Ryan Doom

''The Roommate'' is a 2011 American psychological thriller film directed by Christian E. Christiansen and written by Sonny Mallhi. The film stars Leighton Meester, Minka Kelly, Cam Gigandet, Aly Michalka, Danneel Harris, Frances Fisher, and Billy Zane.

''The Roommate'' was released in the United States on February 4, 2011, by Sony Pictures Releasing. The film was successful at the box office but panned by critics.

Plot

Sara Matthews is starting her freshman year of college in Los Angeles. She meets party girl Tracy, frat boy Stephen—her love interest—and Rebecca, her wealthy but shy college roommate who bears an uncanny resemblance to her. The girls begin to bond and Rebecca learns that Sara had an older sister, Emily, who died when Sara was nine, and an ex-boyfriend, Jason, who keeps calling her in attempts to reconcile.

Over time, Rebecca's obsession with Sara grows, which causes her to drive away anyone who could come between them. Claiming that she is a bad influence, Rebecca attacks Tracy in the shower, pins her down, rips out her belly button ring, and threatens to kill her unless she stays away from Sara.

Tracy moves to another dorm, fearful of Rebecca. An old friend of Sara's named Irene invites Sara to move in with her when Rebecca's cat Cuddles is discovered by an RA. Rebecca kills Cuddles, lying to Sara that the cat ran away. Rebecca inflicts injuries upon herself, and says she was assaulted by a thug.

Cast

* Leighton Meester as Rebecca Evans
* Minka Kelly as Sara Matthews
* Cam Gigandet as Stephen
* Danneel Harris as Irene Crew
* Matt Lanter as Jason Tanner
* Nina Dobrev as Maria
* Aly Michalka as Tracy Long
* Kat Graham as Kim Johnson
* Cherilyn Wilson as Landi Rham
* Billy Zane as Professor Roberts
* Frances Fisher as Alison Evans
* Tomas Arana as Jeff Evans
* Alex Meraz as Frat boy
* Nathan Parsons as Cashier Boy

Production

Sonny Mallhi first thought of shooting the film in New York City but it was eventually shot on location at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and at Loyola Marymount University. Leighton Meester was originally set to play Sara but was replaced by Minka Kelly and Leighton played Rebecca. Billy Zane and Frances Fisher had both starred together in ''Titanic'' fourteen years earlier, though in this film they shared no scenes.

Reception

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 3% based on 86 reviews, with an average rating of 2.86/10. The website's critics' consensus reads: "Devoid of chills, thrills, or even cheap titillation, ''The Roommate'' isn't even bad enough to be good." On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 23 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale.

Keith Staskiewicz of ''Entertainment Weekly'' gave the film a D, saying it "is really just a far-below-par thriller that desperately wishes it were a different movie – a longing it shares with the audience," but praises Meester for bringing "the slightest trace of something fascinating to her role. When she smiles, it's perfectly located between a sweet display of affection and a snarling warning." Peter Travers of ''Rolling Stone'' gave it a half star, stating that "''The Roommate'' – the umpteenth uncredited remake of 1992's ''Single White Female'' – sucks bad, real bad" and that "Danish director Christian E. Christiansen has no flair for suspense". Meester's performance garnered praise from other top critics, including the ''Los Angeles Times'', which states: "Here, her performance often has the feeling of a sports car in neutral. When she punches it for quick changes of tone from manic to wounded or around the bend, she shows how much more she is capable of."

Box office

Opening in 2,534 theaters, the film grossed $15.6 million on its opening weekend to take first place at the box office. Its distributor estimated that females under the age of 21 accounted for two-thirds of its audience. By the end of its run, the film grossed $37.3 million in the United States and Canada and $15.2 million in other countries for a worldwide total of $52.5 million.

Accolades

Use of a photo featuring a Southwestern College building

Some of the promotional posters and displays for the film used the Christy Administration Building from Southwestern College in Winfield, Kansas as its backdrop. The college administration voiced concern that permission to use the photograph of the building was not properly obtained and investigated the legality of its use.

Primary concerns hinged that the image of the college (particularly the image of the building) could be damaged, while other concerns were that the college's primary iconic image was being used for the promotion of an unrelated business venture.

Though the film successfully earned $15.6 million in receipts to top the box office during its debut weekend in the United States, concerns continued. By that time, the image of the building had been replaced on the film's official website and on subsequent promotional material. The photo of the building reportedly was licensed from iStockPhoto based in Calgary, Alberta. No lawsuits were filed, but discussions took place.

Students at the school reported "mixed feelings" about the topic – some believed that it may have been helpful for the college and others reported that they saw how it could have been harmful to the school's image.

Home media

''The Roommate'' was released on Blu-ray and DVD on May 17, 2011.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Roommate, The
2011 films
2011 LGBTQ-related films
2011 psychological thriller films
2010s American films
2010s English-language films
American LGBTQ-related films
American psychological thriller films
Films about stalking
Films directed by Christian E. Christiansen
Films produced by Roy Lee
Films scored by John Frizzell (composer)
Films set in Los Angeles
Films set in universities and colleges
Films shot in Los Angeles
Lesbian-related films
LGBTQ-related thriller films
Screen Gems films
Vertigo Entertainment films
English-language thriller films