends is in jeopardy, including party animal Tracy (Alyson Michalka) and new boyfriend Stephen (Cam Gigandet).
If you’re not used to looking at Kelly (she spent three seasons on “Friday Night Lights’’) or at Leighton Meester, who is also in this movie (she’s the best thing about “Gossip Girl’’ and steals what little is worth stealing in “Country Strong’’), it’s possible to spend some of “The Roommate’’ confused about who’s who.
Minka Kelly (2009's " (500) Days of Summer "), formerly of TV's superb "Friday Night Lights," is the sort of actress one can just look at and immediately know she's got a brain behind her attractive physical appearance.
At what appears to be a college for former models, Sara (Minka “Sexiest Woman Alive” Kelly of the phenomenal “Friday Night Lights”) arrives with a strong sense of self and interest in fashion design.
Nevertheless, Rebecca is initially successful at staking a claim on the affections of her new roommate Sara (Friday Night Lights’ Minka Kelly).
The "platonic friendship" brand of fatal attraction thriller is typically reserved for films with female leads (think Single White Female or The Roommate ), so the "male-on-male" obsession in The Gift is an interesting twist on the formula.