No movie has captured the dark side if the 80s like Less Than Zero. The overindulgence era at its finest. The cast is is fantastic, a truly underrated performance by Robert Downey Jr. And James Spader. Jamie Gertz gets an A+ for her part of Blair. The soundtrack is an amazing undervalued masterpiece.

Less than Zero is one of my favorite movies of all time.. I moved out to LA with my best friend Chris Britt in 1988 and then moved back to Atlanta. Every time I watch Less than Zero it brings me back to when we use to party in the LA club scene. Less than Zero is a great flashback movie for me.. I miss being youthful.. but I have grown up since those days and Its good to be sober.. Glory to God. thanks for making this movie and allowing me to flashback to my time living in LA. I have lost many friends to drug overdoses and I my self have come to death doors from abusing drugs. it only by the grace of God that im still here... stay humble and sober..

I saw the movie in my early twenties, and all my friends and i got shock after see it. Now, i saw it 29 years after it's release and it's not the same impact as before, but ....remains something.I agree that the film it's considered as "cult movie" because at that time it had a relative attention from an intellectual audience.The movie takes you to 80's age, with it's characteristic effervescence, especially the peculiar atmosphere, in which they emphasize the blue colors and a stylish environments.The movie portraits a decline of values in a rich society. After all , this axiom remains fully present since proves itself in today's society.Probably the book can be better or different in some many ways, as some people say (i did not read it) ...but the movie is still more than decent.7/10

I wouldn't be the first to say drugs are in and a problem throughout American society. With the legalization of the pot in Washington, Oregon, and soon to be Alaska in 2015, drugs can be political and are often talked around my high school; for example "If weed should be legal or not". I will also say high school is where sadly I am most exposed to drugs. You know who the drug dealers are, who's been arrested over it and I can't tell you how times in my study hour I have overheard a story about a local party involving the drugs and alcohol.Yes, there are stoner films but films that have a plot of a person dealing with a drug addiction are not that common. It is hard to an find audience for these films which have a depressing atmosphere. The one film that should always to mind with drug addiction though is Less then ZeroBlair (Jami Gertz), Clay Eaton (Andrew McCarthy) and Julian Wells (Rober Downey Jr.) are all college age kids during Christmas time in affluent Los Angeles. Blair and Clay are a former couple who's relationship faltered after Blair cheated on him with Julian leaving all three friends in a awkward stance. During this Christmas break, we learn that Julian now has a severe drug problem and sometimes sleeps on a cliff on a beach due to the fact that's his parents kicked him out of the house. Julian also can't pay off his drug debt to drug dealer Rip (James Spader). It is part drug film, part relationship film.Truthfully, these are somewhat simple lead characters. These are characters who are trying their best to get away from high school problems and are trying to get a foot in the real world. It is the Downey character who is the most interesting. Director Marek Kanievska does a good job of making you feel like you have already known Julian. With some great acting by Downey, you are truly frustrated with his antics and you have no confidence that he is going to stop buying drugs like says he will. You do want him to get better because you miss that cocky, smart-ass character that briefly appears before he becomes stoned and strung out. It is hard to like Blair because of the cheating and she could possibly go down the same road as Julian but she eventually does find herself. The McCarthy character doesn't have much substance compared to the others and he is truly the only character with a clean record and you do have respect for how he tries to save his friend. Released in 1987, we do see the 80's fashion/style, and 1980's Los Angeles culture is a major theme in the film. These are all kids who parents never had money troubles, who think it is normal to wear suits and dresses every day and drive flashy cars. This rich culture is presented to us in a way that fits very nicely into the drug plot.Less Than Zero won't seem to be a stand-out film. It is mostly remembered for being an 80's film and some of it's cast and an ironically Downey had severe drugs problems afterwards in the 90's but we should remember Less Than Zero more for how well it is made. It is a close to flawless movie with to the heartfelt message that never gives up on what it is trying to say.