Less Than Zero

Clay, Blair and Julian grow up together among the wealthy families of Beverly Hills, where their parents pay more attention to parties and money than to them. After high school the three go separate ways. Clay enrolls at a college on the East Coast, while Julian falls into drug use and Blair stays in Los Angeles. When Clay comes home for Christmas at Blair's request, he finds Julian's habit out of control and the friendship under strain. Blair has been involved with Julian, which complicates Clay's return. A dealer named Rip holds a large debt over Julian, tightening the pressure on all three.

Marek Kanievska directed the film, his second feature after Another Country in 1984. Harley Peyton wrote the screenplay, and Jon Avnet, Jordan Kerner and Marvin Worth produced. Andrew McCarthy plays Clay, Jami Gertz plays Blair, and Robert Downey Jr. plays Julian, with James Spader as Rip. The film adapts Bret Easton Ellis's novel of the same name and runs 98 minutes.

Released in November 1987, the film cost about 8 million dollars and took in roughly 12 million worldwide, a modest return. On IMDb it holds 6.4 out of 10 from around 24,000 votes, and on TMDB the same 6.4 from 312 votes. A critics' rating of 5.6 from 30 reviews places it below both audience scores, though the two groups are not far apart in their assessment.