Episode 275 - The Rules of Attraction
Welcome back to Not A Bomb! This is the podcast where we explore some of cinema’s biggest box office failures and decide whether they deserve a second chance. We are celebrating five years of discussing cinematic flops!
Episode 275 of Not A Bomb continues Listener Request Month with Troy and Brad diving headfirst into the chaotic, nihilistic world of Roger Avary’s 2002 dark comedy The Rules of Attraction. Adapted from Bret Easton Ellis’s novel, the film follows three emotionally fractured college students—Sean Bateman (yes, Patrick Bateman’s younger brother), Lauren Hynde, and Paul Denton—as they spiral through drugs, sex, and existential dread at the fictional Camden College.
While the marketing teased a cheeky American Pie-style romp, the film delivers something far darker: a transgressive, nonlinear fever dream built on split screens, rewound timelines, and surreal montages that mirror its characters’ moral decay. Critics weren’t laughing—many recoiled at its unflinching depictions of suicide, sexual assault, and emotional numbness—but Troy and Brad dig in, unpacking both the film’s stylistic bravado and its brutal honesty about youth culture.
⚠️ Trigger warning: This episode contains discussion of heavy drug use, sexual violence, and suicide, mirroring the film’s unflinching content.
The Rules of Attraction is directed by Roger Avary and stars James Van Der Beek, Shannyn Sossamon, Kip Purdue, Jessica Biel, Ian Somerhalder, Clifton Collins, Jr., Thomas Ian Nicholas, Swoosie Kurtz, and Kaye Dunaway
To celebrate the last 25 years of film, the Not A Bomb podcast is compiling a Top 25 list from the Not A Bomb community. If you would like to submit your own list, please use this form to enter your 25 choices. For a film to be eligible, it must have been released between January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2025. Those are the only rules. Thank you for being a part of the community! Stay tuned for a special episode revealing the results in December. Head over to Not A Bomb 25 in 25 to fill out the form!
Want to help support the show? Head over to the Not A Bomb Tee Public store and check our merchandise. Special thanks to Ted Blair for the amazing designs!
We're committed to hearing your feedback and suggestions. If there's a cinematic flop you'd like us to delve into, please reach out to us at NotABombPod@gmail.com or through our contact page. Your reviews and feedback are what drive us. If you enjoy our content, consider leaving a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify.
Welcome back to Not A Bomb! This is the podcast where we explore some of cinema’s biggest box office failures and decide whether they deserve a second chance. We are celebrating five years of discussing cinematic flops!
Episode 275 of Not A Bomb continues Listener Request Month with Troy and Brad diving headfirst into the chaotic, nihilistic world of Roger Avary’s 2002 dark comedy The Rules of Attraction. Adapted from Bret Easton Ellis’s novel, the film follows three emotionally fractured college students—Sean Bateman (yes, Patrick Bateman’s younger brother), Lauren Hynde, and Paul Denton—as they spiral through drugs, sex, and existential dread at the fictional Camden College.
While the marketing teased a cheeky American Pie-style romp, the film delivers something far darker: a transgressive, nonlinear fever dream built on split screens, rewound timelines, and surreal montages that mirror its characters’ moral decay. Critics weren’t laughing—many recoiled at its unflinching depictions of suicide, sexual assault, and emotional numbness—but Troy and Brad dig in, unpacking both the film’s stylistic bravado and its brutal honesty about youth culture.
⚠️ Trigger warning: This episode contains discussion of heavy drug use, sexual violence, and suicide, mirroring the film’s unflinching content.
The Rules of Attraction is directed by Roger Avary and stars James Van Der Beek, Shannyn Sossamon, Kip Purdue, Jessica Biel, Ian Somerhalder, Clifton Collins, Jr., Thomas Ian Nicholas, Swoosie Kurtz, and Kaye Dunaway
To celebrate the last 25 years of film, the Not A Bomb podcast is compiling a Top 25 list from the Not A Bomb community. If you would like to submit your own list, please use this form to enter your 25 choices. For a film to be eligible, it must have been released between January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2025. Those are the only rules. Thank you for being a part of the community! Stay tuned for a special episode revealing the results in December. Head over to Not A Bomb 25 in 25 to fill out the form!
Want to help support the show? Head over to the Not A Bomb Tee Public store and check our merchandise. Special thanks to Ted Blair for the amazing designs!
We're committed to hearing your feedback and suggestions. If there's a cinematic flop you'd like us to delve into, please reach out to us at NotABombPod@gmail.com or through our contact page. Your reviews and feedback are what drive us. If you enjoy our content, consider leaving a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify.
Episode 274 - The Magnificent Seven (1960)
Welcome back to Not A Bomb! This is the podcast where we explore some of cinema’s biggest box office failures and decide whether they deserve a second chance. We are celebrating five years of discussing cinematic flops!
Episode 274 of Not a Bomb podcast celebrates The Magnificent Seven (1960), a film that dared to reimagine Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai through the lens of the American frontier. John Sturges didn’t just swap swords for six-shooters—he preserved the soul of the original while crafting a Western that would eventually earn its place among the genre’s greats.
Despite its lukewarm reception in the U.S. at first, the film found its footing overseas, especially in Europe, where audiences embraced its rugged charm and ensemble cast. And yes, Charles Bronson’s magnetic screen presence gets plenty of love from the hosts—alongside reflections on the film’s legacy, themes of honor and sacrifice, and its influence on future Westerns. That’s a stellar pick from Wesley—and a bold cinematic journey for Troy and Brad to dive into!
The Magnificent Seven is directed by John Sturges and stars Yul Brynner, Eli Wallach, Steven McQueen, Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughn, James Coburn, and Horst Buchholz.
To celebrate the last 25 years of film, the Not A Bomb podcast is compiling a Top 25 list from the Not A Bomb community. If you would like to submit your own list, please use this form to enter your 25 choices. For a film to be eligible, it must have been released between January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2025. Those are the only rules. Thank you for being a part of the community! Stay tuned for a special episode revealing the results in December. Head over to Not A Bomb 25 in 25 to fill out the form!
Want to help support the show? Head over to the Not A Bomb Tee Public store and check our merchandise. Special thanks to Ted Blair for the amazing designs!
We're committed to hearing your feedback and suggestions. If there's a cinematic flop you'd like us to delve into, please reach out to us at NotABombPod@gmail.com or through our contact page. Your reviews and feedback are what drive us. If you enjoy our content, consider leaving a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify.
Welcome back to Not A Bomb! This is the podcast where we explore some of cinema’s biggest box office failures and decide whether they deserve a second chance. We are celebrating five years of discussing cinematic flops!
Episode 274 of Not a Bomb podcast celebrates The Magnificent Seven (1960), a film that dared to reimagine Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai through the lens of the American frontier. John Sturges didn’t just swap swords for six-shooters—he preserved the soul of the original while crafting a Western that would eventually earn its place among the genre’s greats.
Despite its lukewarm reception in the U.S. at first, the film found its footing overseas, especially in Europe, where audiences embraced its rugged charm and ensemble cast. And yes, Charles Bronson’s magnetic screen presence gets plenty of love from the hosts—alongside reflections on the film’s legacy, themes of honor and sacrifice, and its influence on future Westerns. That’s a stellar pick from Wesley—and a bold cinematic journey for Troy and Brad to dive into!
The Magnificent Seven is directed by John Sturges and stars Yul Brynner, Eli Wallach, Steven McQueen, Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughn, James Coburn, and Horst Buchholz.
To celebrate the last 25 years of film, the Not A Bomb podcast is compiling a Top 25 list from the Not A Bomb community. If you would like to submit your own list, please use this form to enter your 25 choices. For a film to be eligible, it must have been released between January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2025. Those are the only rules. Thank you for being a part of the community! Stay tuned for a special episode revealing the results in December. Head over to Not A Bomb 25 in 25 to fill out the form!
Want to help support the show? Head over to the Not A Bomb Tee Public store and check our merchandise. Special thanks to Ted Blair for the amazing designs!
We're committed to hearing your feedback and suggestions. If there's a cinematic flop you'd like us to delve into, please reach out to us at NotABombPod@gmail.com or through our contact page. Your reviews and feedback are what drive us. If you enjoy our content, consider leaving a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify.
Episode 273 - Tommy Boy
Welcome back to Not A Bomb! This is the podcast where we explore some of cinema’s biggest box office failures and decide whether they deserve a second chance. We are celebrating five years of discussing cinematic flops!
Holy Schnikes! This month, we’re living under powerlines and eating paint chips as Troy and Brad kick off Listener Request Month! Loyal listeners picked the lineup, and first up is Alex H.’s choice: the 1995 comedy classic Tommy Boy.
Now, you might be saying, “No way that was a bomb.” Well… you’d be wrong. While the film was only a modest financial hit, critics at the time disliked it. The guys dive into the legendary chemistry between Chris Farley and David Spade, relive the most quotable moments, and debate whether Tommy Boy deserves a place among the greatest comedies of all time.
Tommy Boy is directed by Peter Segal and stars Chris Farley, David Spade, Bo Derek and Brian Dennehy.
To celebrate the last 25 years of film, the Not A Bomb podcast is compiling a Top 25 list from the Not A Bomb community. If you would like to submit your own list, please use this form to enter your 25 choices. For a film to be eligible, it must have been released between January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2025. Those are the only rules. Thank you for being a part of the community! Stay tuned for a special episode revealing the results in December. Head over to Not A Bomb 25 in 25 to fill out the form!
Want to help support the show? Head over to the Not A Bomb Tee Public store and check our merchandise. Special thanks to Ted Blair for the amazing designs!
We're committed to hearing your feedback and suggestions. If there's a cinematic flop you'd like us to delve into, please reach out to us at NotABombPod@gmail.com or through our contact page. Your reviews and feedback are what drive us. If you enjoy our content, consider leaving a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify.
Welcome back to Not A Bomb! This is the podcast where we explore some of cinema’s biggest box office failures and decide whether they deserve a second chance. We are celebrating five years of discussing cinematic flops!
Holy Schnikes! This month, we’re living under powerlines and eating paint chips as Troy and Brad kick off Listener Request Month! Loyal listeners picked the lineup, and first up is Alex H.’s choice: the 1995 comedy classic Tommy Boy.
Now, you might be saying, “No way that was a bomb.” Well… you’d be wrong. While the film was only a modest financial hit, critics at the time disliked it. The guys dive into the legendary chemistry between Chris Farley and David Spade, relive the most quotable moments, and debate whether Tommy Boy deserves a place among the greatest comedies of all time.
Tommy Boy is directed by Peter Segal and stars Chris Farley, David Spade, Bo Derek and Brian Dennehy.
To celebrate the last 25 years of film, the Not A Bomb podcast is compiling a Top 25 list from the Not A Bomb community. If you would like to submit your own list, please use this form to enter your 25 choices. For a film to be eligible, it must have been released between January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2025. Those are the only rules. Thank you for being a part of the community! Stay tuned for a special episode revealing the results in December. Head over to Not A Bomb 25 in 25 to fill out the form!
Want to help support the show? Head over to the Not A Bomb Tee Public store and check our merchandise. Special thanks to Ted Blair for the amazing designs!
We're committed to hearing your feedback and suggestions. If there's a cinematic flop you'd like us to delve into, please reach out to us at NotABombPod@gmail.com or through our contact page. Your reviews and feedback are what drive us. If you enjoy our content, consider leaving a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify.