A disastrous adaptation of an important 1985 novel, this drama from director Marek Kanievska is, like his later film Where the Money Is (2000), a tonal misfire that ruins some promising material. While the book by Bret Easton Ellis is shockingly cynical and nihilistic, this big-screen version is laughably moralistic and flaccid, so reductive to its characters that their afflictions have been transformed from heartbreaking to absurd. Only Robert Downey Jr. escapes unscathed in a typically affecting performance as a drug addict, all the more poignant given his later troubles with substance abuse. One solid star turn can't prop up an entire film, however, and the rest of what passes by onscreen is by turns insulting, stupid, or boring. Unfortunately for those who won't be inspired to pick up the book and savor a rewarding literary experience, Less Than Zero tragically lives up to its name.