Masand: 'The Roommate' is appallingly bad

Cast: Minka Kelly, Leighton Meester, Cam Gigandet

Director: Christian E Christiansen

Leighton Meester, who stars as spoilt little rich girl Blair Waldorf in the 'Gossip Girl' series, slums it out as a nutjob collegian obsessed with another female student in the insultingly dumb teen thriller 'The Roommate'. A worthy contender for Most Unoriginal Movie of the Year, this lame 'Single White Female' rip-off sees Meester's clingy character, Rebecca develops a dangerous crush on her roomate Sara (played by Minka Kelly), who has just moved to this Los Angeles campus from a small town.

Sorely lacking any tension or suspense, and devoid of a single original plot-point, the film regurges the same ol' formula all over again. So Rebecca -- desperate for Sara's attention, and jealous of anyone or anything that is close to her -- goes on a violent spree torturing boyfriends both ex and current, murdering a pet cat, and punishing a male professor who hit on her roomie. There's some girl-on-girl kissing, a mild lovemaking scene between Sara and her new boyfriend, and a phone-sex scene involving Rebecca. Normally such gratuitous sex would ease the pain of watching this kind of dreadful film; but 'The Roommate' is so appallingly bad, it's hard to find a single redeeming quality.

I'm going with one out of five for 'The Roommate'; it's a badly written, badly acted, and badly directed thriller that offers no thrills whatsoever. Stay home and stare at the ceiling instead. This film is a waste of time and money.

Rating: 1 / 5

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